Welcome to our new site!

Sermon
The Gospel of Matthew

God, or Caesar?

Listen on

August 23, 2026
Matthew 22:15–22
Steven Lee
Pastor for Preaching & Vision

Transcript

0:17It's good as we gather once again under Matthew's tutelage, and as we look at Jesus teaching and in this foundational passage. Would you join me as we pray now and ask him for help? Father in heaven, would you use your word to transform us, your people, so that we would resemble more and more that of Christ, and that we would be fruitful and effective in this world for your glory and for your honor and for our good. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Throughout history, Christians have always wrestled with how to relate to their governing authorities. Christians have always wrestled with how to relate to their governing authorities.

1:17In the Book of Daniel, you remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They refused to bow and worship King Nebuchadnezzar's great statue. They were slaves in a foreign land, and yet they drew the line at idolatry, even with the threat of death. Or in the second century, there was Polycarp. It's not a type of fish. It's a man. He was a disciple or he knew the Apostle John in his youth. And the proconsul, he was arrested and the proconsul brought him before him as an old man, and he said, "Swear and I will set thee at liberty. Reproach Christ, curse Christ, and we'll let you go." And he famously answered, "80 and six years have I served him, and he never did me any injury. How then can I blaspheme my king and my savior?"

2:14Or in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. The Nazi regime attempted to bring the church under state control, and there was several Christians and denominations that came together, and the Barmen Declaration was written that refused to subordinate the church to the governing authorities. Or today, many Chinese Christians wrestle with how to live under the oppressive regime of the Communist Party. Or closer to home, during COVID, many of us were wrestling with how do we relate to our local and state and federal government and those various demands. These examples all highlight the age-old tension of how Jesus' disciples are to relate to governing authorities.

3:09We may be asking currently today, what do I do when my government appears corrupt or incompetent or immoral? Or what if my state government turned a large budget surplus into deficits and overspending? Just hypothetically. What if they allowed rampant fraud to take place? What if my state has some of the most pro-abortion policies in the world? How do I live as an earthly citizen with a heavenly allegiance? That's the question for us this morning. How do we live as those who are earthly citizens with a heavenly allegiance? And in our text, the Pharisees wield this tension to try to trap Jesus in his words, and Jesus ends up giving us one of the most foundational teachings on how we are to relate to our governing authorities.

4:02And Jesus doesn't answer every question, nor will we this morning, but he gives us perhaps something even better. He gives us a heavenly perspective on earthly tensions. So let me just remind us where we're at in our series through Matthew's Gospel. Matthew slows way down back in chapter 21 during this last and final week of Jesus' life. We had the triumphal entry. And then last week, we saw the third of three parables where Jesus condemns the Pharisees and the chief priests and the elders and all of the religious leaders, revealing that they're condemned, that they've rejected the Messiah. And this week, we have the first of four confrontations between Jesus and the religious leaders that are going to boil over in the woes that we see in chapter 23. If you look at verse 15, it says, "Then the Pharisees went." And then if you scroll down to verse 23, "Then the same day the Sadducees came to Jesus." And then if you look at verse 34, "Then the Pharisees heard that he silenced the Sadducees, and they came back."

5:09And then verse 41, "The Pharisees gathered together against Jesus." So first of four confrontations as Jesus engages the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The main point of our text this morning is that Caesar gets his, but God gets it all. Caesar gets his, but God gets it all. Or we could go directly from the text, verse 21, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." So we're going to examine this passage in three parts. First, there's the trap that is laid by the Pharisees, then we get the truth that Jesus teaches, and then third, we get the template for how we are then to live. How do we apply this text?

5:59So look with me at verse 15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Jesus in his words. The word for plotted here conveys this official assembly or even a council. And in the context, this makes sense. In those three parables, Jesus has just taken the Pharisees kind of behind the woodshed and pronounced judgment on them and told them, "You will end up in the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth." And so they were afraid of the crowds. They would not arrest Jesus, and so they regroup and try to figure out, what do we do? Now, look with me at verse 16. Here we get the plan. "They sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.'" So the Pharisees are carefully constructing this trap to get Jesus to incriminate himself. Notice first, the Pharisees send their disciples along with the Herodians.

7:11This is not Jesus' disciples. These are the Pharisees' disciples. In other words, Jesus knows we're out to try to trick him and trap him. Let's send some fresh faces that look like they're legitimate, genuinely seeking. Listen to how Luke 20:20 describes the same scene. Luke 20:20, "So the Pharisees watched Jesus, and they sent spies who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said." So they're sending these other folks undercover in order to trap Jesus. Now, who are the Herodians, and why are they brought along? The Herodians are this pro-Roman group, pro-Roman Jews, who supported Herod, hence the name Herodians. And they were political allies of Herod Antipas, who had arrested and executed John the Baptist. And so they're brought along to overhear Jesus. Maybe he's going to say something against Rome, maybe, "Don't pay your taxes," and then Herod will then have him arrested and then hopefully executed. That's the plan.

8:22So imagine two groups that hate each other, Republicans and Democrats, partnering together to oppose a common enemy, maybe the communists or something. This unlikely partnership is this picture of an enemy of my enemy is my friend. So Matthew's soundtrack, if we've been listening, grows to this new and ominous, dissonant tone. They're plotting together with outside groups in order to trap Jesus so that we can get him killed. And notice the flattery that they employ in verse 16. Look there. "Teacher, we know that you're true, you teach the way of God truthfully, you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances." This is the peanut butter on the mousetrap.

9:09We're going to catch him. This setup is to get Jesus to speak freely. Don't worry about who's listening in. Just speak your mind. We know that you don't care about what anyone else thinks. This undercover operation is to get Jesus in trouble. And the irony here is that they don't mean any of it, but all of it is true. Jesus is indeed the way and the truth and the life. He is the final interpreter of the law. He says, "You heard it said to you, but I say to you." Jesus is the one who is the truth. He doesn't care about human opinions. He only does the will of his Heavenly Father. So they're unknowingly stating what is indeed the truth.

9:58Now, the essential question is: what is the nature of the trap that's being set? What's the trap? Look with me at verse 17. "Tell us then, Jesus, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Now, the question is not whether it's legal or not. There was nothing in Roman or Jewish law that would've prevented it. The question is, it's not is it against the law, but is it right? Is it permissible for Jews to pay this tax of Roman oppressors? And if Jesus refuses to answer, the setup is, now you're swayed by human opinion. Oh, are you afraid? And if Jesus answers, "Yes, pay your taxes," the crowds are going to turn on him because they are expecting this Messiah that is going to liberate them from Roman occupation and free us from the boot on our neck.

10:51And if Jesus says, "No, don't pay your taxes," the Herodians are going to listen in and say, "Subversion, treason. Let's go tell Herod. Let's get him arrested. Let's get him executed." So the Pharisees can't arrest Jesus because of his popularity, and so if we can't arrest him, let's get the crowds to hate him or Herod to kill him. That's the picture of what's going on. The trap is laid. Now we come now to the truth, the truth that Jesus teaches. Look with me at verse 18. Jesus gives the response. "But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, 'Why do you put me to the test, you hypocrites?'" Let's pause there.

11:32Jesus knows their wicked intentions. Again, Matthew very subtly reminds us, this is not a mere man. This is the Lord of heaven and earth that the Pharisees are trying to trap. It's a futile endeavor. The word malice here connotes evil or wickedness. Now, in what way are they hypocrites? Jesus calls them hypocrites. In what way are they hypocrites? Well, hypocrisy is not merely an inconsistency or a misalignment between what you believe and what you do. I think in some ways, we all have some of that, where we believe better than we actually act. And we would say, "I believe, help my unbelief." What Jesus is calling out here, the hypocrisy, is this intentional deception. They pretend to seek the truth, but all they're trying to do is get Jesus' head on a platter.

12:26All of that flattery was a charade. It hides their murderous hatred. Now, look at verse 19. So Jesus says, "Show me the coin for the tax." And they brought to him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" And they said, "Caesar's." We'll pause there. Let me just give us a quick refresher on ancient taxes, in case you haven't studied those recently. The Jews had three types of taxes that they owed. The first was the temple tax. Back in Matthew chapter 17, Jesus was talking to his disciples whether they should pay the temple tax. The second type of tax would be indirect taxes, like sales tax or custom duties, things that we pay today.

13:16And then there was a third type of tax, which was a head tax paid by non-Roman citizens as tribute to Rome, because Rome had dominated the region. And this third tax is the one that is in view. And in that time, there was no national currency. Different regions would have had little copper coins, but there was a standard Roman silver coin called the denarius, made of silver. And workers used these coins, worth about a day's wage, in order to pay the head tax. During this period, the coin in circulation is the Tiberius denarius, and you can see it on the slide on the screen. It shows a portrait of Tiberius with a crown of leaves, and it carries an abbreviated inscription.

14:00So several words are missing, but this is what it translates to, "Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the divine Augustus." And you can probably go on eBay right now and buy this for, I don't know, 1,000 bucks or so. On the other side of the coin is a seated woman, the goddess of Pax, representing the Pax Romana. And the inscription on that side says, "Pontif maxim," which means high priest. You can kind of make out the words there. Pontif maxim means high priest, suggesting Tiberius as the divine high priest of Rome. Here is the second level of hypocrisy. Jews would have viewed these coins as idolatrous because of verses like Exodus 20 verse four from the Ten Commandments. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth." Or you can go to Exodus 20:23 or Deuteronomy 5:8.

15:01And so, the picture is Jesus says, "Well, show me the coin," which means the Pharisees would have pulled out this coin, and Jesus is saying, if you're willing to have his coin, you should be willing to pay his tax. If you're willing to have Caesar's money, you should be willing to pay Caesar's tax. And then Jesus' magnificent reply comes in verse 21. Look with me there. "Then he said to them, 'Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'" The brilliance of Jesus' reply is not just pay your taxes or don't pay your taxes. Jesus is teaching that there are earthly obligations and then there are greater heavenly obligations.

15:43Our loyalties and obligations have this hierarchy. We are to render to Caesar, but God alone is almighty. He's the sovereign ruler of all. As we saw even several weeks ago, Jesus is the cornerstone that will destroy every other kingdom on Earth. So the first half of Jesus' answer, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's," essentially means pay the tax. The word render could mean give back. In other words, give back to Caesar his coin when he asks for it. Pay your taxes. Fulfill your earthly obligations. Being a citizen of Christ's kingdom does not exempt us from earthly obligations. We have duties to secular authorities. And so, there's a very simple application here.

16:32Pay your federal, state, property, vehicle tabs, sales tax, even if our federal and state government wastes it. None of us should be arrested or prosecuted for tax evasion. One way we submit to God is by submitting to the government. Hear how Paul takes Jesus' teaching and then applies it. Romans 13, one through seven. I'm not going to read all of it, but Romans 13:1 says, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God." Your government has been instituted by God. He goes on in verse four to call the government a servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. And then in verse seven, "Pay to all what is owed to them, taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed."

17:35So Christians are to pay their taxes and to honor their earthly authorities because God has placed them there for us. Listen to how Peter takes Jesus' teaching. 1 Peter 2, this is 13 to 17. "Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good." Verse 17, "Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor." So God is first, but yet we still have these earthly obligations to local leaders. Local authorities, governing authorities. And this is remarkable considering how wicked the leaders, the emperor, would have been in this time.

18:28It's not just because they're so righteous, they're doing so good, you voted for them. No. It's because even though they're wicked, they have been instituted by God. In Colossians, Paul teaches bond servants to "Obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye service or people-pleasing, but with a sincerity of heart." Why? Because you fear the Lord. Do your work as if you were doing it for God himself. So submission to earthly authorities is a way in which we submit to Jesus Christ. Caesar gets his, but God gets it all. Now, before we get too bound up in that, let's not neglect the qualification in the second half. "Render to God the things that are God's." And so the primary question that comes up is, well, what belongs to God?

19:26What is God's? Well, back in verse 20, Jesus asked, "Whose likeness is on this coin?" It could be translated, whose image is on this coin? And if you're familiar, it kind of calls to mind Genesis 1:26. God says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, after our likeness." In other words, if Caesar's image is on the denarius, so he lays claim to it. But God's image is on all of humanity, and so he lays claim to all of us. We owe him everything. He is the sovereign Lord who has placed his image upon mankind. In other words, we owe a portion of our money to the government, but we owe God everything. Our hearts, our actions, our possessions, our lives.

20:20Everything that we are and everything that we possess belongs to God. Caesar can lay claim to your money, but we owe God our complete allegiance, our total loyalty, and our whole devotion. And because God has our ultimate allegiance, we have to make sure we get the order of these things right. If Caesar coins a new gospel, he is not to be obeyed. If the government tries to modify the North Church's member covenant and says, "We don't actually like how you wrote some things in here. We're going to give you some edits for you to have your body adopt." If they tell us how to conduct our services, if they tell us that we cannot meet, I think it's our obligation and duty to resist.

21:09If we're told that evangelism is illegal, we ought to respond like the early church in Acts 4:19. "Whether it's right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, but we cannot speak-- for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard." If what the Bible teaches about sexuality or gender or salvation becomes outlawed, we respond like Peter and the apostles in Acts 5:29. "We must obey God rather than men." And so our submission to the government is not a total wholehearted submission. It comes under our allegiance and our devotion and our submission to the Lord Jesus Christ, who demands it all.

21:57We pay our taxes, we honor our governing authorities, but we reserve our ultimate allegiance and loyalty to Christ. Like Shadrach and Meshach and Abednego, we render to Caesar until Caesar demands what belongs to God, and we should be prepared to pay the ultimate cost when those demands are made. One of my favorite verses, Revelation 2:10, provides an evergreen word for Christ's disciples. Revelation 2:10, "Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison that you may be tested, and for 10 days, you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life."

22:43Our allegiance to Jesus informs our submission to Caesar. Now, look with me at verse 22. Here's our conclusion of this confrontation. "And when they heard it, they marveled and they left him and went away." The word marveled there does not connote worshipful belief. It could have the connotation of disgust even. They're struck silent at Jesus eluding them once again. They can't arrest him, they can't trap him, they can't defeat him, and they're amazed at how they have been confounded once again. So we get Jesus' kind of pithy reply, which confounds the Pharisees, but we need to go deeper. How does this truth shape the way in which we live?

23:30So now we come to the template for how we live or the application, if you will. How do we apply render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's? We've talked about some of those things, but it doesn't address every question or nuance or situation, and I can't either. But I want to draw out three things, three ways we live as earthly and heavenly citizens. The first is give governing authorities what is owed. Give governing authorities what is owed. And here I don't just mean our taxes. Yes, pay our taxes. Yes, we are to honor earthly authorities. We're honoring the emperor. I think that translates in how we talk about those in government.

24:15But the third thing I want to draw out in giving governing authorities what is owed is highlighted in 1 Timothy 2 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. For who? For kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. So we are to pray for kings and those who are in high positions with this twofold purpose. The first we love, that we would live peaceful and quiet lives. I just want to be left alone, not to be taxed so I have to leave the state. I just want a peaceful life.

25:14And the second is so that God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved, and that many would come to the knowledge of the truth, so that people would get saved. That there would be such a context where people would turn to the living God and come to the saving knowledge of the truth. And so, when I say give to our governing authorities what is owed, I think this means that we, as Christian citizens of this country, ought to engage in the political sphere. So we should learn about our candidates. Some of you should prayerfully consider running for city council or the school board or being a senator or representative and working down in St. Paul.

26:03Some of you should go to city council meetings and speak out about issues that are important. You should pray for your local and state leaders to make Minnesota a great place to live. Peaceful, quiet. Maybe we would stop showing up in the national news as much as we do. People are going to knock on your doors in these next couple of weeks. And your inclination is to put out that No Solicitors sign. "Ah, leave me alone." I think you should open the door, and I think you should talk to them. I think you should invite them to church, and I think you help them understand a biblical worldview on some of the hot topics and pressing issues that our state is facing. I recently had a conversation with someone running for office in my city, and we talked through his positions on several issues.

26:55We sat on the front stoop and it was probably a 15, 20-minute conversation, longer than he probably planned, but that's okay. And at one point, he used the phrase, "Well, just love is love." It's one of the lies that we've been looking at on Wednesday night, and so I had an opportunity to talk about that with him. I invited him to church, and I challenged him to consider a different view from his own. I don't think I convinced him of anything, and yet I think we're called to engage. And so let me make a challenge that I have not yet done yet. Every time you drive by and see a political sign, pray for those people to get saved.

27:32There are tons of those signs everywhere. And yet pray. Pray that they would get saved, and then they would enter office, and they would rule justly, and they would honor God. I don't know how this state turns it around. I know some of you are looking at real estate in Florida and Arizona and South Dakota, and my encouragement is stay. This is what we're here for. When I moved to Minnesota from California, I thought, "Good, I can get away from the high taxes and crazy politics." Boy, was I wrong.

28:15And some of us feel like Minnesota politics is hopeless, and my hope does not bank on who gets into the governor's office this next year. We need to remember, God is on His throne. We sang it in almost every song this morning. He's sovereign. He's ruling and reigning from on high. He is causing all things to work together for good for His people, and it might mean severe suffering, and yet God is still on the throne. He loves to use His people in moments of crisis so that He can display His all-surpassing power for the good of His people. Amen? Amen. So don't lose heart in doing good. Second application, give God what is owed. First was give governing authorities what is owed. Second, give God what is owed.

29:13Well, what's owed to God? Everything. Well, if it's everything, then it's nothing. How do I actually live that out? Well, God is owed our lives, our submission, our obedience, our heart, our mind, our soul, and our strength. And our submission to earthly authorities flows from our submission to King Jesus. So whether we eat or whether we drink, whatever we do, we do all for the glory of God. And so this is not just our money, though I think we should give. This is not just our possessions, but our lives and our time and our energy. And so what does this look like? What does it look like on Monday for you to submit to God whom you owe everything?

29:57I think it's this. For most of us, it means we submit to lesser authorities as if we were submitting to Christ Himself. Because that's where we live most of our life. A wife is to submit to her husband as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands are to love their wives as Christ Himself sacrifices for the church. Children are to obey their parents as if they were obeying the Lord. Employees are to carry out their work as if they were not just serving their boss, but as if they were serving Christ Himself. In the church, you're to obey and submit to your leaders, for they're keeping watch over your soul.

30:38And those who are called to lead and to teach are to beware to not disqualify themself because of hypocrisy. And so, for most of us, this looks like serving and leading and submitting to those in our families and workplaces and communities. So submission to God means we serve others like we would serve Christ himself. Your boss, maybe a parent, maybe is unworthy of your submission, and yet you're going to give it because Christ himself has placed them there for this moment. I think it also means when we give God what is owed, is that Jesus' disciples have a duty to resist when the government demands what only God gets.

31:29When the government infringes upon our worship of Christ. There may be times when our government will call what is evil, good, and good, evil, and we should resist going along just to get along. We should stand firm and speak the truth in love. When the government overreaches into the church, we resist. We pursue every legal means of recourse. When the government oversteps a parent's authority in the family, we fight to protect our children. We speak out against injustice. We resist tyranny, and we combat immorality, first by praying, but also by speaking out to those in authority. So our humble submission to Christ means we boldly and courageously tell our legislators we want them to protect girls' sports and to not let biological boys play in them. We tell legislators that allowing adult bathhouses in Minneapolis is both immoral and a public health risk. We are to be so heavenly-minded, we are of much earthly good.

32:37Third application. And remember, in all of this, God is sovereign over all. God is sovereign. The government has limited authority over a restricted sphere, and God has unlimited authority over an unrestricted sphere. And so don't lose sight that God is Lord, that Jesus is seated on his throne, ruling and reigning on high. And the Pharisees, when it all shook out, they marveled, but it did not lead to worship. And yet this morning, God has imprinted on every single person his image. Your DNA, the fact that you have unique fingerprints, shows that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by an all-powerful creator.

33:34He's formed your inward parts. He knit you together in your mother's womb, and he has numbered your days. And if we're honest, we instinctively know that life is so much more than just eating and drinking and then dying. But we want to live lives of significance and meaning. We want to partake in and discover and create things that are good and right and true and beautiful. And the invitation this morning is to marvel, not like the Pharisees, who went back and schemed some more so that they could get Jesus arrested, but to marvel this morning that Jesus Christ is Lord. He rules and reigns on high. He is constructing all things for his glory, and each and every single one of us get to reflect who he is in this world for his glory.

34:25So the invitation is to come to Jesus this morning as the way and the truth and the life. He does indeed teach the way of God truthfully. He's not swayed by human opinion. And to come and bow the knee to King Jesus. And someday, every single emperor, every single king or queen or prime minister or president, dictator or tribal chief will come to the rude awakening that though they can put their image on a coin, God has put his image on them, and they must bow the knee. Someday, every single knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

35:17Amen. And in the meantime, let's live as if that reality has taken root in our hearts and minds so that we give Caesar what's due, but we give God everything. Amen? Amen. Let's pray. Father, I'm keenly aware that we live in challenging times. And I pray, Father, that the church would rise up in a moment like this, not in boastful arrogance, but in prayerful trust, as we look to our sovereign God, who rules over all and who has placed us here to be salt and light, to stop the moral decay of this country or of our state. And so I pray that you would make us fruitful and effective here in this state, steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that our labors in the Lord are never in vain.

36:29So make us those who love you and that are used by you for much good here and to the very ends of the earth. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Jump to live

Jump to live

Sermon Text

Matthew 22:15–22

Previous
NEXT
Phone
(612) 455-0800
Email
info@thenorthchurch.com
Address
5151 Program Ave,
Mounds View, MN 55112
AboutI'm NewBeliefsLeadershipSundaysWednesdays
ConnectMinistriesEventsNorth UpdateGroup Finder
ResourcesBusiness DirectoryLibrarySeminars & ConferencesWeddings & FuneralsJob Opportunities
AccountHouseholdGroupsGivingLog Out
Copyright © 2026 The North Church. All rights reserved.
Staff LoginPrivacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsSite by Volente

Connect

Submit

Thank you!
Your submission has been received.
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.