October 22, 2023 Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost The text is Matthew 22:15-22.

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¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] in what he said. ¹⁶So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” ²¹They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²²When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

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May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend”.  This proverb was first recorded in a political treatise written in ancient Sanskrit in the fourth century before Christ.  It refers to the decision of two entities who have hatred for a third to bond together in order to defeat a common adversary.  And in many cases the two who share animosity for the same enemy may be in direct opposition to each other on many other issues.  But their common loathing may be strong enough for them to sort of “hold their noses” and combine their efforts to defeat their common enemy.  Thus, we encounter two such groups this morning.

The first, the Pharisees have been in conflict with Jesus and his teaching since his ministry began; just about everything Jesus said or did, the Pharisees took issue with.  The Pharisees primary role was determining the manner in which the Jewish people should observe the Law, the Torah; they were concerned with politics only when there was an impact on religious observance.  And this morning is the first time we have encountered the Herodians, and they were  concerned only with politics, and how the political landscape affected their own power in society.  They were supporters of King Herod (thus their name), and since Herod was the ruler of the Jewish people who was installed by Rome, his followers were necessarily supportive of Roman rule (at least outwardly).  They supported Herod so that peace might be kept and also to preserve their own political power.  They likely didn’t concern themselves very much with Jesus’ words and actions as these affected the religious life of the people; they left this role to the Pharisees.  They found themselves in league with the Pharisees only because of the disruption to the politics of the day that Jesus’ teaching was causing.  The Herodians joined with the Pharisees this morning purely from a desire to maintain their own political power and to prove their allegiance to Herod.

The Pharisees tended to make deals to appease their Roman rulers, and although they were opposed to Roman authority they tolerated being subjugated as long as the Romans didn’t interfere with their religious duties.  And although they were willing to join with the Herodians this morning as they both attempt to trick Jesus, they were not on board with Herod Antipas, the Jewish king the Herodians were followers of.  They viewed Herod as an unworthy ruler, a puppet of Rome and they felt that he didn’t serve the interests of the Jewish people.

Despite their different goals and allegiances these two diverse groups were compelled to work together in a plot to trap Jesus, whom they perceived as a common threat to both of them and their aims.  “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”; at least so far as we share a mutual purpose.

So, the Herodians and the Pharisees meet Jesus, initially praising him for being sincere, truthful, and impartial.  Then they deviously ask him the question that they are sure will trick him into giving a wrong answer.

They have determined that no matter which way Jesus responds, someone will be greatly outraged.  If he answers that it’s lawful for the Jewish people to pay taxes to Rome, the Pharisees will be pleased, because it will show that Jesus isn’t placing God before all else, as he has been constantly teaching.  A “yes” answer will suggest that Jesus is acknowledging paying homage to Caesar, to whom the Romans have assigned god-like status.  If he responds “no”, then the Herodians will be able to label Jesus as an agitator who denies Rome’s authority over the people, thus making him an outright enemy of the Empire.  Either answer puts Jesus in a position where one side or the other will be able to charge him with being either a false prophet of the Jewish people or a conspirator against Roman rule.

But rather than falling into their trap by answering them directly, Jesus inquires if one of his challengers has a denarius, the coin that was used to pay the daily wage of a laborer.  He points out the fact that it is Caesar’s image that appears on the coin.  Then he basically tells all of them to, “give the Emperor his due”.  Give to the government what the government has control over, but also render what is appropriate to God; in effect, everything else.  In essence, he avoids answering their direct question by stating that we all live within two distinct kingdoms; separate and apart, but co-existing at the same time.

These are the secular and the spiritual; according to Martin Luther these are the temporal kingdom of the world and the heavenly kingdom of God.  We all must reside in both.  We are to function within the boundaries that govern civil society as we live in the secular, temporal world.  We are required to live in accordance to laws, governments, and societal norms.  And, as Jesus reminds his Herodian and Pharisaical questioners, this includes paying taxes to help ensure stability in this earthly world. 

Note that that Jesus doesn’t refer to the coin to explain the second part of his answer; nothing with an image of an earthly leader.  He simply states to his accusers, “give to God the things that are God’s”.

Hearing this, and realizing that their plan to trick Jesus has failed miserably, Matthew tells us that the Pharisees and the Herodians “were amazed” by Jesus’ response and being defeated, they simply “went away”.

It’s obvious that they understood precisely what Jesus meant when he told them to “give to God what is God’s”.  And we know this too.  Everything belongs to God!  If the Roman Emperor, or the US government needs tax revenue to keep worldly things up and running, so be it.  But the truth is that all of creation belongs to the God who brought it into being.  This is God’s empire, God’s Kingdom, consisting of everything and everyone.  We may be called to contribute part of our treasure to the earthly kingdom, but to God we owe all that we have and all that we are, including the resources we render to the temporal world.  Everything we have ever been blessed with, including our very existence is a gift from the God who provides it. 

And through the redeeming work of Christ on the cross, the kingdom of God is manifested in the here and now, right alongside the earthly one.  God has claimed us as God’s own; and since we acknowledge this, we recognize the truth in Jesus’ admonition to “give to God what is God’s”; we know that this means that we owe everything to God.  And as inhabitants of God’s kingdom we depend on our faith and beliefs to express how we live our lives in the earthly, secular one.  We function in the earthly world as we must, remembering however, that we ultimately identify as God’s people, citizens of the kingdom of heaven.  We “belong” to God, now and for eternity.

And the ramifications of this knowledge extend far beyond the confines of the kingdom of this earth.  God has claimed us as His children.  And God does not forsake his own. This was proven when Christ hung on the cross, to ensure our adoption by God into the kingdom of heaven.  And since we belong to God, we belong also to the whole people of God, to one another, to the body of Christ. And when we give to God what is God’s, we don’t hold back; we give fully of ourselves. We live lives of thanksgiving, lives in which worship should be at the center, at the core of giving to God.  We may worship individually as when we engage in a quiet devotion.

We are called to public, corporate worship, in God’s church with our siblings in Christ.  And in our daily lives we worship God when we dedicate ourselves to the service of others.

In all its various forms our worship acknowledges that we belong to God and that, although we exist in the earthly, secular world, we “live” in the realm of heaven.  Let us always give to God what is God’s, for all that we are and that that we have are gifts from the God to whom we belong.  

Will you pray with me?  Good, and gracious, and holy God, the coins of the realm may have the images of worldly leaders appearing on them.  Help us to remember that we bear your image upon ourselves and that it is to you we belong.  And we pray these things the name of Jesus Christ, the One who gave all of himself to you, and who calls us to do the same.  Amen.      

God is Good, all the time.  All the time, God is Good.  Amen.