5th July 2023

5th July 2023


Pray (ACts)


Read - Mark 12:13-17 


Message Alan Burke 


Someone walks up to you who if you’re honest you couldn’t see far enough, there is history between the two of you and normally your interactions are tense at the best of time. The last time that you had more than a passing interaction, you were left in a rage and they left saying that they wanted to kill you. Sounds like a fun? Now imagine the next time you saw the person they came up to you and were all nice, like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth, so polite, I bet if that happened you’d be thinking to yourself “what’s coming next”. 


This sets the scene for what is happening here. If you glance back to Mark 3:1-6 we are giving a previous engagement between Jesus, the Herodians and the Pharisees and Jesus was angry, and the Pharisees left and began to plot with the Herodians of how they might kill Jesus, now as they show up together they come with flattery, while they are seeing to entrap Jesus they comes and say  “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth”. 


While everything that they have said here is true they did not mean it, they were not sincere. For while they were rejecting Jesus he was a man of integrity, he was not swayed by men, he paid not attention to who they were and he did teach the way of God in accordance with the truth but while what he taught was true they refused to believe it. They certainly did not believe that Jesus taught the way of God, his words they hated and their words although flattery were true and Jesus was not going to fall into their trap, if they had seen past their hatred they would have understood that and they would have understood who Jesus was.


Their question was a political hot potato, is it right to pay taxers to Caesar? Like asking should we pay or shouldn’t we? I’d like not to pay taxes, I’d have a pound or two more but taxes are there for a reason, without them we wouldn’t have roads, water, schools, the NHS etc, taxes are used to support public services. But taxation in Israel was to pay for the invading army to keep us under control, to pay for soldiers. This money wasn’t going to public services it was be being used to keep them under the boot, to pay for the military occupation. It equated to a days wage, one denarius, that’s about £85 in todays money.


On the denarius there likewise was embossed with Caesar along with an inscription, Ti Caesar Divi Aug F Augustus, which meant, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” On the reverse side of the coin was the inscription pontif maxim, that is, “High Priest.”. The denarius in the pocket of every Jew making a statement that he was not only the ruler of the empire he was also the priest of all, the problem is that for the Jews he was using a term that is for God alone. Jesus asks them whose “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?” Of course they replied “Caesar’s,” and Jesus says “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s” 


This teaching of Jesus affirms that Rome’s political power was legitimate as well as the power all civil governments is legitimate. The Lord through Paul builds on this idea in the book of Romans, Romans 13 where we are told “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves “Ro 13:1–2”. God has instituted civil government, yet he remains sovereign over all things and as a result we are to submit to those who rule over us and the outworking of that is that we pay our taxes. 


Jesus though makes it clear that we give to the state what is due, we should never be those who withhold what is due, we are to give what is due. And all rulers whether elected or dictatorial will answer to God. We are to be model citizens, we should be those who seek to obey those whom God has placed over us even when we don’t like it, we are duty bound to obey according to the word of God. That doesn’t mean though that we co-operate with evil, that we obey unconditionally. 


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q90 How is the Word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?
That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, (Prov. 8:34) preparation, (1 Pet. 2:1–2) and prayer; (Ps. 119:18) receive it with faith and love, (Heb. 4:2, 2 Thess. 2:10) lay it up in our hearts, (Ps. 119:11) and practice it in our lives. (Luke 8:15, James 1:25)
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