November 12, 2023 Trinity 23 The Sunday of Rendering to Caesar and to God

(No audio available this Sunday.)

Trinity 23
Matthew 22:15-21
November 9, 2023

“The Things That Are God’s”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

It’s only money. It’s just money. “Jesus, is it ok for us to pay taxes to our government?” Wouldn’t part of you love it if He said, “No way! That’s your money. Don’t give it to the government!” But He doesn’t say that, does He? He holds up a coin to them and says, “Whose face is on this money? Caesar? Ben Franklin? The government’s face?  Then it’s only money. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Pay your taxes.”

It’s only money. That’s the first part of Jesus’ answer. Calm down and pay your taxes. God puts the government there for a reason. So do your duty under the government. But the second part of Jesus answer is much bigger, “Life isn’t only money. Life is much more than just money. Give to God all the things that are God’s.” 

I put together a little picture on the sermon insert of two circles. The little circle is the government. That’s a much smaller part of your life as a Christian where you say, “It’s only money. I’ll pay my taxes and do my duty to the government God gives me.” It’s a very important part but a small part. The bigger circle is all the rest of your life. The much bigger part of your life where you say, “Life is much more than only money. I’ll give to God everything that is God’s.”

And that’s how we’ll divide up Jesus’ word to us today. First we’ll talk briefly about the small circle of Caesar—the government. What’s your place under the government? But then we’ll spend the most of our time talking about the big circle of your place under God. What do you and I render to God?

So first let’s be reminded of all the things God teaches us about government in the Bible. There have been many forms of government. The Bible doesn’t teach that any particular form is the only right way to govern. We Americans tend to really like democracy for good reasons. Some forms of government are certainly better than others. But mostly we take what God gives us. Most Jews in Jesus’ day really didn’t like the Roman government. And there were good reasons not to like them. However, Jesus and all the apostles after Him honored the Roman government and taught Christians to do the same. Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me unless it had been given you from above.” You get it? Jesus honors the guy who makes Him suffer. God gave Pilate authority and Jesus honored that authority. He didn’t sweat it.

God has given us a government. So you and I give to the government the things that are the government’s. The Bible says you owe your taxes to the government as Jesus says right here and as Paul says in Romans 13. You owe your prayers for the government. That’s 1 Timothy 2. You owe honor to the government. That’s 1 Peter 2. You owe your obedience to the government. That’s Romans 13. (Provided, of course, that they don’t command you to disobey God. That’s your one and only exception.) And at times you may owe your body and service to the government in the case of serving as a soldier or serving in the government in one way or another. Yesterday, on Veterans’ Day, we gave thanks for those veterans who did give their service to our nation and government. This is good.

As Christians we have a dual citizenship. We are citizens of this world, in particular of the United States of America. At the same time, we’re also citizens of the kingdom of heaven. Both are good and important. However, be very careful that you don’t make too much of Caesar or too much of President Biden or too much of the Congress or too much even of America. The Romans were very bad guys at times. But Jesus said, “It’s only money. Pay them your taxes.” God put the Romans there for that time. And Jesus didn’t come to get rid of Tiberius Caesar. The same is true today. You may not like many things our American government does. You may rightly think that some things should change. And they should. We should tell our government that abortion is murder, for instance. That’s fine and you can work in that little circle of Caesar to try and make things better in our government. But there are also bigger fish to fry. Namely, the devil and our sin and death. Those are the fish Jesus came to fry. Not the Romans. Not Caesar.

It’s only money. Render to Caesar. It will be ok. God’s in control. And let’s turn our focus now to the bigger fish in the bigger pond, the bigger circle. Let’s turn to our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. To Jesus’ second words, “Render to God the things that are God’s.”

Do you know why Jesus wasn’t very concerned about money or about governments? Because He had bigger things to take care of—namely, you and me. He came to render us back to God. He could easily have been rich on earth. He could have easily had greater earthly power than Pontius Pilate or Tiberius Caesar. In fact, the devil tried those temptations on Jesus—money and power. But Jesus, in His divine wisdom, said, “It’s only money. It’s only power. It’s only Caesar.” He had bigger fish to fry. And those fish were you and me.

Jesus rendered you back to God by giving His life for your sins on the cross. He made the payment that had to be made—His innocent, perfect life for your guilty, sinful life. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness, rendered us back to God, and made us citizens in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Bigger fish have been fried that money and government. In the kingdom of Jesus, sin and death and devil have been dealt with.

This is as big as the difference between this hundred dollar bill and a human soul. That’s what we’re talking about there. They showed Jesus a denarius, a coin with the image and name of Tiberius Ceasar on it. Jesus said, “Fine, give that hundred dollar bill back to Caesar.” But then Jesus says, “Give to God what is God’s.” And what has the image of God stamped upon it? The human soul. Your human soul. You are made in the image of God. And what has the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit inscribed upon it? You do. Child of God. Baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

So in the little circle of government we get coin and bills with names and faced stamped on it. It’s important and we need to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s like taxes, prayers, obedience, honor, service, etc. But in the big circle of the kingdom of God we have human souls and bodies with the image and name of God inscribed upon them. You—the children of God. And we must then render to God what is God’s. In other words, we render our entire soul and life to God.

So let’s talk about how you do that. How do you render to God what is God’s? First and foremost, you believe. Faith. You entrust your entire self to God. You fear, love, and trust in God above all things. Faith. You believe in Jesus Christ who has purchased and won you from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. You believe in the God who has baptized you and placed His name upon you and the image of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. In other words, friends—you don’t trust money or government, do you? They only get your taxes, your prayers, etc. God gets all your trust. You give it all to Him. “Into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.” Give all your faith and trust to God.

What next? Give God’s money back to God. Be very generous. God loves a cheerful and generous giver. Start with your offerings to Church. Ten percent is a good place to start. And then be very generous with the rest of the money God has given you. Use it to take care of others. To take care of your family. To feed and clothe and shelter the people God has given to you. Use it in ways that bring glory to God.

What next? Render to God the things that are God’s—that includes your body. Your physical body. Paul says, “You were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” Give your body,  your mind, your strength, your energy, your emotion—not for sexual sins, not for drunkenness, not for laziness—but for the love and service of others.

So we have this little circle of life—render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. We give to our government the things owed—taxes, honor, obedience, prayers, service when required. But those are small fish in a big pond. We have a much greater calling also—to be a citizen of God’s kingdom and to render to God the things that are God’s. God’s name and picture are imprinted on us. So we give Him all our trust, our bodies and all that we have, for His glory.

One last way to picture this. If you do a budget (I don’t how many of you do one), but it’s a list of your income at the top and then after that all your expenses for a month. Somewhere at the top of that list then is taxes. Render to Caesar. (Income tax and property tax). Depending on your place in life in America, that could be anywhere from 10% to a more likely 20% or 30%. Render to Caesar.

But then once that is out of your budget, who does all the rest belong to? Give to God what is God’s. The rest of your life is all God’s. Everything else after that budget line of taxes (I’m putting it first because many people have it taken out of their paycheck before they’re even paid), then everything else is God’s. You give your offerings to Church, you give for the groceries to feed the family, you give for all the things needed to clothe and shelter your family which includes insurance and gas and electric and water and all other utilities. All of this gives glory to God because it’s loving and serving your neighbor and taking care of your own body that the Lord has given you. The goal is seeing everything in our budget—better said, everything in our life—rendering to God the things that are God’s.

You are God’s. Created in His image. Restored in His image in Jesus Christ. His name inscribed upon you in Holy Baptism. You are God’s. Your heart, your soul, your trust, your love, your money, your body, your life—Render to God the things that are God’s.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.