The Answers of Authority

Transcript

Let us turn now to God’s Word. Please turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 12. We’ll be reading verses 1 through 17. Mark chapter 12 verses 1 through 17. And as you turn, just take a moment to feel the weight that God has spoken to us and that he’s here through his Word to change us. Mark writes, and Jesus began to speak to them in parables. A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower and leased it to the tenants and went into another country. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again, he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him

shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed, and so many others. Some they beat, and some they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, they will respect my son. But those tenants said to one another, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture? The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. And they were seeking to arrest him, but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. And they sent to him some of

— Mark 12

(ESV)

the Pharisees and some of

the Herodians to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not? But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius, and let me look at it. And they brought him one. And he said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar’s. And Jesus said to them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at him. This Trinity

— Mark 12

(ESV)

Church is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Allegory of Authority

Good morning. Thank you, Ryan. Before we get started, can we take a moment just to pray? Maybe turn my mic down just a little bit, if that’s okay. I feel like I’m a little loud, and I’m already loud. So let’s pray. Father, we come again this morning seeking to know more about Jesus. And we confess, Father, that in order to do that, we need the help of the Holy Spirit. And so we pray, Father, that you would give us that help. May the Holy Spirit guide us into wisdom. May the Spirit guide us into truth. May the Spirit stir our affections and reveal the beauty and the power and the authority and long-suffering and the majesty and the love of our Savior Jesus. Meet us here this morning, we pray. In Christ’s name, amen. Well, this morning, you may have noticed as you were reading along with Ryan that

we will be looking at two popular passages in Mark’s gospel. These sections are often referred to as the parable of the tenant and paying taxes to Caesar. In fact, that’s what your headings might say in your Bible. Now, these sections could be preached as separate sermons because they’re both weighty passages. But I’m going to preach them as one sermon this morning in two acts. And the reason why I’m going to preach this as one sermon is because they’re both very much connected to the theme that we looked at last week, the animosity of absolute authority. And because both passages are predicated on the question that the religious leaders asked Jesus last week. So if you remember, and you could quickly look with me at chapter 11 verse 28, the question that the religious leaders threw at Jesus to trap him. They asked Jesus, by what authority are you doing

these things? Or who gave you this authority to do them? But Jesus, not falling for their trap, sidesteps their question and gives them a counter question. He’s boxing with these men. And so Jesus asks them, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? And the religious leaders, understanding the implications of answering Jesus’s counter question truthfully, respond in verse 33 with, we don’t know. And Jesus said to them, neither will I tell you what authority I do these things. And so last week, our text ended with Jesus not answering their questions concerning his absolute authority. But this week, our passage begins with Jesus’s implicit response to the religious leaders question in verse 28. And so it’s here in these two acts where we see the answers of absolute authority. So in act one, we’ll look at the allegory of authority, and that’s in verses 1 through 12, which primarily focuses on spiritual authority.

And then in act two, we’ll look at the allegiance of authority in verses 13 through 17, which focuses primarily on earthly authority. And really my hope this morning for us is that we walk away from this text with a greater view and a greater confidence in God’s absolute authority over heaven and earth. And so let’s begin in act one with the allegory of authority. Verse 1, and he began to speak to them in parables. Here Jesus begins to answer the questions concerning his spiritual authority, but he does it in the form of a parable. Now a couple things before we dive in. First, is why does Jesus use parables to begin with? Well throughout the Gospels, parables are used by Jesus to both reveal and conceal truth. So he reveals truth to those who are seeking after Jesus, and he conceals truth from the Pharisees because they’re in

opposition to Jesus. So in almost all of Jesus’s parables, he’s hiding truth from the Pharisees. But with this particular parable this morning, for the very first time, Jesus uses this parable not to hide truth, but to reveal truth to the Pharisees, so that they can understand exactly what he’s saying, but in a way that sidesteps their wicked schemes. And secondly, notice that Jesus initiates the conversation. They’ve been pushing Jesus to answer this question, where does your authority come from? And Jesus originally refused, but now Jesus offensively begins pushing them on the issue of authority, and he does this by using a parable, or what we might call an allegory. But it’s not just a simple allegory, some made-up story out of nowhere. Jesus is far too creative to just make up some fictitious, disconnected story to deal with these religious leaders, and so what he does in his wisdom and creativity is he stitches

this allegory together with this prophetic song from the book of Isaiah entitled the Vineyard Song. And this really is creative, once you see what Jesus is doing here. And in order to get the full picture, the full scope of this, we have to dig a little bit. So let’s first start by looking at the second half of verse 1 to see how Jesus sets up his parable, and then we’ll dive into the Vineyard Song. Verse 1, a man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower. So that’s how Jesus sets up his parable. Now, while keeping your place in Mark, I want you to turn with me over to the book of Isaiah, to chapter 5, beginning in verses 1 and 2. Isaiah, chapter 5, verse 1 and 2. And here is the song that Jesus uses as a

springboard for his parable, and as we read it, I want you to listen for the similarities.

Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it, and cleared it of stones, and planted it with a choice vines. He built a watchtower in the midst of it, and he hewed out a wine vat in it, and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.

— Isaiah 5

(ESV)

So in Isaiah, you see the owner planted a vineyard. And what did he do? He cleared it of stones, he dug it out, he built a watchtower in the midst of it. That’s almost exactly how Jesus begins his parable. So there’s no doubt that Jesus is referencing this song in his parable. The question is, why? Why does Jesus do it? Well, to understand this, we have to first set some context for this

vineyard song. This vineyard song is a prophetic song. It’s all about God’s blessing and judgment. The song has two principal characters, God, who is the vineyard owner, and the people of God, Israel, who are the vineyard. And the movement of this song starts with God’s meticulous care and providence and protection over Israel, the vineyard, but then quickly moves into this statement about wild grapes. And what does the wild grapes represent? Israel’s idolatry and injustice. The wild grapes are bad fruit. And then, if you move to verse 5, you get the final chorus of the song, which is God’s judgment for the bad fruit. Isaiah 5.5, and now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured. I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. Okay? He goes on to talk about the destruction that he will do to

the vineyard. So what begins with this beautiful song of provision and protection quickly ends in God’s judgment. And his prophetic song is actually what came to pass. God did, in fact, judge Israel for its idolatry and its injustice, its bad fruit, by removing Israel’s protection or hedge. And without God’s protection, Israel was made captive to the Babylonians. And this lasted for about 70 years. Now, because this left such a dark stain on Israel’s history, every Jew would be familiar with this vineyard song. And so Jesus, in his wonderful wisdom, he takes this vineyard song, this prophetic pop song, and he gives it a bit of a remix. And Jesus uses this remix to directly answer those who are questioning his authority. And so now, having a bit of context about this song, let’s move back to Mark to begin to break down this parable into smaller

pieces. Let’s look at verse 1 again. A man planted a vineyard, and put a fence around it, and dug a pit for the wine press, and built a tower, and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. Now, we just got to take another quick dive here. In order to grasp the full scope of this parable, you have to understand the business structure and business relationship between vineyard owners and tenant farmers, okay? Trust me, this will make sense. The owner of the vineyard would be the one to financially underwrite the business. He provided the land, made sure that it had fertile soil. He provided all the resources to care and set up the wine business. His investment and contribution to the business deal was the land and the money. That was it. He was not concerned with the daily workings of the vineyard. He didn’t want to be. And so, what they

would typically do is they would hire tenant farmers to work the land, and this would ensure a crop that would yield a good harvest. Now, these tenant farmers, they weren’t just simple employees. They were business partners. Their investment and contribution to the business deal, though less financial, was more labor and sales. And so, after about four or five years, when the vineyard had sufficient time to grow and produce a harvest, the tenant would sell the harvest, and then the owner would send a servant to collect his share of the profit. And another interesting fact is it’s commonly known among these kind of business deals that if somehow the owner died and did not have an heir to carry on the family business, then the vineyard would be turned over to the tenant farmers. And this was kind of like labor protection for them, so that they would get the

money for all of their many years of labor and investment. So now, having a brief overview concerning first century wine business, you can go start your own wine business. But having that framework, let’s pick up the parable in verse 2. When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard, meaning the money, the profit. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. So now, imagine for a second Jesus telling these religious leaders this parable. Can you imagine what these so-called righteous and religious leaders are thinking? How dare this tenant farmer do such a wicked thing? Beat the servant and then steal the money from the owner? In their mind, they would be thinking this is outrageous. And at this point, they would be fired up with righteous judgment and indignation towards the

tenant farmer. And rightfully so, because it is wicked. But then Jesus continues this parable in verse 4. Again, he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others, some they beat and some they killed. Well now, imagine what the Pharisees are thinking as they hear this. What’s going on in their mind? At first, they’re shocked at the actions and the attitude of the religious leaders, or the tenant farmers. But now, they’re beginning to question the wisdom of the vineyard owner. If they beat the first servant, then why in the world would you send another one? And if they beat the second and sent him away shamefully, but then you sent another and they ended up killing him, you would be straight up foolish to continue sending more servants. What in the world is this vineyard owner

doing? No one in their right mind would continue to send servants, especially if they keep getting killed. And so the story quickly shifts focus from the action of the tenant farmers to the actions of the owner. How many people will this owner send to these tenant farmers, these sociopaths? But Jesus continues in verse 6.

He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally, he sent him to them, saying, they will respect my son. And this here might have been the breaking point for the religious leaders. The owner sends his beloved son. The owner is obviously insane. No one would do that. No fruit and no vineyard is worth giving up your son for. And so now the religious leaders are likely waiting on pins and needles trying to see what happened to this son. And in verse 7, we see what happened to the beloved son. But the tenants said to one another, this is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours. And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. So not only do the tenant farmers not respect the owner’s son, but they go so far as to kill him

and throw him out of the vineyard. And again, the reason why they kill the son is because he’s the heir of the vineyard. And we know in this type of business, if you get rid of the heir, if you kill the son, you would have the authority to do anything you wanted with the vineyard.

Understanding the Characters

So the characters in this parable should be relatively easy to figure out. But just for clarity’s sake, let me break it down for us. Just like the vineyard song, the owner of the vineyard is the Lord and Israel, God’s chosen people, are the vineyard. But in the parable, the tenant farmers of the vineyard are the religious leaders, those entrusted to care, protect, and to grow the vineyard, God’s people. The servants are the prophets of God, the ones consistently sent by God, but are over and over again shamed, beaten, and killed by the tenant farmers. And this is exactly what happened throughout human history with the prophets. God sends the prophets, they shame, they beat, and they kill the prophets. And obviously, the beloved son, well, that’s Jesus, who is ultimately killed by the tenant farmers or the religious leaders. And this is why last week, if you remember, when Jesus was asked about his authority, and Jesus referenced the baptism

of John, why does Jesus do this? Because at the baptism of John, what was it that the father spoke from heaven? This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. And you see the beautiful and creative wisdom of Jesus who ties together this motif of the beloved son to accuse the religious leaders. And it’s in verses nine where Jesus breaks out of the parable to reveal his absolute authority. Jesus asks the religious leaders, what will the owner of the vineyard do? Having considered this incomprehensible evil of the tenant farmers, having killed his beloved son, Jesus asks, what should the owner do? It’s clear the religious leaders would have been thinking that the only reasonable and biblical response to this atrocity, to this gross injustice is capital punishment. It would have been thinking in the category of Levitical law, whoever kills a person should be put to death. They would have been thinking about the vineyard song that Jesus

prompted them with. You see, it’s a rhetorical question from Jesus. He already knows their answer, which is why in the second half of verse nine, he says he will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. It sounds similar to Isaiah 5, 5, but instead of destroying the vineyard, he destroys the tenants. And it’s likely at this precise moment where the religious leaders put the parabolic dots together. They know what Jesus was referencing with this vineyard song. They’ve pieced together the motif of the beloved son. I mean, after all, they’ve heard that Jesus has considered himself or claimed to be the son of God. And so it all makes sense. Oh, he’s talking about us. We’re the tenants in this story. He’s calling us out. And really, how could they not know this? I mean, they’re literally trying to kill Jesus. And you see the irony in this whole exchange.

Jesus depicts them in the story as the tenants who kill him, and they know it’s about them because they are right now in the process of literally trying to kill him. But Jesus says something at the end of this verse that is very important, not just for the religious leaders to understand, but for us to understand this morning. At the end of the verse, he says, the owner, the one with the authority over the vineyard, will not only destroy the tenants, but he will give the vineyard to other tenants. And what does that imagery mean? It means that God will destroy those who have abused their authority to hurt God’s people. Not just the religious leaders, but anyone who spiritually abuses their authority, he will destroy them, crush them, and he will give that authority to others who will use that authority not to hurt people, but to help people.

And there’s something that I really want you to see here. And hear me. God’s response to the abuse of authority is not to do away with authority. Meaning just because people abuse authority doesn’t make authority something to run away from. No, he judges it. He judges it. He destroys it. He destroys them, and then he gives that authority to others who use that authority righteously. This is why, brothers and sisters, even though we live in a world where people abuse their authority, I can confidently call you to live under the authority of your pastors in the same way that I myself am submitted to the authority of our pastors. So long as they use that authority in a way that looks like Jesus. And listen, I know that this might be hard for some of you to hear. For some of you, the very idea of spiritual authority, having pastors have authority over

you makes you sick to your stomach because you placed yourself under the authority of a pastor and they’ve hurt you, or they’ve deceived you. Sadly, I know exactly how that feels. I’ve been manipulated by a pastor before. I’ve been completely deceived by a pastor before. My whole world has been flipped upside down, and I’ve experienced the most incredible pain because of the abuse of a pastor. The kind of pain that doesn’t heal easily, not with time, not with therapy.

But God, in his kindness to me and to the church, dealt with that former pastor. God took him out of the church and took away his authority and gave that authority to others who have consistently used that authority to care for my soul, to take care of my family, to consistently use that authority to care for my soul and to care for this church.

Just like a reckless physician who, instead of helping patients, ends up hurting patients, that man will eventually get his license removed. His authority to practice medicine must be removed, taken away, so that he cannot hurt any more people. But the truth is, we still need physicians. Most physicians actually desire to help people. You see, even though the patient has very deep scars because of a bad physician, they still need physicians, not only to help with their previous wounds, but also to help with the hurt and pain that came from their abusive physician. And brothers and sisters, so it is with pastors. And this is why, despite my own baggage and despite my own pain, I have humbly submitted myself under the authority of Greg, and Jan, and Ryan, and Christian,

and by the end of the service, Andrew. Because the God who has absolute authority calls me, as a Christian, to live under the authority of my pastors, to help me navigate my way through this evil world, and to help point me to Jesus. I am to submit to their authority, so long as their authority looks like Jesus. Now, coming back to our narrative, Jesus further pushes the idea of rejecting the Son by referencing the Old Testament. He says in verse 10 and 11, have you not read the Scripture? The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. Now, the reference to this quote here comes from Psalm 118, which, if you noticed, it was in our call to worship this morning. Now, why does Jesus reference this, and why is it relevant?

Well, for two reasons. This quote was part of what you would call the Hallel, which we’ve talked about this before, but it’s a song that people would sing and recite during the week of Passover. Well, this whole encounter here is happening during the week of the Passover, so the quote from Psalm 118 would have been on the minds of the people and the religious leaders.

By the way, you know what else is in Psalm 118? We also read this morning during the call to worship. Verses 25 and 26 says, Save us, we pray, O Lord. Or in some translations, Hosanna. O Lord, we pray, give us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. This is what the people were shouting to Jesus on Monday as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. And this was the very verse that was causing all the animosity and hostility with the religious leaders. So they know the psalm. They’ve been talking about it all week. And so when Jesus says, Have you read this scripture? He was being facetious. Of course they’ve read this scripture. Jesus is pointing to the fact that the very psalm they’ve been pointing to justify their animosity towards Jesus, their rejection of Jesus to plot his death,

is the very passage that condemns them where they stand. Psalm points to the Messiah, the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone. And you see it’s obvious Jesus is the stone and Jesus is the beloved son of the vineyard owner. Jesus uses these to make sure they know exactly who they are in the parable and exactly who they are in the psalm. Lest there be any confusion that the religious leaders are the rejecter of the sun and the rejecter of the stone. But there’s another reason why Jesus references this psalm. It’s because it points to the prophetic truth that God has absolute authority. That even though Jesus will be rejected and die at the hands of wicked men, none of this is outside his authority and control. In fact it’s all a part of God’s divine design. The architects of evil reject the stone but God

divinely designs his redemption plan by placing Christ as the cornerstone for our redemption. This evil event, the very death of Jesus, is what secures our salvation. Jesus dying for our sins, brothers and sisters, is the cornerstone of our faith. This is why the most evil event in human history, the death of the beloved son, can be marvelous in our eyes. Because it is precisely his death that gives us life. And more than that, this parable of judgment, in this song of judgment, there is something else that is marvelous in our eyes if you can see it. And that is the incomprehensible long-suffering of the Father. The vineyard owner who sends messenger after messenger after messenger so that we might heed the warning and turn from our idolatry and injustice in bad fruit. But the long-suffering doesn’t end with sending a messenger. It ends with the greatest expression of love. The Father sends one more, his beloved son, Jesus,

who through his life, death, and resurrection brings us, listen, blessing and protection from what? The very judgment of God. His own judgment. The judgment we all deserve for our sin, for our hatred and hostility towards his righteous authority. This is why this wicked and evil atrocity can still be marvelous in our eyes. Because in it, we see the steadfast love of our God and King. And how do these religious leaders respond to this allegory of authority? Look at verse 12. And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people. For they perceived that he had told the parable against them, so they left him and went away. So again, no response. Again, a cowardly retreat to try and build a better way to kill the beloved son. They don’t care about anything Jesus has just Jesus has just revealed. They are immovable and spiritually dead in every way.

The Allegiance of Authority

So they walk away. But the conflict doesn’t even come close to being over with. The religious leaders will not let up. And so immediately, they conspire a new plan, a better plan, one that is less religious in nature and more political in nature, which brings us to act to the allegiance of authority. Verse 13. And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk. So the religious leaders, having failed to turn the crowd against Jesus, and having failed to secure a death sentence with their religious strategy by trapping him in blasphemy, begin to conspire a political strategy. And so they send the Pharisees and the Herodians. Now, who are the Herodians? Some people say Herodians, but I like Herodians. Well, they were the Jewish political party that favored the Roman government above the religious establishment. Okay? So you can see already how this is a bit of a strange partnership.

The Pharisees hated the Roman government because the Romans were the oppressors of God’s people. They were the occupiers of the land of Israel. They wanted nothing to do with Rome, which means the Pharisees hated the Herodians because in their mind, the Herodians were sellouts, unfaithful to the nation of Israel. You see, this is an unorthodox partnership in multiple ways. Because the Pharisees’ ultimate allegiance was to Israel, and the Herodians’ ultimate allegiance was to Caesar. But here, these Pharisees partner with this political and religiously progressive Jewish sect in order to trap Jesus. And to be clear, the word trap is a bit soft in this translation. It could be better translated to hunt down and kill. That’s what they mean by trap. So there’s malicious intent in their approach to Jesus to be sure their goal is death. And the first weapon of choice that the Herodian hunters use to approach Jesus

is flattery. And we see that in verse 14. And they came and said to him, teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Now notice something here. What they say about Jesus is true. They make an honest assessment concerning the character of Jesus. But what they say with their lips is actually so far from what they actually believe in their hearts. And one more thing. Did you notice the four qualities, the four distinguishing features these Herodians use to describe Jesus in their flattery? They say you are true. You don’t care about anyone’s opinion. You’re not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. If you remember last week, what did we talk about?

They described Jesus as wise, humble, courageous and truthful. We saw this last week in our text, the very features that make up righteous authority. These Herodians in attempt to trap Jesus, they attribute to Jesus. Notice the irony in this statement. They praise him for being a man of integrity, truthful in all of his ways, not swayed by people, courageous,

humble enough to not show preferential treatment. All of this while they lie and deceive with flattering words in an attempt to kill him. Now, why do they do this? Why all the flattery? Because sometimes flattery, when applied appropriately, can be intoxicating. So it has a potential way of making you feel drunk and off balance. So it’s strategic. They do that to distract Jesus, to intoxicate Jesus and then catch him off guard. They think if we puff him up on the front end, then he’ll be less defensive, less guarded, slippery with his words. And if you remember, their whole aim was to catch him in a trap with what? With his words. So they throw flattery first and then they throw the death blow question second. And what is the death blow question? Well, we see that at the end of verse 14. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not?

Now, in this Jewish climate, this question would not only be controversial, but it would be deadly. You see, this is a well thought out question by the Herodians. They’re actually pretty smart. With this question, they force an either or outcome. And the reason why this is such a controversial and deadly question is because for one, the Jewish people hated Rome and their mind and their mind. The Romans were pagan Gentiles, God haters, idolaters who cared very little for the religious authority of the Jews. They didn’t care about Israel’s King Jesus. God. And they eventually hated paying taxes to Caesar. Here’s why. Because Israel was a theocracy, meaning it was ruled by God. God alone was their king. And so to pay taxes to King Caesar would be considered treason against the one true God of Israel. So the idea here with

this question. Is that if Jesus responds to their trap by saying, yes, it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, then the Jewish people would immediately turn against Jesus. They would consider Jesus a traitor to Israel. Someone who stood in partnership with Caesar, the idolater, the oppressor, and this would infuriate the people and they would quickly abandon Jesus, leaving Jesus at the mercy of the Pharisees who would ultimately kill him. But if Jesus says no, it’s not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Well, then the Roman rulers, they would arrest Jesus with the crime of treason against Rome, which was punishable by death. Rome would have considered Jesus a revolutionary in opposition to Rome and they would have killed him. So they placed Jesus with this question in a very difficult dilemma. The Pharisees, they want to hear yes, so that they could begin to turn the crowd against Jesus. The Herodians,

they want to hear no, so that they can begin to turn Rome against Jesus. It is a very difficult dilemma of death, no matter what decision is made. But Jesus again demonstrates that he is the Lord of logic and again does not allow for them to get the upper hand. And look at how Jesus deals with this dilemma in verse 15. But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it. And they brought one. And he said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? They said to him, Caesars. So the wise Jesus not only perceives their blatant hypocrisy, but he also calls them out publicly. Jesus reveals to the Herodians and the crowd at the same time that he knows the intention behind their question. He knows that it’s a trap, but despite his awareness of their intentions,

he still has to give an answer. To not give an answer or to dodge the question altogether would both end in disaster. So Jesus begins his answer first by starting on their terms. He asks them for a coin to look at. Give me that Roman coin. And as Jesus holds it in his hand and is thoroughly examining it, I imagine that the crowd, the Pharisees and the Herodians all come to a complete quiet. They wait eagerly for Jesus to answer this dangerous question. What will he say? What will he do? Is it going to be death or is it going to be death?

And in a brilliant move, Jesus breaks the silence and asks the Herodians to identify the image and inscription on the coin. Focusing on the image rather than the inscription, they respond and they say, Caesar. And in verse 17, you see how Jesus wonderfully sidesteps their dangerous trap again with this seemingly basic, simple, but profound response. In verse 17, Jesus said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God, the things that are God’s. Now, to fully understand the weight of this simple response, we have to understand that in the ancient world, it was understood that a coin that had an image imprinted on it belonged to the person whose image was imprinted on it. So if Caesar’s face or inscription was on the coin, well, then the coin must belong to Caesar. Now, Greg Taylor has a label maker. And if you know this about Greg, he loves making labels. He puts his name on everything he owns.

And so if you were to come to me after church with a white stumptown coffee thermos and say to me, who does this belong to? I would show you Greg Taylor’s name on it. And then the answer would be obvious. It belongs to Greg Taylor. Well, this is what Jesus is saying. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, his name, and his face is on it. And so with this response, how could they object to the premise?

Of course, you give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, his name is on it. But you also give back to God what belongs to God. And it just so happens that everything belongs to God. Psalm 24 1 says, the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell there within. And one more thing, Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, you hear this statement from God himself. He says, let us make man in our image after our likeness. So then because the coin reflects Caesar’s image, it’s only right that the coin belongs to Caesar. But then it would only be right that humanity, which uniquely reflects God’s image, rightly belongs to God. And if God’s glory is imprinted on everything in this world, if the skies declare the glory of the Lord, then everything in this world belongs to God. And you see, with this brilliant response, but simple response,

he gives them a bit of ambiguity by design. You see, the Herodians, they perceive Jesus’s response as an affirmation of allegiance to Caesar. Because he says, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. But the Pharisees and the people in the crowd, they perceive Jesus’s response as an affirmation of their allegiance to God. So neither the Herodians or the Pharisees get what they want. And Jesus again walks away, avoiding their death trap. The very qualities that they flatter him with becomes the means by which Jesus evades their evil schemes. And what is the response of the Herodians? Look at the last part of verse 17. And they marveled at him.

They have no other response but amazement. They are in awe at the marvelous wisdom of Jesus to deal with this complex, crucial, controversial question. With the effort of a third grader, demonstrates his infinite wisdom, and they are in awe. Now, how did Jesus get all this wisdom? The kind of wisdom that sees through tricks and traps and schemes and snares. Well, again, I want to point you back to the baptism of John. What happened to Jesus just before the Father spoke from heaven, this is my beloved son. If you remember, the skies split open and the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon Jesus. The image of the Spirit coming down was the Spirit empowering Jesus for his earthly ministry, and part of that empowering was wisdom. Wisdom to teach and to preach with authority. The very wisdom these Pharisees despise, but the wisdom to navigate the evil schemes and plans

against him. The wisdom that comes from the Spirit continued to guide him through the most difficult of dilemmas. And now you see with this question, by what authority are you doing these things? Jesus answers in Acts, in Act 1, in the parable of the vineyard, he reveals by the authority of the Father who sent his beloved son. And here in Act 2, by the authority of the Spirit who empowers and guides him in all wisdom. Only Jesus, who has been given absolute authority from the Father and empowered with wisdom by the Spirit, can give answers of absolute authority.

Two Kingdoms

And this amazing response not only spoke to the Pharisees and the Herodians, but this response, this reveals a very important truth to us this morning. And that is, there are spheres of authority for both the government and for God. And submitting to one doesn’t necessarily mean rejecting the other. Jesus recognized the sphere of Caesar’s authority, but Jesus also recognized God’s sphere of authority.

And what is true is that Caesar’s authority was limited and sits under the sphere of God’s ultimate authority. In fact, what’s underneath Jesus’s response to the Herodians, and what is made so clear in our text to us this morning, is that God in his absolute authority has sovereignly given us certain earthly authorities in the government. But he’s given those authorities with limits. In fact, the apostle Paul further pushes this idea in Romans 13. He says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities. Listen, for there is no authority except from God. And those that exist, those that have been established, have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed. And those who resist will incur judgment.

God has given, meaning he’s sovereignly appointed earthly authorities in the form of government for our common good. Now, why does he appoint governments? So that we have a way to deal in this earth with injustice and crime, evil, and the abuse of authority. And on a most basic level, so that we have structure and support, running water, gas, traffic lights, and health services. Even though all of these earthly authorities are not perfect, and are sometimes unwise, and in some cases unhelpful, we are still called to live under its authority, unless they call us to disobey the one with absolute authority. So listen, we don’t deny earthly authorities. Jesus didn’t.

We don’t deny the government. We simply give our allegiance to God’s authority. His authority comes first. And you see, brothers and sisters, on a practical level, what we can take out of this text is that there are two kingdoms. There’s an earthly kingdom, and there is an eternal kingdom. And for the Christian, for the time being, we live under the sphere of this earthly authority, and eternal authority. We live under this earthly kingdom that is temporal. It’s governed by earthly authorities that sometimes seems vast and powerful, but in reality, in comparison to the eternal kingdom, it’s small and impotent, finite and limited, broken and fallen, imperfect and unjust. And these authorities can’t do anything to fix our broken world, and they can’t do anything to fix our biggest problem, the sin in our hearts that causes us to break everything in this earthly world. But we also live under an eternal kingdom that is governed by God, who exercises absolute

authority over all things at all times, who is immeasurable and infinite, all-powerful and perfect, just and good. And that is a reality that we are called to live under, this eternal kingdom with Christ as our all-sovereign king, who rules over everything, including the earthly kingdom and everything in it. That is our reality. But here is the truth. Even though we live under this eternal kingdom, with this eternal king, most of us spend our time living with our eyes focused only on the earthly kingdom and earthly realities. More often than not, the earthly kingdom gets all of our attention, all of our time, all of our loyalty, all of our hopes, and all of our fears. We build our lives and our dreams on earthly things that will eventually burn away. We place all of our hope and trust in earthly authorities to fix all these earthly problems. We give our allegiance

to presidents and to political parties in hopes to build a better world and a better earth. But it will never work, because their authority is just as broken. The earthly authority is broken, the people in the earth are broken, and the people who have authority in it are broken. There’s no fixing it.

So you see, we’re very much like the Herodians who put their trust in an earthly kingdom, who functionally believed that allegiance to a government would give them a better life and a better world, rather than Jesus and his eternal kingdom. And so they saw Jesus as a threat. Living under his submission for them was not a good look. It was a threat to their earthly utopia that was built on their political power. So what did they do? They partnered with the Pharisees and the religious leaders, and they killed the beloved son, and they rejected the stone.

But be reminded, the stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. You see, none of this was outside of God’s absolute authority. This was all part of his plan. This is the beauty of Jesus. He broke into our broken world, and he broke his body, not just to save us from our brokenness, but to save us from our sin, and to bring us out of this broken earthly kingdom, and bring us into his kingdom that is everlasting, that is eternal, where he will make all things new. I want to ask you this morning, are you placing your trust in this earthly kingdom? Are you putting more stock and weight in policy, in presidents, in your political party, than you are the God of the universe?

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You need to stop doing that. God alone is the solution to our problems. In him we trust, and in him we bend our knee. And if you are here this morning and you don’t know this Jesus, you don’t know this God who exercises absolute authority, listen, he calls you this morning with that very absolute authority, and he says, come and follow me and I will give you life. I will lead you into this eternal kingdom through my life, death, and resurrection. All you have to do is believe that he is who he says he is. Trust and follow him. Bend your knee to the supreme sovereign of the universe, and you will experience life. Let’s pray.

Our Father and our God, we thank you that as we look at this broken world, we can look at it with hope and expectation that you are coming, that every day you are breaking into this world with your kingdom to make all things new. We thank you for our government, and we pray for our leaders that they would govern this world with wisdom, with righteous wisdom and righteous authority. And we pray, oh Lord and God, that you would help us if there comes a day where we must disobey these earthly authorities in our allegiance and our obedience to you. But until that day, Father, help us to live peaceful and quiet lives under your lordship.

We thank you that we can entrust all of our affairs to you and to your handiwork, because everything that you do is for our good and for your glory. We pray these things in Christ’s name. Amen.