Paying Taxes??!

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[b] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.

Reflection:
Again the religious leaders try to trap Jesus. If Jesus said to pay the tax, they would accuse him of supporting the Roman Empire, who had suppressed the Jews. If he said don't pay it, he was advocating to break the law. But again Jesus shows his superior wisdom by saying, "Give to Caesar, that which is Caesar's, and give to God what is God's!"

Jesus is expounding on a doctrine called the "two kingdoms", which Martin Luther used quite a bit to distinguish between the church and state, and the issues that arise from a misunderstanding of this concept. Some believers said well we don't believe in the government so we won't pay taxes. But the bible clearly says in Romans 13, to obey the civil authorities, which are given by God as a means of protection on the earth. The Church is the head of the spiritual kingdom, whose job is to preach and teach the Gospel. Whereas the government has temporal power, the Church is given spiritual power through the Word preached and the Gospel administered.

The only ethical dilemma here is when the state asks you to do something that is directly against God's will. And of course you can see all sorts of arguments arising when the state calls on our young men and women to go to war. Some would call on a just war theory, since the state is called to protect against evil regimes and sometimes has to use force to do it. The other side is "pacifism" that would say going to war and taking another life should never be an option. As you can see it is not black and white, and believing Christians disagree on this matter.

But overall the message is that Christians should pay taxes and support local, state and national government, whose authority is given by God in civic matters like protection by police, public education etc. In our church we pray for the leaders of our nation every week, that they would guide with wisdom and justice for all. This is also why we should vote and support candidates with a Christian worldview and can govern effectively.

God we pray for our leaders that you would guide them with wisdom from above. May they help to protect us from evil doers and those who wish to do us harm, in Jesus' name. Amen.

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