Luke
20:20 ¶ And they watched him, and
sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take
hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority
of the governor. 21 And they asked him,
saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither
acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute
unto Caesar, or no? 23 But he perceived
their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? 24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and
superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. 25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto
Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s. 26 And they could not take hold of his words
before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.
There is another incident with money that is worthy of mention
first in talking about this scene.
Matthew
17:24 ¶ And when they were come to
Capernaum, they that received tribute money
came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? 25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the
house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the
kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of
strangers? 26 Peter saith unto him, Of
strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. 27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them,
go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh
up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that
take, and give unto them for me and thee.
This is difficult for us who constantly fuss and fume about paying
our taxes to swallow. But, we as Christians, are to pay necessary taxes. There
is no call for us to overpay, though. And we certainly should elect
representatives who will honor our views on how much taxes and what kind should
be imposed. This world was not like that, though. There was no representative
government. Power was imposed from the top down. Jesus teaches that our focus
should be on His kingdom, not holding onto the money the state creates.
Here, in the passage in Luke 20, Jesus makes it quite clear that
there is a distinction between what the world imposes on us as its demands and
what God requires. We can no more say we have done what God commands by simply
giving money or paying our tribute than we can say we have honored our duty to
the state by praying to God.
There are things which define us as Christians and Caesar’s money
is not one of them. The responsibility that Caesar, our government in type,
lays on us in the form of demands on our money is in sharp contrast to what God
wants from us.
Micah
6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
Galatians
5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is
no law. 24 And they that are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
Society is run on a fraud that we buy into in order to live. Money
today is a fiction of 1s and 0s in a computer but as long as we all agree to
play by the fiction things keep moving. It is just like you and I thinking we
own our homes. Just try not paying your real estate taxes to see that Caesar,
in truth, owns your dwelling place.
God’s standards don’t require anyone to go along with them for
them to be real. When the whole world of man turns against God He is still in
control and we will still answer to Him. God is not like our banking and
economic system which suffered a collapse of sorts in 1929 or our
mortgage-lending system which came crashing down, in a manner of speaking, in
2008. He does not need everyone’s agreement to be real because we all answer to
Him even if we pretend the judgment on us in this life is simply bad luck or
oppression by others rather than a visit from God.
Render unto Caesar….Paul noted some things that we would do well
to try to sort out in our heads as Christians lest we waste our time on things
that do not commend us to God.
Romans
13:1 ¶ Let every soul be subject unto
the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are
ordained of God. 2 Whosoever therefore
resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall
receive to themselves damnation. 3 For
rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be
afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the
same: 4 For he is the minister of God to
thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not
the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth
evil.
5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for
conscience sake. 6 For for this cause
pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually upon
this very thing.
7 ¶
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear
to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 8
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another; for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For
this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is
briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his
neighbour: therefore love is
the fulfilling of the law.
11 ¶
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we
believed. 12 The night is far spent, the
day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put
on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk
honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and
wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for
the
flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
That being said, government would do well to exercise a light hand
lest it force its subjects to resist it. The more oppressive a government is
the more it becomes necessary to find ways around its rules, especially when
that very government pretends to be a representative one. But, we must remember
to whom we belong, who bought us with His own blood.
It was Augustus (Luke 2:1), the first emperor after the fall of
the Roman republic, who realized that there was a strong connection between his
sovereignty and the production of coinage. Julius Caesar, his adopted uncle,
had previously instituted the practice of placing his image on coinage, the
first time in Roman history that such a thing had been consistently practiced.
As the emperor began to embody the state and its policies the placing of the
emperor’s image on coins became an important part of the imperial cult,
denoting the emperor as a living god. These coins would have had the image of
Tiberius Caesar, the reluctant emperor, who spent part of his reign in a
self-imposed exile on the island of Capri.
The back of his coin had the words ‘Pontif Maxim’ or Supreme
Pontiff, a title given to Popes in the era in which we live but at that time
denoting the Roman emperor as the head of the pagan state religion of Rome.
Christ would have been referring to a coin with the image of a pagan high
priest on it as well as the emperor of that part of the world. We might think
there is little connection between such a ruler and a modern president or prime
minister. I’ll let you consider that. But, remember, in America the people as a
group are supposed to be king. Even if it is not that way in fact that is the
principle. Our president is a hired manager of sorts who works for a specific
period of time. He is not a high priest of a pagan religion and ruler of the
world who will pass his reign to his descendants. I’m saying that just to warn
you not to take my typology in the comments on this passage too far.
Luke 20:27 ¶ Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, 28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her to wife, and hedied childless. 31 And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. 34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. 37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
The Sadducees would be very understandable to us today. They were
spiritual without believing in the supernatural. They acknowledged nothing that
ordinary Christians today would acknowledge.
Acts
23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor
spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
There are many philosophical Christians today who think there is a
value in the fellowship of church, who acknowledge an idea of God, perhaps even
view Christ as a great teacher, even calling Him a savior, but they disregard
the teaching of the Bible as superstitious, quaint, and archaic. Christianity,
for them, is a cultural icon and a refuge in times of grief and stress but they
would reject the clear statements about the six days of creation, the parting
of the Red Sea, and perhaps even Christ’s resurrection from the dead and still
think of themselves as Christians.
The Sadducees are trying to trick Jesus into saying something
irrational or foolish but He puts a fact of Heaven to them that they did not
have a smart reply for. In Heaven the institutions and physical facts of
marriage and procreation will not be necessary. Spiritual beings do not experience
physical childbirth or conjugal sex. Whether you regard this as a disaster or
not is irrelevant. We will know each other in a more complete and important way
than the physical act of sex or the social requirement of marriage. All
believers, I feel confident, will be united in Christ in a way more profound
that the conjugal relationship of an existence in mortal flesh although I
sincerely hope and pray that my wife and I will always know and love each other
in a special way in eternity. God made our
marriage possible and sustained it against all odds. A marriage between a man and a woman is to be
like Christ and His church so we will see what God has in store for us.
Here, Christ says that there is no death in Heaven.
Revelation
21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more
pain: for the former things are passed away.
What does it mean to be equal
unto the angels?
John
5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more
to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God
was his Father, making himself equal
with God.
Philippians
2:6 Who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal
with God:
An angel is the presence of someone or something that is somewhere
else.
Isaiah
63:9 In all their affliction he was
afflicted, and the angel of his presence
saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and
carried them all the days of old.
Matthew
18:10 Take heed that ye despise not one
of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always
behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
Acts
12:13 And as Peter knocked at the door
of the gate, a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 14 And when she knew Peter’s voice, she opened
not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter stood before the
gate. 15 And they said unto her, Thou
art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it was even so. Then said they, It is
his angel. 16 But Peter continued
knocking: and when they had opened the door, and saw him, they were astonished.
For all intents and purposes it is that individual.
Judges
2:1 ¶ And an angel of the LORD came up
from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have
brought you unto the land which I sware unto your fathers; and I said, I will
never break my covenant with you.
Judges
13:21 But the angel of the LORD did no
more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of
the LORD. 22 And Manoah said unto his
wife, We shall surely die, because we have seen God.
Daniel 9:21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel,
whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
Luke 1:26 And in the sixth
month the angel Gabriel
was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
Galatians
4:14 And my temptation which was in my
flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even
as Christ Jesus.
Revelation 1:20 The mystery
of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden
candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the
seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Revelation
21:17 And he measured the wall thereof,
an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that
is, of the angel.
Angels are the spirits of people made perfect and
complete by the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith in Him in a spiritual body
that can never die.
Hebrews
12:23 To the general assembly and church
of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and
to the spirits of just men made perfect, 24
And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of
sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
In this passage Jesus says the children of the resurrection are
the children of God. Only those who are His can consider themselves His
children. As a spiritual body cannot die this suggests something, that those
suffering in the lake of fire in eternity will have an eternally dying and
suffering physical body.
Isaiah
66:24 And they shall go forth, and look
upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall
their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.
God’s children can never die, even though their flesh perishes
because we are not what our physical body is.
Job
19:26 And though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my
flesh shall I see God: 27 Whom I shall
see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins [internal
organs and experience of emotions and passion] be consumed within me.
John
10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
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