The Secular, The Sacred, & Jesus

Introduction:
Politics and religion are hot button topics.  If you ever want to have a heated discussion or start an argument with someone just mention God in conjunction with government.  Some believe these two go together like water and oil, thus avoid discussion these subjects all together while others love to have one sided heated debate.  In today’s passage Jesus enters the ring as he takes on the topic of religion and politics head on.  
 
Mark 12:13 - 17
The passage is often misinterpreted incorrectly.  I have heard several sermons that twist Jesus’ response.  People are quick to interpret Jesus’ response to be careful to balance the sacred and secular areas of our lives.  However, Jesus never fully answers the question because the Pharisees and Herodians were trying to trick him.  They did not care what his answer is, they just wanted to trap Jesus by answering the question incorrectly (which seems at first glance no answer would have been right in the Pharisees eyes).  The question was “Can one still pay taxes to Caesar and still have allegiance to God?”  As we will see in a moment this was a well thought out and loaded question. 
 
Background
Before we start let’s look at the background of this passage so we can better understand what is going on. Paying taxes to Rome was a touchy subject during Jesus’ days.  The controversy was mainly what paying taxes represented to the Jews.  They were not, so much, against the idea of paying taxes in general because they already were paying a Temple tax, local taxes, and taxes to Herod. But to the Jewish people paying taxes to the Romans represented loss of freedom.
 
I can imagine we would be angry if we had to give a portion of our hard-earned money to an oppressive nation who violently and forcefully overthrew our government and country (Especially if we believed we were the chosen nation of God).  Imagine that you were part of a nation who took pride in freedom, to worship God and for human rights and now we are enslaved by a nation who is oppressive and imposes her taxes on us for her wealth. 
Taxes represented Rome’s rule over Israel and the Jews celebrated the fact that they were God’s chosen people, yet they agonized over the fact that they were not living as God’s people, instead they were living under oppression and fear of the Roman government.  This was the main reason tax collectors were despised.  These individuals were Jews who worked for the Roman government and were given the freedom to collect taxes at an inflated rate and kept some of the money for themselves after giving the Roman’s their share.  They were protected by the Roman government so they could set their rates at whatever price they wanted.
 
Not only did the Jews not like what the tax represented, Rome, but also the coin itself went against their law against carved or graven images.  The possession of the coin would be considered a form of idolatry for the Jews since the coin had a carved image of the Caesar on it. Theologian N.T. Wright writes, “(I)mages of human beings were out of the question, and here is Tiberius (Caesar), staring coldly out at the world from every small Roman coin.  And writing!  Around the head the words say in Latin, ‘August Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus’.  On the other side it says: ‘High Priest’ (the emperors were mainly high priests of the main Roman cult).  – If the Romans had gone out of their way to be offensive to the Jews, they could have hardly done it better.”
 
Outline
Before the Pharisees asked the question to Jesus, the Pharisees and Herodians intended to stroke Jesus’ feathers a bit by telling him that he was an upright man.  God’s interests were his interests, and he was totally a man who seeks God’s approval and not mans. They were trying to make him out to be a moralistic man of God so in their plot to set him up it was designed to have a question that would put him in a positive light.  The Pharisees and Herodians were implying that, Jesus was a religious man who had no regard for what men thought of him and he was filled with wisdom, thus, they asked him if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. But overall, it was a trick question because no matter how Jesus responded his answer would get him in trouble, or so they thought.
 
Jesus doesn’t fall for their flattering words; he sees through them.  However, he faces a dilemma, if his answer is to pay the taxes then he would be going against that which the people despised.  Plus, it would also put into question his claims to be the Messiah, because according to Jewish tradition and thought the Messiah was supposed to set the people of Israel free from injustice and tyranny.  If he answered in the affirmative, then he could be considered a sympathizer to the Roman government hence putting him in the same bracket as tax collectors and sinners. However, if he suggests not paying taxes then the Pharisees could go to the Roman government officials and accuse Jesus of being a dissenter, a rebel, and one who was trying to stir up the people against Rome.
 
Jesus does not answer the question because he knows they don’t really care what he thinks.  He throws the Pharisees and Herodians off guard by seeking a coin (one that he does not possess). This is strategic because Jesus answers their question by showing the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  When they produced the coin (the one with Caesar’s face on it) they were showing everyone around that they were handling or possessing this same coin that was hated by the Israelites. In possessing the coin, they were showing their support for Caesar because the coin belonged to Caesar. Next, he asks them whose face is imprinted one the coin?  They respond, “Caesars.”   By their admission the coin belongs to Caesar (since it bears his image) so he can have it back. Jesus’ reply, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to Him.” He is saying EVERYTHING belongs to God.
 
Many pastors and teachers have taught throughout history that Jesus is saying that life is broken into two realms, the sacred and secular.  This means that we are to have human leaders for everyday life and God/Jesus for spiritual matters. This interpretation could not be farther from the truth. “Give to Caesar the things belonging to Caesar” does not mean humanity has control or even ownership over the physical, political, and earthly sphere just the same as “Give to God what is His” does not mean God is only in control of the religious, sacred, and spiritual realm.  God and Caesar (human government) are not equals; they are not counterparts.
 
Jesus says that the coin belongs to Caesar because it bears his image.  It is, in many ways his idol.  Jesus says to pay taxes but do not submit to the Romans as the ultimate authority. The hypocrisy in this passage is when we see the Pharisees having no issue doing business with or receiving Caesars money, therefore they should pay taxes.  But Jesus takes it a step further by saying since the Romans demand tax money then Israel should oblige and pay the taxes but also in life, they must give to God what belongs to Him.  What belongs to him?  Humanity bears the image of God thus we belong to Him.  As God’s children we bear his image as and we owe allegiance and loyalty to him, we owe and our very being.  Romans 12:1:1 – 2 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
 
Often, people like to compartmentalize their lives into these two divisions of sacred and the secular and they do it well.  People reserve Sundays and maybe a few hours here and there during the week for God since this is the time reserved for church, Bible Study, or serving.  But the rest of the days they figure they can live however they please.  Jesus does not advocate this compartmentalized life.  He does not say I want to be your Lord and Savior on certain days, or when faced with death, tragedy, difficulty, and spiritual issues and then you are free to fend for yourself during the good times and prosperous times. He does not say that Spiritual issues belong to him and everything else belongs to humanity (e.g., government, finances, & us).
 
God makes it clear that we must put our allegiance, loyalty, and trust in Him alone. We cannot place our allegiance, trust and happiness in humanity, politics, wealth, power, and our position in life. Our lives were made by Him, and he has authority over all, and our allegiance should be to Him alone.  The point of the passage above that many people miss is that God doesn’t want you for a few hours on Sundays and Wednesdays.  He doesn’t want you to trust him only when time are tough.  He wants what is rightfully His, all of you all the time. Jesus implies, “I want to be the Lord of your finances, the Lord of your marriages, the Lord of your work, the Lord or your security, and the Lord of all aspects of your life.”
 
Now, I do not believe Jesus tells us to have nothing to do with government or secular institutions.  We are citizens of this planet thus we cannot cut ourselves off from reality and reject the world, laws, and the obligations we have to it. As Christians we are free and as American Christians, we have religious liberties, and this does not exempt us from civil law that is intended for order. We have the obligation to pay taxes so we can use roads, sewers, social security, Medicare, and have public servants etc. We should contribute to society, and we should exercise our ability to vote and submit to governmental authorities (We must render to the government what bears the governments image). However, we owe our sole allegiance and loyalty to God. This means we should pray for our government officials, politicians, and secular society whether we like or agree with them or not.  This is part of giving of your whole self to God. We are the children of God who bear his likeness.  We are created in His image, and we belong to Him. 
 
Conclusion
So, Jesus' response of life goes beyond a simple balancing act between the sacred and secular aspects of life. In this passage he exposes the hypocrisy of the Pharisees by pointing out their acceptance and use of the very coins they despised. His statement, "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to Him," carries a deeper meaning.
 
While we have obligations to our government and society (secular and sacred) in which we live, our ultimate allegiance and loyalty should always be placed in God. We are created in God's image and therefore belong to Him. Jesus desires our wholehearted devotion and surrender in all aspects of life, not just on certain days or in specific spiritual matters. God wants all of us to live in ways that honor Him and recognize His authority over all areas of our lives. Let us remember that we are created in His image, and we belong to Him. May we surrender ourselves completely to Him and allow Him to be the Lord of our lives, embracing His guidance and direction in all that we do.
 

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