Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's

 

Reflection Sunday 18^th October 2020

 

 You may recall from your history lessons that one of the main reasons for the American colonies breaking away from Great Britain was a dispute over taxes. “No taxation without representation” was the slogan.

 A similar attitude could have been found in first century Palestine. Palestine was a Roman colony, and the Jews were paying taxes that supported the army and government that occupied their country. For many Jewish people this was grossly unfair.

But as at the time of the American Revolution when some in the Colonies were loyal to George III, there were some in Palestine who supported the Romans. These were the Herodians. As their name suggests they were followers of King Herod Antipas – a puppet king installed by the Romans.

 In many respects the leaders of the opposition to the Romans were the Pharisees. These were committed to knowing every detail of Jewish law and they opposed paying tax to Caesar for religious reasons. Their objection was based less on the fact of the occupation, and more on the special coin that had to be used to pay the tax. This coin carried an image of the Emperor and the inscription “the divine Caesar”. The Pharisees saw the use of the coin as violating the first and second commandments.

 Normally the Pharisees and Herodians did not cooperate. But on this occasion, they saw an opportunity to join forces to remove Jesus from the scene. And this came about by posing the question “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” The Pharisees hoped Jesus would say “Yes” so that they could label him as a Roman sympathiser. The Herodians hoped he’s say “No” so they could label him as a traitor. No matter which he answered the question, it looked as if Jesus was trapped.

 Jesus’ answer ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’ was brilliant. Jesus made it clear that his followers have a dual allegiance; both to the teachings and commands of God but also to the government under whose laws we live.

Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’ is not just a question of economics or politics. It is a question of conscience. What do we do when our allegiance to “Caesar” conflicts with our allegiance to Christ? What should Christians do when the God we serve and the government to which we owe allegiance, are pulling us in different directions?

Jesus seems to be saying that neither “side” outweighs the other. Therefore, Christians should render what is due to Caesar and God until they come to the point where obedience to one, leads to a moral conflict with the other. Jesus’ answered in a way that places believers in the position of having to balance their responsibilities as citizens of both the earthly realm, and the heavenly realm.

The issue for most people in the twenty first century is not really about paying taxes as much as it is about paying attention to what their government is doing. In fact, Christians should see the payment of tax as the right thing to do. In 2018 the Methodist Church Central Finance Board published a paper on this topic and in it said: “The payment of tax is a contribution to the common good that enables a state to provide a range of public services for the benefit of all. It is the position of the Church that individuals and corporate bodies have an ethical obligation to obey the spirit, as well as the letter of the law on tax.”

https://www.cfbmethodistchurch.org.uk/ethics/position-papers/cfb-tax-justice-position-paper.html

And as much as anything this is a reminder that we as Christians we should challenge Governments to clamp down on those very wealthy individuals and companies that seek to avoid taxes.

But as I was saying, the issue is not so much about paying taxes, but about weighing up what we as Christians are called to do by Christ against what governments are doing. It is when our consciences are pricked by other levels of government activity that the passage about rendering unto Caesar and rendering unto God takes on real meaning. 

Should Christians remain silent on the subject of refugees? Should Christians remain silent on environmental issues? Should Christians remain silent on modern day slavery?

These, and many other issues, speak to the places where this passage of scripture challenges us today. Of course, there are devout Christians on both sides of many of these issues. And some things are not clear cut. As I’ve said, the question raised by this passage is not whether or not we should pay taxes but rather, as Christians what do we expect from our government in return for the taxes we pay? Do we or don’t we expect our government to act ethically? (And I am talking about ANY government not just the current one.)

This has never been an easy issue, but Christians have never been excused from engaging with it.

Pastor Martin Niemöller he was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor. He is best known for his opposition to the Nazi regime during the late 1930s. Although he initially supported the Nazis, he became one of the founders of the “Confessing Church”, which opposed the Nazification of German Protestant churches. For his opposition to the Nazis' state control of the churches, Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945.  He narrowly escaped execution.

 

After his imprisonment, he expressed his deep regret about not having done enough to help the victims of the Nazis. He famously said the following in a post war speech:

 

First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
     Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

For me, these words are reminder of how important it is for Christians not to remain silent when governments seek to act in ways that are contrary to the values of God’s kingdom. Yes we must ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s’ but we must also always be ready to ‘Give back to God what is God’s’