Daily Bread 2010 - Luke 20
Daily Bread 2010 – Luke 20
Paying Taxes to Caesar
20Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21So the spies questioned him: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
23He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24"Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?"
25"Caesar's," they replied.
He said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
26They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.
Often when we are convicted by something or someone, we will try to find holes in what they say or who they are, so we won’t have to listen to them. The Pharisees were constantly trying to do this with Jesus. They thought if they could get him to say, “Don’t pay taxes to Caesar”, that they could label him as a tax evader.
Throughout church history this passage has been used to urge Christians to be honest citizens, pay their taxes, join the military when called upon etc… Of course there are times when the government mandates something that a Christian might feel is against the clear teaching of scripture. In these cases, a Christian might have to conscientiously object.
But generally we are to follow the laws of the state like everybody else, most of which are for the betterment of civic society. Luther’s doctrines of “Two Kingdoms” covered this topic. Of course this is not to be confused with conforming to the world’s value system, which is often in conflict with what Christ would do. The classic line is that Christians are to be “in the world but not of the world”.
Many of my friends are getting more and more concerned what is happening in government and other institutions like high education today. There is always the question of how much to get involved, or how much energy to invest to “fight the system” if one truly feels it is going in the wrong direction. I think it would be great if some of our best and brightest young men and women with Christian worldviews would pursue the transformation of both the political and corporate world. Many of our best schools like Yale, Harvard and Princeton were framed by those with a Christian worldview at their origin.
Maybe the time is now for believers to get more involved with the secular kingdom, while not forgetting to focus on God’s kingdom coming here on earth as it is in heaven. For we know that this world will one day pass away, but God’s kingdom will last forever. But in the meantime God calls us to be the salt and the light in the world!
God we know you call us to be your sons and daughters and set us apart to proclaim the Good News. You also call us to different vocations that will help bring Your kingdom into many of the world’s power structures. Raise up young men and women who want to bring godly values into our most important systems like education, business and government. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
20Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21So the spies questioned him: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
23He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24"Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?"
25"Caesar's," they replied.
He said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
26They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.
Often when we are convicted by something or someone, we will try to find holes in what they say or who they are, so we won’t have to listen to them. The Pharisees were constantly trying to do this with Jesus. They thought if they could get him to say, “Don’t pay taxes to Caesar”, that they could label him as a tax evader.
Throughout church history this passage has been used to urge Christians to be honest citizens, pay their taxes, join the military when called upon etc… Of course there are times when the government mandates something that a Christian might feel is against the clear teaching of scripture. In these cases, a Christian might have to conscientiously object.
But generally we are to follow the laws of the state like everybody else, most of which are for the betterment of civic society. Luther’s doctrines of “Two Kingdoms” covered this topic. Of course this is not to be confused with conforming to the world’s value system, which is often in conflict with what Christ would do. The classic line is that Christians are to be “in the world but not of the world”.
Many of my friends are getting more and more concerned what is happening in government and other institutions like high education today. There is always the question of how much to get involved, or how much energy to invest to “fight the system” if one truly feels it is going in the wrong direction. I think it would be great if some of our best and brightest young men and women with Christian worldviews would pursue the transformation of both the political and corporate world. Many of our best schools like Yale, Harvard and Princeton were framed by those with a Christian worldview at their origin.
Maybe the time is now for believers to get more involved with the secular kingdom, while not forgetting to focus on God’s kingdom coming here on earth as it is in heaven. For we know that this world will one day pass away, but God’s kingdom will last forever. But in the meantime God calls us to be the salt and the light in the world!
God we know you call us to be your sons and daughters and set us apart to proclaim the Good News. You also call us to different vocations that will help bring Your kingdom into many of the world’s power structures. Raise up young men and women who want to bring godly values into our most important systems like education, business and government. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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