Justin Martyr was born around AD 114 in Samaria. He was a pagan who was enamored with philosophers like Socrates and Plato. He traveled extensively.
One day when he was alone meditating at the beach, an older man came up to him and raised questions that he couldn’t answer, and pointed him toward the Jewish scriptures.
As he plunged into studying the Bible, he also noticed the courage of Christians who stood firm in the face of persecution, even martyrdom. That, combined with his reading the Bible, pointed him to Jesus. When he became a Christian and began growing in his faith, he started teaching in cities like Ephesus and Rome. However, in AD 165 his life was cut short, as he was martyred for his faith in Jesus in Rome.
One of his most famous books is his 1 Apology, which was essentially an open letter to the emperor (Emperor Antonius Pius) and other political leaders. His primary purpose was to correct misrepresentations of Christianity.
At the time, many Roman citizens viewed Christians in three ways.
[00:02:38] Justin argues in his 1 Apology that Christians are not insurrectionists. They’re actually good citizens of Rome, and he gives examples (like we pay taxes, we pray for you).
Then he explains to the emperor that Christians are good citizens because our Savior Jesus taught us to be. And then he quotes, Matthew 22: 21.
“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21).
He concludes with these words,
“To God alone we render worship, but in other things we gladly serve you, acknowledging you as kings and rulers of men, and praying that with your kingly power you be found to possess also sound judgment.”
He goes on to say, if you ignore us and our prayers,
“We shall suffer no loss.”
Why? He goes on to explain that you will stand in judgment one day before God and give an account for the way you led. And then he quotes Jesus,
“to whom God has given more of him shall more be required” (Luke 12:48).
What is fascinating about Justin’s writings is he is doing almost 2,000 years ago what we are doing today. He is wrestling with the relationship between God and government. What does it look like to be a Christian and a citizen of Ethiopia or Kenya or China or Russia or the United States?
Let’s pray. Father, we need your wisdom today. This is a really important question. How do we, as followers of Jesus, live out our earthly citizenship without losing sight of our heavenly one? We’re actually allowing our heavenly citizenship to shape our earthly citizenship.
Everywhere we look, we see pitfalls, extremes. Father, it is so easy for us to become more American than Christian or to fly to the other extreme and become monkishly withdrawn. So we are asking that your Holy Spirit would move among us and make your word clear. Then please apply it to right where we are, that we might respond appropriately.
We also want to thank you for tomorrow, a day set aside to honor the many men and women who gave their lives so that we could do what we’re doing right now freely: to worship and study your word. What a gift. We honor them, and we thank you. Speak to us now, we pray in Jesus’s name, amen.
In this final week of Jesus’s life, we have just finished three parables, and we move into three tests. Three parables of Jesus, and now three tests of Jesus. The first test is in Matthew 22:15-22. If you’re not there, you can find a Bible in a seat under you or near you.
And I want to say a word to the kids. We’re going to make a lot of historical references. You might hear a few words you don’t know. Hopefully you can learn some new ones. I would encourage you young kids to draw pictures of some of the things I’m talking about. I’d love to see some of them after the message. I’ll be up here in the front. Especially Jake, if you could draw some nice pictures, I’m looking forward to that.
There are two major sections in this paragraph.
1. The leaders come to Jesus. The Pharisees come to with three things.
Verse 15, they
“plotted how to entangle him in his words” (Matthew 22:15b).
Remember, Jesus doesn’t reveal himself to liars, but he will reveal liars to themselves. He will expose them.
Here, the Pharisees once again exhibit their dishonesty. They do not come to Jesus in good faith. They would rather win a debate than find the truth. So they hatch up a plan to ensnare, entangle, and trap him. They pretend to come with curiosity, but they really come with falsity/dishonesty.
Frenemies. Verse 16:
“And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians” (Matthew 22:16).
What are frenemies? Frenemies are friends who are really enemies. People who normally don’t like each other, but at times (as here) will unite together against a common foe. It’s often called an unholy alliance. “I hate you, but I hate him more than I hate you, so I like you for now.”
Think about these two groups:
The Pharisees are Jewish leaders who are experts in the Mosaic law. They reject all compromise with Rome. They’re separatists, purists, very popular among the people, and all about Jewish national and theological identity. They send their disciples (because they’re less recognizable) with the Herodians.
Who are the Herodians? The Herodians are Jewish leaders who partner with the Herodian family (think King Herod, his sons). These Jewish leaders, who partner with the Herodians, are seeking to gain access to privilege and power. They are essentially political aristocrats who get along better with the Sadducees (we’ll meet them next week) than with the Pharisees.
These two groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, hate each other until they meet Jesus. That’s what I mean by frenemies. They’re essentially saying, “We both hate Jesus, so we both fear his effect on our influence and power, so let’s unite together against him.”
A study done at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas at Austin came to the conclusion that people connect more quickly over shared dislikes than over shared likes.
They published their conclusions in a journal article entitled “Interpersonal Chemistry Through Negativity.” Shared negativity tends to bond us more quickly than shared positivity. They talked about things like gossip as a social tool. Like relational glue that bonds us with people against people we mutually dislike.
Have you ever heard of anything like this? It’s quite common online. There are whole websites, chat rooms, and blogs that unite people who share common hurts and hates.
To some extent, this makes sense, doesn’t it? Life is painful. And when you can find someone who has been hurt in a similar way as you have been hurt, it can—in a weird sort of way—be stabilizing, comforting, even empowering.
“He did that to you?”
“She treated you like that?”
“That church, that school, that company did that to you? They don’t care about anybody but themselves.”
“I don’t know if I would have believed your story except for the fact that it happened to me as well. It’s so comforting to hear someone else articulate what I’ve experienced. I thought I was losing my mind.”
Do you see how (in a sense) comforting that can be? Humanly speaking, this type of trauma bonding or negative bonding is very powerful. But here’s the catch:
Intimacy based on negativity has a short shelf life.
Intimacy based on negativity has a short shelf life. Think of the guy and the girl who meet each other and suddenly realize, “You hate your parents? I hate my parents. We were made for each other.” That is not going to go well for very long. All of us are vulnerable to this. Watch out for people who bond over bitterness.
They come with falsity, frenemies, and third, flattery. Flattery. Verse 16:
“Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.” (Matthew 22:16b).
The leaders are trying to butter up Jesus with four compliments, all sincere — No, all insincere, but accurate. Look at these:
(1) You are “true,” that is, you’re not fake.
(2) You “teach the way of God truthfully,” accurately. Of course, Jesus does both those things.
(3) You “do not care about anyone’s opinion.” You’re impartial. In other words, Jesus doesn’t modify his message to make it more palatable, depending on who’s in the audience. Then finally,
(4) “for you are not swayed by appearances.” You’re unbiased. Literally, you could translate that, “You do not see the face of men.”
When Jesus interacts with us, he doesn’t treat us differently because of the clothes we wear or the color of our skin or any of the superficial elements that make us us. He sees us as we really are. He doesn’t modify the truth depending on who’s in front of him.
By the way, do you see the irony here? The leaders who are saying these words are doing the exact opposite.
King David warns us against this kind of flattery, Psalm 55:21.
“His speech was smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords” (Psalm 55:21).
J.C. Ryle, writing about 150 years ago, warns against the danger of flattery. He lists a bunch of people who were victims of flattery (people like Samson, and Solomon, and Hezekiah), and then he pleads with us:
“Let us remember these things, and be on guard. Peace often ruins nations more than war. Sweet things occasion far more sickness than bitter…Let us beware of the flatterer. Satan is never so dangerous as when he appears as an angel of light. The world is never so dangerous to the Christian as when it smiles. When Judas betrayed his Lord, it was with a kiss.”
Beware of the flatterers. So they come with falsity, frenemies, and flattery, and then they pose their question. Verse 17:
“Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17)
This is a brilliantly ensnaring question. Why?
If Jesus says, “Pay,” he alienates the Jewish people. None of them feel like — It’s often called the “head tax” or the “poll tax.” None of them feels like that is a legitimate tax. It’s essentially the Romans taxing the Jewish people to live on their own land.
But if he says, “Don’t pay,” he antagonizes the Romans. Remember, the Herodians are there as informers. The trap is set.
2. Jesus responds to the leaders. Verse 18:
“But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?’” (Matthew 22:18)
You have to kind of feel bad for these religious leaders, don’t you? It’s really hard to set a trap for someone who can read your mind, who knows your thoughts perfectly. It’s like trying to tell a joke to someone who already knows the joke, and they’re just looking at you like, “What are you doing?” Verse 19:
“‘Show me the coin for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away” (Matthew 22:19-22).
Jesus’s response is not only brilliant but also foundational as to how his followers relate to government. Let’s see if we can say it in a sentence:
Some things belong to Caesar, all things belong to God.
Some things belong to Caesar, all things belong to God. Now, we can’t interpret this as, “Oh, you have a little political world over here, some of these things. It’s dirty. Keep that separate from God’s world over here, which is spiritual and clean.” No, no, no. That’s not what he’s saying. So look at three implications of these words of Jesus. He is making it clear that…
1. God is the source of government.
He asks for a denarius. This is a silver coin that was not only a means of currency but also a billboard of propaganda.
On the front of the coin, it says “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus.” So Emperor Tiberius is claiming divine status as the son of a supposedly divine emperor. The first Roman emperor was Augustus. He adopted Tiberius as his son. Therefore, Tiberius is assuming, “He was divine, therefore I am divine.”
On the back is the image of Livia (Tiberius’s mother, Augustus’s wife). Notice she’s seated facing right as Pax, goddess of peace. She personifies peace. The Pax Romana, the peace of Rome. In her right hand, I think you can see that scepter, which represents military power. In her left hand, she is holding an olive branch, which represents peace. Power and peace are the two foundations of Roman government. You’ll also notice the words “pontifex Maximus,” which means “high priest,” communicating Caesar’s claim of religious authority.
By the way, this is another reason the Jews hated paying this tax: it not only reminded them of Roman occupation, but also of Roman pagan worship. But Jesus calls them to pay the tax. But he doesn’t just say, “Pay the tax,” he reorients the tax within a much larger reality. See if you see this. Look at verse 20.
“Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
“They said, ‘Caesar’s’” (Matthew 22:21).
So essentially, he said, “Give him the coin.” Render to Caesar. But he does not stop there. He follows that with,
“…and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21b).
So Jesus is saying this: Caesar is the immediate source of this coin. His image is on it. Give him the coin. God is the ultimate source of Caesar and you and me. His image is on us. We were made in the image of God, so give him to God (Caesar, you, me, everything). God is the ultimate source of all things.
We get a glimpse of this when Pilate was interrogating Jesus. He was frustrated that Jesus wouldn’t answer all his questions, so he said these words to Jesus (John 19:10):
“‘Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above [from God]’” (John 19:10-11a).
If you have a coin with your image on it, ultimately, it came from God. If you have authority to rule, you received that from God. Do you see how Jesus is reorienting this tax within a larger reality?
The early Christians got this. When Peter and John were arrested and then released, the Christians began their prayer this way (Acts 4:24):
“Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them” (Acts 4:24b).
Caesar has a little authority. You, God, have all authority.
The early church fathers (like Clement, and Irenaeus, and others) thought this same way. They repeatedly referred to the sovereignty of God in all things, and they prayed words like — This is 1 Clement 59, so this is not Bible, this is early church fathers:
“Let all the nations know that you are the only God” (1 Clement 59).
Historian Stephen Presley, after pointing out numerous examples like this from the church fathers, concludes this:
“Certainly societal problems, sin and death mar God’s world, but the most important theological prolegomenon [what does that mean? Preface or starting point] for cultural engagement today is the transcendence and providence of God.”
We have to get this. If my political convictions begin or rest on any other truth than this, they will be wrong, no matter how right or wrong they are.
This is the prolegomenon, the point at which we start before we start talking politics. If we don’t begin here, we will—no matter how right or wrong our political positions are—we’ll be wrong. This is the foundation.
It’s so significant in the early Church that historian Paul Veyne, who was an atheist, didn’t understand Christianity at all— yet listen to what he wrote of the early Church:
“The originality of Christianity lies not in its so-called monotheism, but in the gigantic nature of its god, the creator of both heaven and earth: it is a gigantism—”
Can you say that with me? Gigantism. Don’t you love that word?
“…it is a gigantism that is alien to the pagan gods and is inherited from the god of the Bible.”
This is so convicting to my heart. Do my family and friends observe the gigantism of God when I engage in or talk about politics? Or does it sound like God is the opposite? The gigantism of God. God is the source and the ruler over all things.
A couple of weeks ago, Matt and I went down to Columbia to the State House to pray over some state senators and representatives.
]You go up into the lobby. The Senate is meeting on one side, and the representatives are meeting on the other side. You send a message to a senator or a representative whom you would like to speak to, and if they’re able, they come out.
Typically, when they come to the lobby, they assume you’re a lobbyist (in the lobby) and that you want something. We assure them, “There’s a place for that, but that’s not why we’re there. We just want to pray for you.” Like, what is heavy on your heart? How can we pray for your marriage and your family, for wisdom, for the things you guys are wrestling with? Sometimes they’ll open their hearts to you. Let me give you one example.
I’ll leave out the name, a representative in this area I had the privilege of praying with. Right after that, I felt led by the Spirit to say to him, “You are a minister of God.”
Does that freak you out? My progressive friends will think I’m trying to set up a theocracy. I’m not talking about that. I’m quoting Romans 13:6, and this representative is a believer, so he immediately understood what I was saying.
That is, there is something incredibly humbling about when you realize that you are going to give an account to God for the way you have used your political influence to care for the vulnerable and to seek the common good. You will stand before the King of kings one day and give an account. That is humbling.
It’s also empowering because you realize God has given you influence for a reason, and you’re to use that for the good of your neighbors. It’s not a game. It’s not a political game to try to just stay in office. This is where it all begins. God is the source of government.
2. God is the limit of government.
In Jesus’s day, Caesar demanded everything (your money, your body, your worship). And Jesus says, give him a coin. Give him a coin. Communicating what? Some things belong to Caesar, all things belong to God. Implying, Caesar has some authority, but it’s limited.
When the apostles were arrested for preaching in Acts 5, the high priest forbade them from teaching in the name of Jesus, and Peter and the apostles responded with these famous words:
“We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
They are illustrating the limit of government. There’s a line.
Shortly before the great medical doctor turned preacher went to be with the Lord (Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones), he preached for the last time at the British Evangelical Council. His text was our text, Matthew 22:15-22. He warned Christians not to be obsessed with lesser things. He said these words:
“Pay your dues to Caesar, but don’t be obsessed with them.”
We need to let that sink in, for many of us who can easily become emotionally fluctuating depending on the latest news or election. He goes on:
“[These things] bring benefits but how limited, how passing and uncertain, they are! They give no help on the question: how to die?”
What is so sobering about those words is that this is at the very end of Dr. Lloyd-Jones’s public ministry. He will die soon. He continues:
“The benefits of God are incomprehensible: He gave His only Son. Nothing is more glorious than the death of Christ for sinners. This makes a man independent of circumstances.”
We need to pause on that. He is saying—when you put things in their proper place, and the gospel of Jesus is paramount, and the sovereignty of God is paramount—there is a freedom that you will never experience when you are obsessed with lesser things. Ironically, you will end up having more influence in the world because you’re not just another echo in the system of the world.
God is the source, God is a limit, and third,
3. God is the purpose of our relationship with government.
You have to track with me here because this can be a little confusing: If some things belong to Caesar, and all things belong to God, then not only is God the source, the limit, but also the purpose of our relationship with government. That is, as followers of Jesus, we must engage with Caesar.
Caesar has a role to play in our lives (“Render to Caesar”), but even as we do politics— and it looks different in every age, and a democratic republic looks different than a monarchy.
For us, to “do politics” at least means we pay taxes, we honor civil authorities, we pray for our leaders, we promote public virtue, and we seek the common good. But in all that, we must never lose sight of the purpose, the reason, the end to which we do all these things.
The Apostle Peter helps us understand what this means. He reminds us in 1 Peter 2 that we are sojourners and exiles. Our time in this fallen world is temporary. We will not render to Caesar forever, just for a moment. In light of that, we can’t lose sight of our political mission. Look at the way he describes this (1 Peter 2:13):
“Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:13-17).
What is Peter saying? He’s saying the same things Jesus is saying: render to Caesar. Some things belong to Caesar, all things belong to God, so as you render to Caesar, you are ultimately rendering to God.
Look at the list again, these four statements we pulled out of 1 Peter 2:13-17:
“for the Lord’s sake,”
“for this is the will of God,”
“living as servants of God,”
“fear God.”
This is what makes our paying taxes or “doing politics,” whatever that means, distinctively Christian. We called it in our 1 Peter series “Christian mindfulness.” Remember that a few years ago?
Everybody will relate to Caesar. Everybody pays taxes, or they will end up relating to him wearing orange. They’re going to relate Caesar, but Christians do it with a much higher purpose in mind. This enables us to flourish politically, whether our current leaders are good or bad.
Do you see that in the Roman world? There were some nasty Roman emperors, and the Christians flourished. Eventually, there were some good Roman emperors, and the Christians flourished.
We should be able to say that about Christians in America. There are some nasty presidents, and there are some good presidents, and Christians are going to flourish either way.
Remember the words of Justin Martyr, at the beginning, when he says we pray that you would “possess…sound judgment,” and even if you don’t, “we shall suffer no loss,” because you’re going to give account to God, and we’re going to live as people who are free, because ultimately we serve God, not man. Some things belong to Caesar, all things belong to God.
Let’s wrestle with a couple of questions related to these three implications.
1. Do you see God as the source of government?
This is a tough one, isn’t it? Especially in a democratic republic when the person you voted for might not win. “Is God off the throne? Is he the source?”
2. Do you see God as the limit of government?
We can think about this a couple different ways:
As Ben Sasse has emphasized in multiple interviews, what happens in Washington is institutionally way down here. Where’s the real action that defines the future of America? Way up here in what’s going on in our marriages, in our families, in our churches, in our communities, local health.
Really, Washington becomes a mirror of the smaller institutions. If the smaller institutions of marriage and family and community, churches, are disintegrating, Washington will merely reflect that, which is kind of scary. However, that reminds us of the limit of government. It can only do so much.
I’m not saying what happens in Washington doesn’t matter. It is important. I’m saying it is not as important as what is happening in our smallest institutions.
Does the Spirit of God convict you about the limits of government? This is more of a testimony than a question for you, because he does me. Like, when my mind is turning to politics continually, or looking for constant news updates, or emotions rising and falling depending on what is happening, good or bad.
I’m not saying none of those things are important, but that should be a check from the Spirit. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Render to Caesar, yeah. He plays a role, but let’s render to God who owns and rules all things.
3. Do you see God as the purpose of your relationship with government?
What does that mean? Yes, I believe Christians are called to participate politically.
This is my personal conviction: I think it’s unwise for Christians in a democratic republic to abandon their influence in the name of “being spiritual.” I don’t think you’re loving your neighbors well, to not be involved.
But, as we participate politically, if we’re not doing it unto the Lord (just like with everything else in our lives), it becomes like kudzu that takes over in a very unhealthy way. Some things belong to Caesar, all things belong to God. Let’s pray.
Father, one day all the kings of the earth—the presidents and the prime ministers, the governors—all will bring their glory under your rule and reign. You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God. So we beg you to show us how to live in light of that. In light of the fact that some things today belong to Caesar, but all things belong to God.
There’s so much more we could talk about (many, many important political issues). But Lord, as we start here, we pray that you would give us a firm foundation, a view of the world that launches us in the right direction. Continually remind us who we are in you so that the influence you’ve called us to have in this moment of time might be truly redemptive. We ask this in Jesus’s name, amen.
