“Giving Ourselves to God”
(Luke 20:20-26)
Series: Certainty in Uncertain Times
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD
Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson
- Take God’s Word and open to Luke, chapter 20 (Page 708; YouVersion)
While you’re turning there…yesterday morning 126 folks turned out for our “Henderson, I Love You” Kickoff…
We cleaned yard debris and trash at Central, Audubon Mill, and Community Parks.
We cleaned flower beds and a playground at Bend Gate elementary school.
We cleaned gutters and yard debris at homes near Kimmel Park.
We prepared the PCMA baseball fields by cleaning and painting bleachers, mowing and tilling fields, and cleaning the buildings at the park.
The Lord blessed us with numerous gospel conversations with the folks in the Kimmel Park area. Several people were invited to church, the gospel was shared, we connected with Hispanic families, and seeds were planted in our community.
We are making our way, verse-by-verse, through the Gospel of Luke. We left off last time at verse 19 and so we’ll pick up right there at verse 20 and then go through verse 26.
The background here is this escalating tension between Jesus and the religious leaders of His day. The religious leaders–who are not believers in Christ, who do not accept that He is the Messiah–these leaders are threatened by Christ and convicted by His teachings.
We looked last time at their questioning Jesus about His authority. They didn’t like the way Jesus had “come into town,” so to speak, riding on a donkey and cleansing the temple and teaching with authority. So they asked Him about His authority and Jesus tells this parable in verses 9-18 about the wicked vinedressers. And in the telling of the parable Jesus, in essence says, “My authority comes from the Heavenly Father, the One Who sent Me and refers to Me as, “The Beloved Son of God.” And Jesus goes on in the parable and pronounces a judgment upon those who reject Him, those like the religious leaders.
Okay so we left off there at verse 19 where Luke writes that the chief priests and scribes connect the dots and figure out that Jesus “had spoken the parable against them.” So they’re like royally ticked off and they’re going to do whatever they can to get Jesus out of the picture, to get Him arrested, to get Him carried away, to get Him killed.
- Listen for that as I invite you to stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.
21 Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:
22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me?
24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” ¶ They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”
25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
- Pray.
Introduction:
Well, this business of the chief priests and the scribes is a sham, isn’t it? Luke tells us in verse 20 that they “watched” Jesus and they “sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words,” that is, that they might trap Jesus, get Him to say something incriminating in order to turn Him over to the authorities. They’re trying to get Jesus to trip over His words.
Have you ever tripped over your words? If you’ve ever been in a high-pressured situation, like testifying in court you know how easy it is to get your words mixed up. And sometimes it is the questioners themselves who hope to get you all mixed up. You are asked a loaded question like the infamously classic, “Have you stopped beating your wife?” Well, how are you going to answer that?!
It’s a loaded question. Like loaded dice, the question comes with a predictable outcome. The questions assume a premise. In this case, the premise is, “You have been in the practice of beating your wife.” So the question, “Have you stopped beating your wife” is a trap. If you say, “Yes” or “No,” you admit to beating your wife.
Other examples of loaded questions:
“Have you stopped cheating on your taxes?” What does that question assume? You’ve been cheating.
“Do you enjoy taking advantage of your position as supervisor?”
A guy interviewing you for a job says, “Can you appreciate this wonderful opportunity we are making available to you?”
A teacher says, “Aren’t you ashamed of the little effort you are making in this class?”
A borderline loaded question comes from the cult classic film, “Napoleon Dynamite,” where Napoleon, referring to Deb’s milk at school says, “I see you’re drinking 1%. Is that ’cause you think you’re fat? ‘Cause you’re not. You could be drinking whole if you wanted to.” Well, actually, that question doesn’t have anything to do with this, I just wanted to share it cause I like that movie and have a weird sense of humor.
But you see how these religious leaders were “out to get” Jesus? They set out to trap Him, to “seize on His words,” to catch Him. Again, they realized that Jesus had spoken the parable of the wicked vinedressers “against them (verse 19),” so they now attempt to trap Jesus in His words so they can turn him over to the authority of the governor, the governor being Pontius Pilate.
So that’s the background for these few short verses this morning. The religious leaders ask Jesus something of a loaded question, a question that cannot really be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and we’ll study that question this morning. Let’s make our way through these verses and then I’ll give you a few take-home principles for family discussion this afternoon. Look again at verse 21:
21 Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:
Such pretense! Such flattery! They’re acting like they really appreciate Jesus. Now, what they say is true. They speak truth here. They say, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly.” That was a true statement. Jesus did, in fact, “teach rightly.” In fact, the Greek word there is the word “orthos,” the Greek prefix for “straight,” as in “orthodontics (straightening the teeth),” orthopedics. It is teaching that which is “straight,” right.
The other thing they said in verse 21 that was also true is the statement, “You do not show personal favoritism.” Again, true! The idea is, “You don’t act one way to one person and another way to another person. You treat everyone the same.”
But this is all a sham. They are flattering Jesus. This is flattery, pure and simple. By the way, it’s been said that if Gossip is saying behind a person’s back what you would never say to his face, then flattery is saying to a person’s face what you would never say behind his back.
Proverbs 29:5, “Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet.”
Here comes the net, a loaded question, verse 22:
22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar (Tiberius) or not?”
They want a “yes” or “no.” See, if Jesus said, “No, it’s not lawful,” then the religious leaders could accuse Jesus of sedition and could get Him into big-time trouble with the Roman authorities. He would be arrested and carried away. On the other hand, if Jesus says, “Yes, of course it is well and good to pay taxes to Caesar,” the religious leaders know that Jesus’ followers will not take too kindly to that response because they hated this poll tax that had been unfairly imposed upon them by the Romans. This was an annual tax on their houses and land, and so forth. They Jews despised the idea of having to pay tribute to their ungodly, pagan Roman oppressors.
So they had hoped to trap Jesus by forcing Him to answer “yes” or “no.” Now look: You can’t outsmart the Son of God! Verse 23:
23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me? (“Why do you test Me,” Not in NU)
The word for “craftiness” here is the same word used by Paul in 2 Corinthians 11:3 to describe Satan’s “craftiness” in deceiving Eve in the Garden of Eden. Jesus may have asked, “Why are you guys acting like Satan?!”
Jesus knew their thoughts (see also Luke 5:22 and Luke 6:8; also compare Luke 7:39-40). Jesus knows all things. He is God-in-the-flesh.
Now, watch this classic response. He’s not going to answer with a quick “yes” or “no.” What does He do? Verse 24:
24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” ¶ They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”
The denarius was the common Roman coin in Jesus’ day. One denarius was the usual pay for one day’s work. There’s a picture of a denarius there on the cover of your Worship Weekly. There’s also a link provided for those of you using the YouVersion Bible app.
On one side of the denarius is the image of Caesar. In Jesus’ day the Caesar was Tiberius. Tiberius’s image was on the coin and on that same side of the coin is a phrase that reads, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” To have one of these coins in the pocket was like having a small idol in the pocket.
Jesus has them get out a coin. That they had one in their pockets or pouches showed that they were not opposed to carrying such a thing around, even if it had this blasphemous inscription on it. It’s pretty obvious that they needed the coin to buy, sell, and so forth.
And so, Jesus is doing the questioning now. He asks in verse 24, “Whose image and inscription does the coin have?” And they answer and say, “Caesar’s.” Verse 25:
25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
In our day the value of a person’s entire political career often hinges on a hastily spoken soundbite absurdly taken out of context and replayed endlessly at full volume. But this “soundbite” of Jesus is just perfect. It cannot be improved upon! “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jesus says, “Look, the coin represents the tribute that you are to give to Caesar. It is a reasonable expectation of his that you give. You live here, after all, and you benefit from the Roman government, so Caesar is right in demanding this tax from you.”
Jesus doesn’t explain why Caesar has this authority. Paul and Peter will do this later:
Romans 13:1-7:
1 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.
3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.
4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.
5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.
7 Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.
1 Peter 2:13-17:
13 Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme,
14 or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.
15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—
16 as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. 17 Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.
We are to obey the governing authorities. We are not to disobey unless we are being forced to do something against Scripture, such was the case with Peter in Acts 5 when they were told to stop telling people about Jesus:
Acts 5:29, “But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Verse 26 again:
26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
So there is a break in the conversation now as these religious leaders “marveled at His answer and kept silent.” The one who is wiser than Solomon (Luke 11:31) has again silenced the opposition!
Now, let’s look a little more closely at this statement of our Lord’s in verse 25:
“Render (or Give) therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
The denarius, that coin has Caesar’s image on it. The coin belonged to Caesar because it bore his image. We belong to God because we bear HIS image (Genesis 1:27).
So, while what Jesus says is important insofar as rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s, He gives a much more important command in saying that every one of us–we who bear God’s image and likeness–must give ourselves go God. Caesar and God are not equals. What we give to God is more important than what we give to Caesar. Yet so many Christians live their lives as though Caesar is more important than God!
**Take-Home Principles for Family Discussion:
1) I am a Citizen of Two Cities (City of God, City of Man)
Augustine’s, City of God (early 5th cent AD).
(City of Man is temporary; City of God is eternal), love God and love man, live in the city of man
John MacArthur, Jr.
Since the end of the Old Testament theocratic kingdom and until the establishment of the future theocratic kingdom of Christ when He returns to set up His Kingdom on earth, there is no sacral society, there is no sacred society.
We live in two worlds, we’re citizens of this temporal world and a human government, while at the same time citizens of the Kingdom of God under the rule of God Himself and Christ. The church is not to take over civil government. The church is not to rebel against civil government. The church is not to become the critic of civil government, neither by war, by civil disobedience, or by political power are we supposed to control civil government. This is not a sacral society. This is not a theocratic kingdom. America is not, neither is any other earthly nation.
2) I am Made in God’s Image, therefore I Belong to God
Paul says in Romans 12:1:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
3) I am to “Give to God the things that are God’s”
Worship, Love, Trust
HE WANTS OUR LIVES!!!!
Isaac Watts:
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
- Stand for prayer.
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