Luke 20:19

The Bible says in Luke 20:19-22, “And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that you say and teach rightly, neither do you accept the person of any, but teach the way of God truly: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar or not?”

Here we are in Jerusalem in the last week in the life of Jesus. The religious leaders had been plotting the death of Jesus for quite some time. Because of their fear of the accomplishments and abilities of Jesus, the religious leaders became willing to violate the most basic religious concepts. They lied. They deceived. They flattered. They plotted. They schemed. In reality they became willing to commit murder. But we must never forget that in spite of their great wickedness, they were actually powerless to do anything against Christ until God permitted it. And when God finally did permit it, it was done so in order to accomplish a good purpose.

God is so powerful that He even controls the evil of the world. The final outcome of all evil will some day be to the praise and glory of God. That certainly happened with the crucifixion of Christ. His death was plotted by competitive, jealous, and deceitful men; and then it was permitted by God for the salvation for all who believe. If you are a witness in this world, then you know what it is like to come into contact with the selfish and dishonest people of the world. Perhaps at times they have done or said things against you. “They that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Jesus suffered persecution. He was persecuted by religious leaders. He was persecuted all the way to His death.

But until His death, He was protected by the power of God, and He went about doing the will of God. One of the primary ways in which Jesus performed the will of God was by the things that He said. When faced with these enemies of His, it was the things that Jesus said that made the difference. These religious leaders came to Jesus to trip Him up in the things that He said. They were the ones who ended up being tripped up. They were sure that they would be able to get Jesus to say something against Caesar, and as soon as He did so, they would run straight to the Roman authorities to have Jesus arrested for treason.

Of course, Jesus knew what they were attempting to do. They asked Him, “Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” The Bible says in Luke 20:23-26, “But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why do you tempt me? Show me a penny. Whose image and superscription is on it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things which are God’s. And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marveled at his answer, and held their peace.”

With all the craftiness, deceit, subtlety, and conspiracy shown by the religious leaders; they were still no match for Jesus. They thought they could put Jesus into a situation where no matter what answer He gave they would be able to make Him look bad. If Jesus spoke against Caesar, the religious leaders would try to say that Jesus was a traitor to the Roman authorities. If Jesus spoke in favor of Caesar, the religious leaders would try to make Jesus look like a compromiser in front of the people who viewed the Romans as an ungodly, occupying force that they all hoped to overthrow one day. But as was always the case, Jesus said the just the right thing. During the three years of the public ministry of Jesus, there were many things that He said that were unforgettable. As a matter of fact, the things that Jesus said during His lifetime were so powerful that even today some of His sayings are frequently quoted even by the lost people of the world. Think of some of the great things that Jesus said that are often quoted around the world. Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find.” “Let him that is without sin cast the first stone.” “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” “The meek shall inherit the earth.” “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” “A kingdom that is divided against itself shall not stand.”

And of course, Jesus said many other things that are often quoted. What Jesus said here in Luke chapter twenty is one of those well-known quotations. “Render unto Caesar, the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” In making this statement Jesus silenced His enemies, and with this statement He also gave to His believers of every generation the basis for what their attitude should be towards the government in whatever country they should live.

“The powers that be are ordained of God.” Every soul should be subject to the ordained powers and to the legally constituted authorities. God does not condone rebellion in any form. To rebel or to disobey is to sin against God. Believers should be ideal citizens no matter what country they live in. They should do exactly what Jesus said to do. They should “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” They should honestly pay their taxes. One of the worst things that any government can do is to overtax its people. The higher are the taxes, the less freedoms the people will have. But once you have done everything that can be done legally and peacefully to lower the taxes, you still must pay them. You must “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” But there is a limit. There may not be a limit to the taxes that you will pay, but there is a limit to what you will render unto Caesar because Jesus also said to “render unto God the things that are God’s.” Even though believers attempt to be model citizens, if there are ever any laws passed that go against the clear will of God, such laws cannot be obeyed by the servants of God. That’s why believers in the first century could not worship Caesar as God. They could obey the other laws of the Roman Empire, but they could not obey that one. But in reality, it is a rare exception when a government passes a law that believers just must not obey. Usually there is a way around laws that you do not agree with.

For example, one of the worst decisions ever made by the Supreme Court was in the taking of prayer out of public schools. It’s always good to pray, and it’s always good to present the teachings of the Bible. Jesus said that “men should always pray, and not to faint.” The Bible is a historical document, as well as the Word of God. It is also an important part of our culture and heritage. The teachings of the Bible help people to become better human beings and better citizens. Of course, someone might pray in a way that is obnoxious or harmful. That should be up to the local school board to take appropriate action in such individual cases. It should not be the domain of the federal government to forbid all prayer and Bible teaching in all schools just because some prayer might have been done in an undesirable way.

Now we are seeing the degeneration of public schools. There are many reasons for this. One reason was the Supreme Court and their decision about school prayer. Tell Christians to find an alternative to public schools. Some have been doing so with Christian schools and with home schooling. This is an example of believers finding a way around a law that they did not agree with, while at the same time being good citizens. We are able to do such things when we believe in Jesus because He has given us the perfect standard to live by. Jesus told us, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.”

It is interesting to notice the reaction of the religious leaders to what Jesus said. The Bible says in Luke 20:26, “They marveled at his answer, and held their peace.” Even though they remained alienated from Jesus and even though they continued to conspire and to plot his death, they could not help but marvel at His Words. Even His enemies could not deny the majesty and the greatness of His words. We also marvel at His words. “No man ever spake as this man.” His words were so great because He is the Word, the Son of God.

In the next incident Jesus had another encounter with religious leaders who tried to trip Him up with a question that they thought He would not be able to answer. The Bible says in Luke 20:27-33, “Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she, for seven had her to wife?”

It is amazing how human nature has not changed over the centuries. Other than technological changes, very little has changed. Even in our day there are theological groups that are similar to those represented by the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees were the traditional theological conservatives, but they were spiritually dead. The Pharisees were proud of their conservatism, but they were not rightly related to God. The Pharisees showed, just as it is showed today by some conservatives, that it is not enough to hold the correct doctrines. Something might still be missing. That is why Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” Beware. A person today might be just like the self-righteous Pharisees and might claim to believe the correct doctrines, and yet in reality be spiritually opposed to the work of Christ.

The Sadducees were the liberals of their day. They did not believe the correct doctrines. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. They definitely came to the wrong place if they thought they would find sympathy for their ideas with Jesus. Jesus was the King of the resurrection. He Himself would be resurrected from the dead in just a few days. Jesus has promised the resurrection from the dead to all who believe in Him. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” The Sadducees did what many people still do who try to argue against some spiritual truth. They came up with an extreme example in order to illustrate how their views against the resurrection must be true. If there is a resurrection, the Sadducees reasoned, then when both a husband and a wife are resurrected, they will be reunited as husband and wife. But that creates an impossible situation when someone has been married multiple times.

Of course, as always Jesus had the perfect answer to their question. The Bible says in Luke 20:34-40, “And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. And after that they dared not ask him any question at all.”

The answer that Jesus gave immediately showed how wrong the Sadducees were. Their argument was entirely invalid because they based it upon an incorrect assumption. Jesus made it very clear that people who are married in this life are not married in the next. The family unit as we know it ends at the grave. One reason is because in heaven we will all be a part of one great family. We will love our neighbor as much as our own kin. It is supposed to be that way now, and in heaven it will be that way.

Isn’t it amazing how great are the teachings of Jesus? The answers that He gave that are recorded in the Bible presented just the right information for the problems of His day, and they also present just the right information for the problems of our day. There is a religious group, the Mormons, that teaches in much detail about how through their church you can be assured that your family unit will be together as a family unit in the next life. They make the same mistake that the Sadducees made. They assume that marriage is a part of life in heaven. They are wrong. Jesus said, “The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”

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