Boys and girls, Matthew 22 has another passage that is pretty well known, verses 34 to 40. Those two great commandments that the Lord gives to us as he summarizes the law. But we're going to be looking at a passage that has another well-known saying of our Lord in it here, beginning in verse 15. Matthew 22, 15 to 22. So we read here in the scriptures as God's word comes to us. It says, then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us then what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why do you put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar's. Then he said to them, therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God, the things that are God's. When they heard it, they marveled and they left him and went away. So there's our passage in Matthew 22 and we'll note we have in connection this morning with Lord's Day 42 on the 8th commandment. So let's ask then for God's blessing and ask for the light of his word to come to us in prayer. Heavenly Father we thank you again for the reading of your word. As it comes to us now in the preaching, Father, as our hearts we pray and minds have been primed with that word and the unction of your spirit upon it in the reading, may you then open heart and mind as well by your grace to understand and receive What comes to us from that word, and in the week that lies ahead, Lord, and all the days of our lives, we might be formed and fashioned by your hand and by your word and by your spirit for lives of humble and faithful service in this world. So hear us, O God, in all of what we ask. Bring these things to pass according to your will for each of us in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, you pay your taxes, you pay your rent, until you haven't got a cent. Sometimes it seems like that's how things are, right? Resources are limited, expenses are always on the rise, but Uncle Sam manages to ask for and get his share. So, The wish to not pay taxes or the temptation to cheat on paying taxes has probably crossed all of our minds. One of those options. The passage at hand that we read here in Matthew 22, it relates both to the fifth commandment And to the eighth commandment, maybe the balance slips slightly toward this passage being a fifth commandment issue, but it also is an eighth commandment issue. It deals with finances and the way we use the things God provides for us, even rendering tribute to earthly officials as they gather in the taxes. And boys and girls, what we have here in Matthew 22 is recorded for us in all three of what are called the Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Synoptic means they all see things the same way because they all sketch out the life of our Lord in a very similar fashion with lots of overlap, different from how John does it. So, Matthew 22, Mark 12, and Luke 20 are where we find this narrative in God's Word. Plus, as I mentioned, it contains what is undoubtedly one of the most familiar sayings of our Lord. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. The setting here is the last week of our Lord's earthly life. The scene likely unfolds in the temple court area, and the subject That the Pharisees bring to the Lord this subject of taxation. It's really a smoke screen. For the bigger question that they want to ask Him. About the relationship between church and state. And the role of the believer in both church and state. So let's see some of that as introductory to what we have here in Matthew 22 verses 15 to 22. And we'll keep the following theme and points. If you have one of the Inserts, you can see it there. It says, when put to the test about taxation, Jesus answers wisely. And to hear what he says with prophet, let's do three things. Let's look at the context, that's verse 15. Let's listen to the conversation, that's verses 16 to 21. And then let's leave with conviction. And that picks up on what we read in verse 22, but it spins things in a way that I hope is intriguing at the end there. So let's look at the context in verse 15. Matthew tells us plainly as he opens the narrative, boys and girls, if you have your Bible open you can see as well. Matthew tells us plainly. That the Pharisees are intentionally setting a trap for Jesus. Right? It starts off then. It's basically narrative transition from what comes ahead with the parable of the wedding feast, then. The beginning of the verse moves us on from that to this. And remember too, that the Pharisees are the black hats in the Gospels. Right? They're the ones who are opponents and adversaries of our Lord. And once again, That's the role they have in this passage. Maybe if we want to cast this in a biblical theological sort of a context, a wide scale view of what's going on here. It's the Pharisees in their role as the seed of the serpent coming against Christ who is by God's promise the seed of the woman. One pastor described them as our Lord's deadly enemies. That's the situation here. If we were to use a sports analogy, this back and forth between Jesus and the Pharisees that goes throughout the gospel, it's a rivalry of sorts. Literarily, the gospel writers present what happened with the Pharisees and their antagonism against Jesus as a means of driving forward his ministry and the unfolding of God's work for him. And I want us to grab on to that congregation, listen, to see the conflict that Jesus has with the Pharisees, not just here, but all throughout the Gospels. To see that conflict as part of his humiliation for us. This is part. of what it means for him to be a man of sorrows who is acquainted with grief. To always have a prominent group, not only in the culture, but among the people who are antagonistic towards him. It's part of what it means to say that Jesus was despised and rejected by men. This is part, this conflict is part of the muck and mire that he entered into in order to deliver us, congregation. As we sing elsewhere, hallelujah. What a Savior, one who comes humbly, not for his own sake, but ultimately for the sake of his Father and also for our sake and the salvation he came to provide to endure the traps and the mockery and the ridicule and ultimately the death of a condemned criminal to redeem us from our sins. Congregation, believe in that Savior. Trust him and know without any doubt that all of what he did was done for you. You see in verse 15, it says the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. They went and they plotted and the word plotted there, it means they came together as a group they took counsel to discuss their strategy and they do so with bad intentions that's the point of the context here in verse 15 setting things up for us that they're not asking this question in good faith but that they have ulterior motives when they approach our Lord and a practical point and life lesson for all of us is this on the one hand beware of people who are disingenuous and who come to you under false pretenses seeking to trap you or entangle you. But on the other hand, don't sink to a similar level by unnecessarily gauging everyone with suspicion as if no one operates in good faith. The key to Christian living in this connection is to be open It's to be honest, it's to be above board, it's to be loving. Both in the way we go to others and in the way we receive others. And if we are the victims of those who are disingenuous and who try to catch us in our words, well then in some fashion we participate, if you will, fill up the sufferings of Christ as Paul mentions in his epistles. We count that as suffering for the sake of Christ. Back to the passage, the Pharisees, they know that our Lord's popularity, boys and girls, is among the people and they don't like that. They don't like the message that Jesus preaches about the good news of the kingdom and identifying himself as God's servant and the promised Messiah. And they determine that they're going to silence him. So what do they do? Matthew tells us that they collude, right? They concoct this cunning scheme and they decide that what they're going to do is try to trap Jesus. Matthew uses the word here in the ESV, they're going to entangle him in his words. For all of you hunters out there, This is a hunting metaphor that Matthew uses as he presents the narrative to us. He casts the Pharisees in the role of a hunter and Jesus is their prey and he uses specific language that refers to the way a rope or a small thread might be looped like that with bait inside of it to catch a bird when it walks through it or when it puts its beak down to get it. That's the kind of hunt that the Pharisees are on here. They're fowlers and Jesus is going to be their prey, so they think. Calvin says they devise a trick so that they might try to take Christ by surprise. The goal of their plot in the end is to dishonor Jesus and to defame him in the eyes of the people. It's a bush league move is what it is. I mean like school in the summertime, the Pharisees have no class as they operate like this against our Lord. Jesus is in a hostile environment. Our Lord is behind enemy lines. And the Pharisees here are going to try to catch him off guard that they might somehow expose him. And you know what? You know what kind of people operate like that? You know what kind of people try to take others and expose them unnecessarily? People who are unkind, people who are unloving, people who are proud, people who are insecure. That's the Pharisees. So a practical point in life lesson for all of us. is to beware of harboring jealousy against other people like the Pharisees harbored against our Lord. Humanly speaking, that prevented them in their hardness of heart from recognizing His wisdom and His majesty and of coming to depend upon Him in faith as their Savior. That's the root of the problem with the Pharisees. We're called to turn away from that congregation, from that root of jealousy and bitterness and envy. We're called to find contentment of heart and mind and life in Christ. We're called to be free and full in Him. And boys and girls, young people, this goes for you as well. Trust in the Lord as your Lord. Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him. And He will direct your steps. As we go on in verses 16 to 21 and listen to the conversation, we see, I hope you keep your Bibles open here as we go through. I really had a lot of fun this week looking at this passage and thinking through some of the things here. And could spend more than 35, 40 minutes on the passage. Hopefully we'll be able to contain things in a reasonable timeframe here. But as the dialogue unfolds in verses 16 to 21, We hear the trap is laid with a question. The plot that Matthew mentions in verse 15. And Jesus still answers. Even though we see that he knows what's going on, he still answers their question. And the issue really here is two-fold. If you're taking notes, the issue is two-fold. What is the relationship between taxation to the state and devotion to God? That's the question. And we'll unfold that a little bit more here shortly. In verse 16, as the verse opens up, the Pharisees, they give feet to the legs of their plot. They send their boys, here called the disciples, to the Lord along with some of the Herodians, probably not family members, but probably supporters of Herod and of his dynasty. In a word, they send others to do their dirty work, which is evidence of cowardice on their part. From the Pharisees perspective, they're operating strategically here, right? This is part of their game plan. They have religious sympathizers in the delegation they send to Jesus, because it's their own disciples. And they have political supporters, or political partners rather, with the Herodians, because they're not so keen on this King of Israel either. So the Pharisees know, in this delegation comprised of their disciples and of the Herodians, they know that each one has its own reasons for wanting to see this plot to entangle Jesus in his words come to pass. On the one hand, the Pharisees and their disciples, they've got theological concerns, and on the other hand, the Herodians, well, they have political concerns with his royal rule. Ordinarily, they would be separate, but here, they're bedfellows, and they're partners in crime. If you look at verse 16, the little introductory comments, a teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully. You don't care about anyone's opinion for you're not swayed by appearances. All of that is just mere flattery, that's fluff. That's a display of their duplicity as they try to soften up our Lord with some of this sweet talk, they want him to bring his guard down and be caught unaware in their trap. They have smooth and honeyed words, said one commentator. And even though the things they say are true, right? I mean, Jesus is a teacher. He does teach the way of God truthfully. He doesn't regard a person's opinion or look at and speak to appearances. All of that's true. But the way they present it here is counterfeit. Because they're aping the truth. They're faking boys and girls. They're faking respect. They're faking piety. They're faking submission. They're faking honor. None of that is really given with what they say in verse 16. Another practical point. Another life lesson. All of us need to be on guard against using flattery as a means of manipulating others. Boys and girls, young people, all of us adults, we ought not to have smooth and honeyed words towards others so that we can try to get advantage of the upper hand for ourselves. That's a tool of the devil. That's the way the seat of the serpent operates here. That's not the way of love. That's not the way of truth. That's not the way of faith. That's not the way of humility. Our calling as those who belong to the seat of the woman is to speak genuinely. We're not to speak in such a way as to lay a trap for other people. We're not to speak in such a way as to try to have our own way come around at the end. Looking at verse 17, we have the question that they ask finally. Tell us, tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? So this is the point of the plot that they hatched back in verse 15. But why this question? Have you ever read through this narrative before and thought to yourself, why this question? I mean, they could have asked Jesus a thousand questions. Why do they ask this one? That's the question to ask, and the answer is huge. But we can summarize the answer very simply by saying this, this question, it has cultural, theological, social, and religious implications as well as being the time point in history at which they are. This question is asked here of our Lord to try to trap Him in His words. Because at this time the Romans are occupying the promised land. That's the background. That's the situation. That's why they're asking this question. Basically what they're saying boys and girls is this. They're saying, Jesus we have a question. Where do you say that our loyalty belongs? Does our loyalty belong to the state or does our loyalty belong to God? Whom are we to obey? That's the trap that they set for him. If Jesus says obey God, well then he's in trouble with the Herodians. If Jesus says obey Caesar, well then he's in trouble with the Pharisees and the Zealots. It's like they've got him between a rock and a hard place, so they think. What does Jesus say? Look at verse 18. He's not caught off guard. He's ready. He studied the scouting report on the Pharisees. He's watched the film. He's done his homework. He's ready for their little pop quiz, right? He recognizes this formation and he knows exactly what play is coming. He's not off guard at all. In fact, what he does right away is he exposes their hypocrisy. He calls them out before answering the question as hypocrites. Because he recognizes their disingenuineness and their duplicity. Matthew tells us, look at the language of verse 18, that Jesus is aware of their malice. The word there is evil. Evil intent is what the Pharisees have. And you know what? It's a fascinating twist of irony here. Jesus lives up to their estimate of himself. He shows them that he does know the truth. He teaches it truthfully. He doesn't care about a person's opinion and he's not swayed by appearances. He is who they thought he was. But not quite the way they imagined He would be, and I don't think the way that they wanted to see. They're trying to trick Him, but Jesus turns the tables and shows them they're the ones who are about to be caught in a web as their own malice is exposed. In verse 19, if you look at the passage there, Jesus says very plainly, He says, show me the coin for the tax. The tax referred to there, boys and girls, young people, is what's known as a poll tax. A head for head tax on Jewish men of a certain age on up were taxed by the Roman Empire. And that tax in particular is highlighted because that tax in particular was despised by the Jews. Because that tax in particular showed them that they were in their own land under Roman occupation and were embarrassed by paying tribute to a foreign power while living in their very homes. Under Gentile rule. Under the thumb of the uncircumcised. So Jesus asks for the coin in verse 19. It tells us they brought him a denarius. Maybe we would say that colloquially. They pulled it out of their pocket. They pulled it out of their purse. Here it is. They bring it to Jesus. And the denarius coin there was a silver coin. It was equivalent to a one day's wage for a laborer or one day's wage for a Roman soldier. And just a bit of background on this coin. It was a silver coin and only the Roman Empire, only the Roman Emperor had authority to issue the minting of silver coins. The senators and other local governors could issue the authority to mint copper coins. But they bring Jesus Denarius, a coin if you will, all the way from the top level of the federal government. And the typical Jewish family would pay a total of about 49% of their income, finances and crops in taxes. Think about that. 49% of their income being given to the Romans, to the Jewish taxes, and even to those who skimmed off the top of their income. It's like the old 1973 Robin Hood cartoon, if you remember that. The animated one, where the fox plays Robin Hood and the fox is made merry and little John's a bear. Friar Tuck is the badger. You remember that show? What happens when they impose the taxes even heavier on the people? Everybody's all downcast, the sky is gray. Even the little boy rabbit who gets that gold coin for his birthday has that coin taken away by the tax man who's a wolf. and comes in and receives what is not his to take. That's kind of the situation here. It produced a nation that not everybody was in poverty, but people were struggling to make ends meet because taxation was so heavy. So part of the people probably would have liked to have heard Jesus, the zealots, for example, say, don't pay the taxes. Keep your own money for yourselves. But here's a general principle. Whether it's the 5th commandment or the 8th commandment. Here's the principle. Taxes are to be paid. That's what Jesus is going to say. Now we can utilize the advantages that the tax code gives. And that's why there are people who are certified public accountants. Because they know how lawfully to negotiate and navigate through the tax network. But we're not to cheat. in paying our taxes. That would be the kind of fraud and dishonesty that the eighth commandment calls us to fight against. So when next spring rolls around, whether you're a farmer or some other kind of worker, remember to file your tax return honorably. Do so conscientiously in service to the Lord as you render to Caesar what is Caesar's. Remember that next spring. Verse 20, back to the passage. Jesus says, as you can almost see him, boys and girls, holding the coin up for everybody to see. He says, whose inscription is this? So Jesus has his own question for the delegation that has come asking him whether or not it's lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. His question is simple, his question is short, his question is straightforward, and most of all, Our Lord's question is sincere. Not like the question that he was asked. So they answer very quickly, don't they? They don't take counsel together. They don't sort of commiserate and bounce ideas off each other as to how they're going to answer what he says. They reply immediately. Verse 21, they said, Caesars. It's as if such a quick answer with little thought given to it shows that maybe they're not quite prepared. for what Jesus is going to say in response to their answer. But Jesus replies very simply, therefore, in other words, because of what you see, as I hold the coin up, and because of what you say when you acknowledge Caesar's lordship in that area, therefore, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. It's as if Jesus said this, He says, listen, you have a two-fold loyalty. Properly, you are loyal to the state and obligated to pay your taxes. But ultimately, your loyalty belongs to God. And this service to Caesar is part of your service to God. Boys and girls, what Jesus says here is what Paul says in Romans 13 verses 1 through 7. This is the 5th commandment, this is the 8th commandment. This is part of what it means to live as a citizen of heaven while still here on earth. To us and to them, Jesus says three things. He says, pay your taxes. He says, honor the civil government. After all, the taxes that are gathered in, not everything that's done with the taxes is right in our own day or in that day. But part of what the government does with those taxes is it provides an infrastructure for the country and for the people who live in that country. And that infrastructure can't exist and can't be maintained and can't be expanded apart from the taxation that goes to produce that infrastructure. So pay your taxes, honor the civil government, but obey God above all else. Don't compromise on that. That's not rocket science. That's your reasonable service. That's Romans 12 verses 1 and 2. So, I mean very simply we're called to embrace our role as citizens of the United States of America. Embrace the privileges that we have and pursue the responsibilities that we have. We are to keep our role as citizens of this country In light of the fact that we are servants of God most high above all else and that giving Christ the loyalty and allegiance of our lives is what sets the context for the fact that we are to be good and faithful citizens here on earth. That was why Guido de Bray wrote his apology, his defense of the Belgic Confession to the government. To show them that the reformed Christians are not anarchists. But we are humble citizens who serve the magistrate because we desire to serve God. Now, we understand civil disobedience has a place. We preached a sermon on that back in the fifth commandment. But like first Peter chapter 2 verse 13 says, Submit yourselves therefore to every ordinance of man for the sake of God. Let our service as citizens be distinctively Christian congregation. Let it be those who have been rescued from their guilt by God's grace now have a life of gratitude. Let it be salt and light. Let it be a testimony that our lives desire to promote God's glory. Let it be evidence that we are different because we belong to Christ. And let that service of happiness of heart be rooted in part of what it means to live and die in the comfort of belonging to Christ. Now, as our passage comes to a close here in verse 22, Matthew moves back into narrative mode. He opened up in verse 15 with a straightforward narrative, and he closes in verse 22 with another straightforward narrative. Listen to what it says. When they heard, they marveled, and they left him and went away. The three occurrences of the word they, That referred to the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians. That delegation who had been sent to Jesus by the Pharisees. They're the ones who heard. They're the ones who marveled. And they're the ones who left. I mean this is a drop the mic moment for Jesus. He owned this delegation. If this were our day, there would be a political cartoon in the next issue of the New York Times. And somebody in the background would be like, oh, he got them. I mean, what Matthew is telling us is that the barking dogs are here muzzled. They're silenced. They're pounded into submission by Jesus' wisdom. They're dumbfounded. And consequently, they retreat. Their little scheme, their little plot has come up empty. Calvin says they depart wearing a crown of shame. But ask this question. This is where I want to turn on this verse. Why? Did they leave? Why not stay? Why not follow? Why not bow down to Jesus who has here such a display of wisdom? Why not marvel at his insight and become his disciple? Why not bow down to the one who knows all things about all things? Why not follow this one who isn't harsh even when he's being hunted? Why not follow this one who's faithful and forthright, who's loving and humble? Let me close out by saying this, the reason they don't follow and they go away is because they're hard-hearted. That's why. Congregation, we have to be on guard against being hard-hearted like they were. We have to guard against apathy and indifference. Boys and girls, young people, you hear preaching all your lives, you're in Christian day schools, you're in catechism and Sunday school classes, you know what your biggest danger is? Every young person, look, Every child. You know what your biggest danger is? Apathy and indifference. Treating things that are holy as if they were common, because they're so familiar. That's a kind of hard-heartedness. And that's a peculiar danger to the covenant community, as was on display by the lives of the Pharisees, who should have known better. Let us ask God, congregation, to rekindle in our hearts the fire of faith, the passion of zeal, the humility of amazement and wonder. They marveled, but they marveled from a distance, not out of faith, passion, zeal, or humility. So here it is. Time to end the sermon. Where do you go from here? Do you hear a passage like this which is tremendous? First time I ever preached on this passage this morning. Do you go with wonder anew at your Lord? Do you go with amazement at His wisdom? And with the beauty and simplicity of the calling He gives into your hands? Do you go with awe that the Lord of glory would call a sinner like you and me and so many others as his own servants. Well go like that, go with wonder, go with amazement, go with awe and ask God to use that wonder, amazement and awe in your heart and life to make an impact and to have an influence as you serve him each day. Whether you pay your taxes or you do anything else. Jesus is both Savior and Lord. He rescues from salvation and He rules over us by His Word and Spirit. And on the one hand we acknowledge Him as gracious and on the other hand we adore Him as Lord of our lives. So may God bring these things to each of us in spirit and in truth. And may we go in the week that lies ahead to serve Him humbly and faithfully and dependently in all that we think, say, and do. Amen. Let's pray, shall we? Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We ask that you would bring it to us in clarity and in conviction. And pray, oh Lord, that you would lead us by the hand of the heart in the week that lies ahead, that we might follow the guidance and the counsel as you give to us those things we need. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, let's turn to number 462. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee. We'll sing stanza one, and then the ones at the bottom, four, five, and six. So stanza one, and then dropping down four, five, and six. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my moments and my days. Let them flow in endless praise. Let them flow in endless praise. and my goal, not on my foot I withhold. Take my intellect and use every power as thou shalt choose, every power as thou shalt choose. Take my will and make it thine. It shall be no longer mine. Take my heart, it is thine own. It shall be thy royal throne. It shall be thy royal throne. Ever only all for Thee. Ever only all for Thee.