Sermon Text: Mark 12:13-17

Sermon Video

Outline

BIG IDEA: As Christians, we are to render respect to God-ordained government, but we render worship to God alone.

Verses Referenced (sermon order):

Genesis 1:27

Context

Mark 11-16 covers Jesus’ final week. This is sometimes called Passion Week. Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and inspected the temple affairs. On Monday Jesus cursed the fig tree and cleaned house. On Tuesday Jesus’ authority was challenged by a delegation of the Sanhedrin, the powerful Jewish religious council consisting of Pharisees, Sadducees, and others. In our last post, we looked at Jesus’ parable of the tenants, which condemned Israel’s religious leaders.

Summary

Note that the following is only a summary. I encourage you to listen to the sermon linked above for a fuller explanation.

Since the Sanhedrin (the powerful Jewish religious council) couldn’t arrest Jesus (Mark 12:12), they decide to try to trap Jesus in his words (Mark 12:13). The Pharisees and Herodians (unlikely bedfellows) try to flatter Jesus and then ask him a question – should Jews pay taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:14)? The questioners are banking on Jesus making someone mad. If Jesus answered in the affirmative then the Pharisees and the common Jews would be angered. If Jesus answered negatively, the Herodians could report to the Roman authorities that Jesus was an insurrectionist.

The question before Jesus was this – can faithful Jews pay taxes to Caesar and still honor the God of Israel? For us today, the question could be, “Can we pay taxes to a corrupt government that spends our tax dollars in ungodly ways and still worship God?”

After looking at a denarius, Jesus makes perhaps the most profound political statement ever uttered – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Mark 12:17). In his statement, Jesus affirms the legitimacy of government (see Rom 13:1-7) but also commands his listeners to render to God the things that are God’s. Jesus is referring to our whole selves. Just as the coin has the image of Caesar, we bear the image of God (Gen 1:27). Therefore, we owe him our allegiance and devotion. Later in the same day, Jesus said that he greatest commandment is for us to love God with everything we have (Mark 12:30).

As Christians, we have live within the tension of two realities. We have a responsibility to be good citizens and respect our government. We also are commanded to love God with everything we have. Taxes should be paid to governments but only God has authority over our souls.

In closing, how should we think about government as Christians?[1]Some of this section is from Christ-Centered Exposition: Mark, 278 by Daniel Akin.

  1. We should be good citizens and live in subjection to governmental authority and seek to influence government policies through our voice and our vote.
  2. We should, like Joseph and Daniel, obey the state, but only worship God.
  3. We should pray for those in authority (1 Tim 2:1-2).
  4. We should acknowledge that governmental authority is established by God (Romans 13:1-7).
  5. We should pay taxes (Mark 12:17; Rom 13:6-7).
  6. We should engage in civil disobedience only when the government prohibits me from doing what the Bible commands or when the government commands me to do something the Bible prohibits (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29).

In summary, let’s be good citizens. Let’s pay taxes. Let’s give respect to God-ordained government. But let us worship God alone.

References

References
↑1 Some of this section is from Christ-Centered Exposition: Mark, 278 by Daniel Akin.