Allegiance
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God’s.”
- Jesus of Nazareth
This new teacher is being very disruptive. He has come to overturn empires. Every empire. Even the religious ones. He is making everyone very uncomfortable. He is fierce, courageous, and true. Has there ever been one more so?
The religious elite is trying to trap him in his own teaching. Get him to say something that will incriminate or discredit him. Something that will expose him. Tiberius Caesar is not too comfortable with him either. He sends his minions to try to trap him in some illegality of encouraging others to not pay taxes. He responds with Kingdom language.
“Give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.”
His answer not only avoids the trap but transcends the question. But this is not a referendum on paying taxes, ignoring the government or the authority it carries. This is an answer dripping with appropriation and the priority of authority. It highlights a couple of important principles.
We should acknowledge the government’s authority, pay taxes, etc.
We should not put our hope, allegiance, or priority in the government.
Even when it applies to the predominant conversation of our day. Even when it seems like the world may come to an end or find magical restoration with the election of one candidate and the loss of the other. Even when it feels like everyone else around us is hanging their hopes on those people and the outcome of those decisions.
When Jesus responded to their questions about Caesar, their reaction was “mouths hung open, speechless”. And even in our day, when someone you encounter who is really excited, anxious, or even fearful about what is going on politically, it is no different. If you are unwilling to enter the political maelstrom of our day, people are pretty incredulous.
Jesus wasn’t saying disregard or move to disobedience, he was reminding us that we should “seek first the Kingdom of God.” He is saying that our hope should only be sourced from him. That God is our only answer. That the only citizenship that really matters is the one we have in His Kingdom.
That transcends our government. It has been true, is true, and will always be so. Keeping that in proper priority meant the difference between life and death in his time. And in our day, it is crucial to our healthy survival as well.
I love the term “God and country”. But for me, anyway, it was causing a blurring of a line. I think Jesus would likely say, “God, then country”.
Pay attention. Cast your lot. Pay your taxes. But who gets your allegiance? Where does your hope come from? It comes from the Lord.
Consider
Are you seeking first his Kingdom?
Does your sense of hope confirm that?
How good of a job are you doing at “rendering” unto Caesar, but keeping your eyes fixed on the Kingdom?