Pastor Michael Harman
St. Peter Lutheran Church - Newell, IA
http://stpeterlutheran-newell-iowa.weebly.com/
vacancies at...
First Evangelical Lutheran - Fonda, IA
Immanuel Lutheran Church - Pomeroy, IA
1 John 3:1a Behold! What manner of love the Father has lavished upon us,
that we should be entitled: children of God! And so: we are!
(Here’s the key sentence for the sermon.) God works in the world for the good
of His people, even using pagans and evil persons for our eternal good.
October 16, 2011
Matthew 22:15-22
We pray in the Collect today, asking God to have mercy on us as our Ruler and
Guide. Why? So we pass thru things temporal, or things of this world, so that
we do not lose the things eternal: in this case politics vs. eternal life.
That’s a prayer that is reflected in the Introit, the Old Testament lesson
from Isaiah 45, and especially the Gospel reading. The Pharisees are a club of
men who work hard to keep the commandments. You should too. But their concern
went haywire. They believed HOW they kept the Laws gave them a place in God’s
Kingdom. They argued about the best ways to do this. Some of what Jesus said
had been said by other rabbis. But He taught that such purity did not earn
them a spot in heaven; rather it earned hell. Faith alone saves. Obedience to
the Law is an outcome, or a fruit of faith. It is a desire to show the love
you have for God; not love itself.
His teaching upset them on many levels. Now, He taught and acted directly
against them. The Man had to be stopped.
The Pharisees sent their disciples to Jesus to ask a question. There were
also a group of political men called the Herodians; they wanted to return to
the times without Rome or Pontius Pilate, and have King Herod rule. The
Herodians were afraid that Jesus might cause a revolt, then Rome would send
more soldiers. They devised a test.
Rome had a census tax under Quireneius, which caused unrest about 6BC.
Judas of Gamala (or Galilee) led a revolt in 6AD when a second tax was issued.
Pontius Pilot had minted a coin for a new census that had Caesar’s face on one
side and words on the other: going against Jewish laws. He quickly had a
different coin minted which was less offensive. But even the idea of a census
was offensive to many Jews.
So it was a hot topic at the Jerusalem equivalent of the elevator and
Casey’s and Sparky’s as people gathered for coffee or whatever. If they had
Facebook or Twitter, it would have been posted and tweeted, too.
The Pharisees wanted the census and Rome gone, so if Jesus said, “don’t
pay taxes”, Roman soldiers would remove Him and crucify Him. But if He said,
“pay the census tax,” Jesus would be siding with Rome. The people would turn
against Him and He would go away. Either way, (either answer) both the
Herodians and the disciples of the Pharisees were SURE they would win.
They flattered Him, saying He was true, and His teaching was truth, and He
spoke God’s opinion not the crowds’. He wasn’t like a politician who might say
one thing to the base and another to the masses. Up to this point, truer words
had never been spoken about Jesus by His enemies!
Generally if someone butters you up - what happens next? Look out! It
isn’t good!
Jesus wasn’t told from out-side. He saw it coming. He realized their
hypocrisy and the trap. But you fall into the same trap regularly, don’t you?
You make a monthly budget. You figure up so much for quarterly taxes or
FICA, so much for property taxes, for food, clothes, transportation, school,
vacations, and other categories. Maybe there’s some left to give to charity or
the church. Is that you? You are like the Herodians.
Ah! Perhaps you give first to God. You give a tithe, 10%, off the top.
And you are thinking like a Pharisee.
The word render here has the idea of restoring something to the owner.
Hog fat is not much use as-is, but it can be rendered into useful lard for pie
crusts. To render a translation means restore the idea in a different language
for the owner.
The coin used to pay the tax belonged to Rome, not the person paying the
tax. But there is a bigger issue here.
Who created the universe? The LORD did. It belongs to Him. Men mined
metals, created artwork, chose words, made molds for the liquid metals,
distributed them, and collected them in the name of Rome. BUT! These are
all-points in between - God’s.
Paul reminds us in Romans 13 ALL authorities come from God, and breaking
their laws can be like resisting God (except when men’s rules go against God’s
- Acts 5:29). Jesus Himself tells Pilate that he has no authority except that
which is given to him by God (John 19:11).
In Isaiah 45, the pagan king of Persia is told God will raise him up to do
God’s bidding, even tho Cyrus won’t admit it. (See also Daniel 2:23.) Even
Satan is restrained (Job 1:12). So are all leaders today, even those who
aren’t Christian.
God does not say, “give Me a tithe.” All your money, land, clothes,
skills, and even your life already belongs to Him. It is not your life or your
choice. From conception to eternity, it is always God’s. He owns the
governments over us and around us, and all things. No political party owns God.
God USES governments and individuals for the good of His most prized
possession: the church. He does not act for the Herodians’ lust for power, or
the Pharisees’ desire for jihad (righteousness); or for your health, your
wallet, your desires, your family, or anything else except your faith and the
Christian faith of others around you.
God used pagan Pharaoh, Cyrus, and Caesar Augustus to make sure His
Salvation would be born in Bethlehem. He used both unbelieving Caesar Tiberius
and Pontius Pilate to make certain your Deliverance hung on a Roman cross to
fully pay for your sins, mine, and all the world’s sins.
God intervenes in world affairs and in your personal life for the good of
your soul; and others. He uses horrible events like wars, depressions, riots,
famines, diseases, and such to show us our sins and failures; OR to loosen our
trust in the things and people of this world; OR provide openings for us to
show mercy and witness to the world (LWML); or some other reasons that we won’t
understand this side of eternity (see Job 38).
To render a tithe to God and expect Him to bless you is like robbing a
bank but giving the bank president a tip before you leave. (Attention readers
- think about it a while and you’ll see what I mean). All things belong to
God. Even if you gave 100% - including your life - you would still not be
giving God anything that was not His already. Genuine Christians do not give
to God to BE blessed; we give BECAUSE we ARE blessed, we ARE loved, we ARE
forgiven, we ARE His children, and it is our response of love for Him.
So also, your actions in the civil realm are a response of your love for
God. You vote for the person you feel will serve God best; and whoever wins,
God will use them to serve Himself and His people: even when your guy doesn’t
win. You pay taxes and follow laws to show God honor and obey the 4th
Commandment. Here in the USA, God permits laws to voice dissent and protest
within legal limits: even the Occupy Wall Street people, or the Tea Party, or
Libertarians, or Unions. God owns the world: even rebellious, hell-bound
sinners whom He wants to repent and believe in Jesus.
Synopsis:
Render unto Caesar? Yes. The obedience and respect a Christian shows a
government is a reflection of their love for God - Who is over them. That
includes Christians who serve in local, state, national, and planetary
governments - and who are accountable to God for how they serve or perform.
But render unto God the things that are God’s. All honor, power, glory,
authority, and salvation are His. (Here’s the key sentence for the sermon.)
God works in the world for the good of His people, even using pagans and evil
persons for our eternal good. Just as God used these very same Herodians,
Pharisees, Roman officials, and other unbelievers to put Jesus on the cross for
your salvation: so the LORD God will use light and darkness, well-being and
calamity to serve Him and strengthen your faith (as promised in Isaiah 45).
Yes! Let us render to God praise by loving our neighbors, support
preaching the Gospel everywhere, and using talents God has given each of us in
His kingdom of grace.
God has chosen you by His grace. He has given you the Good News of
absolute pardon and peace in Christ. He has called you to be His own dear
child. He will raise us up from the dead and deliver us from the wrath to come
(Epistle). To Him we render all praise!
Psalm 121; Isaiah 45:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10; Matthew 22:15-22
O God, the Protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us (so) that with
You as our Ruler and Guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose
not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, Who lives and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
LSB 787 The Temple Rang with Golden Coins
LSB 783 Take My Life and Let It Be
LSB 781 We Give Thee But Thine Own
_______________________________________________
Sermons mailing list
[email protected]
http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
