John Piper summarizes the issue at hand in Matthew 22:21, where Jesus’ words “raise the issue of church and state, of the Christian’s relationship to the state in connection to his relationship to God.” What did Jesus mean by “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s”?
Matthew 22:21 in Context
The Pharisees have been trying to trick Jesus into saying something heretical in order to see him destroy his own ministry. But Jesus is too clever for these men.
John Piper describes their deceptive ways: “We know you speak the way of God with faithfulness, and that you are not impressed by anybody’s faith and don’t cow to anybody’s opinion. This is called buttering up. Jesus is going to call it malicious because they really don’t give a rip what Jesus thinks.”
Pipers says that among Jesus’ audience were many who made it “a politically super-charged situation. Pharisees have a high-powered allegiance to the Old Testament and to the people of Israel. The Herodians are, by name, Herod supporters.”
Jesus is speaking to Roman citizens who used currency featuring the face of their ruler, known as Caesar. Marina Fischer explained that the coin in question was probably the “Tribute Penny” from the time of Tiberius.
As Piper explains, if Jesus favored one group, he would get in trouble with the other. These high-ranking individuals “wanted to ruin this man’s reputation one way or another.”
Instead of answering, Jesus asked them a question: “‘Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied” (Matthew 22:19-21).
With that answer, he forced the men to make their own decision: choose what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God, then give accordingly. “Amazed,” they left. (v. 22).
What Belongs to Caesar?
Earthly trappings belong to the rulers of this world. That includes anything related to human government.
The taxation coin was a symbol of obedience to government, but Jesus had said, “You cannot have two masters” (Matthew 6:24). How can he say that and also tell his followers to obey the law?
Although “Caesar’s sphere of authority is limited,” says Piper, we should be “law-abiding people” who do what the law requires of us. “We pay our taxes. We drive the speed limit. (Do we?) We keep our grass cut. [...] My disposition is to comply.”
The reason for our law-abiding disposition on earth is related to our obedience to Christ, who also submitted his body to the rulers and authorities, even to death on a cross.
God also created a system of law which is the foundation of North American law. The Book of Deuteronomy lays out the rules of a civilized system governed by God-fearing individuals. We know we need laws; we need to be governed.
When no one is in charge, chaos reigns. Even though Christ is our King, we live temporarily under the authority of a governing body so there can be relative peace; some kind of agreement, if only grudging, about how we can and cannot treat one another.
The establishment of such a body does not guarantee peace and order, but the fragility of such peace only reminds us that even a good thing here on earth is still broken and is merely a shadow of the perfect things of God, such as Christ’s rule and his Kingdom.
As Kevin DeYoung puts it, the Pharisees “thought it was idolatry to pay the tax and submit themselves to Rome and do anything that would help further the Roman cause. The tax was despised by the people.”
Yet Jesus paid the tax with his own life, which was required of him at the hands of Roman soldiers wielding hammers and nine-inch nails. He gave it willingly, so how can we, as Christians, say we wish to follow him and yet not lay out our coins?
We can respect our government without rejecting God’s sovereignty in many instances. “Sometimes Christians talk like you should have no loyalty for your country as if love for your country is always a bad thing. But Jesus shows it’s possible to honor God and honor Caesar.” How did he do this?
DeYoung teaches that there was a revolt against the census tax initiated during the time of Jesus’ boyhood or infancy, so it was fresh in the minds of Jesus’ listeners.
Judas of Galilee insisted that man could not pay this tax and honor God at the same time, while Jesus was saying, “It’s possible to honor lesser authorities in good conscience because they have been instituted by a greater authority.”
He also implies by his statement that the two things — church and state — can be separated, at least to some extent. Jesus governs “over the different spheres in different ways. After all, Jesus says in John 18:36, ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’”
Moreover, as DeYoung reminds us, there is no nation to which we must claim loyalty; we are not so much Japanese or Americans or Turks as we are “Christians” or “Christ-followers.”
Jesus’ response to give Caesar what was owed to him meant “that the legitimacy of a government is not determined by whether it supports the worship of the one true God or even allows for it. By Jesus not requiring those who follow Him only to support states which are formally allied to the true God as Old Testament Israel had done, Jesus unhitches His followers from any particular nation.”
What Belongs to God?
Everything on earth and in heaven belongs to God. We are his. So is the ruler of the kingdom (or the country) where you live, whether or not the country is predominantly Muslim, Hindu, Christian, or Atheist.
Jesus was saying that some things belong to Caesar in the short term, but he was also saying that an earthly government is run by humans.
And as such, “there will always be a gravitational pull toward idolatry. [...] If we are not careful, we start to believe that Caesar really may be God, the state really may have all the answers, the government may be able to give us everything we need.”
A state or country or republic, even one that is going through a honeymoon phase of joy and stability right now, will eventually fall prey to the completely predictable nature of man.
So, DeYoung makes it clear that our worship should not follow our coins. Remember: the Pharisees did not want to pay their taxes. If they were completely satisfied by the Roman government, they would not have argued. Only God satisfies fully.
Conclusion on the Coins
DeYoung zeroed in on the word “image” or “eikon” in the original Greek. Jesus was not only talking about the picture of Caesar but also the idea of image. What we give back to Caesar is worthless in the spiritual sense.
The image that matters does not feature on a coin, and it is not seen by the earthly eye. “What are the things that belong to Caesar? Taxes, respect, honor — that’s what belongs to governing authorities. But what belongs to God? You. Your whole self. Your life. Your existence. Your everything.”
We were made by him, in his image. We belong to him, and our allegiance belongs to God. DeYoung invites a comparison between our exterior image, which is as dirty and rusty as an old coin, maybe not worth very much to the world at current rates of exchange, but that is not what God sees.
“You are still worth something to God because his likeness has been stamped on you. You belong to him. So, the only way to render to God the things that are God’s is to give to God your whole life.”
For further reading:
What Does the Bible Say about Money?
Does God Appoint Godly Leaders?
Should Christians Break the Law if the Law Is Wrong?
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