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All Saints Church |
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Thorpe Acre Road, Loughborough, |
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Give Unto Caesar
We are familiar with the idea of paying taxes even if we don’t like it very much. Imagine – what it would be like to have to pay tax to an army that has invaded and taken over your country – knowing that the money you give is going to further their cause and not your well-being. The money strengthens their dominance and power over you. Such was the situation of the Jews living under Roman rule
in Romans in The Beyond this – did not effect
life too much and built lots of towns, roads and public baths. So not greeted with too much hostility here. A different matter in Judaea – the Emperor Cult.: *Titles used of Caesar
Augustus (31 BC – 14AD): - Divine, Son of God, God, God from God, Lord,
Liberator, Redeemer, Saviour of the World, All-Conquering One. Before Jesus was born. Caesar claimed to be divine
and expected to be worshipped as such On Caesar Augustus’ birthday, the people of Even though many of the Jews were not yet at the
point of acknowledging Jesus as Lord they did believe in only one God and
that no other person or thing should be worshipped as divine.Exodus 20.2-4. So for Jews it was deeply offensive to be expected to worship the Roman Emperor as divine. But there was also offense in the coins themselves: Coins used for
tribute: The coin is inscribed
"Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, great high priest". *Coin itself was offensive – it broke 2 of God’s Commandments and some people would not even handle it: - No graven image – taken v literally. - There is only one God, worship him alone. Denarius - = one days wage. Had to be paid once a year. Hardship if you were poor. There were Response of
Different Groups: Jews were not a united group - Different groups within Judaism responded to the threat of the Roman occupation in different ways: Zealots – believed direct and violent action was needed against the Romans – a bloody revolution. Herodians – thought the Zealots were mad and believed that compromise with the Romans was the answer – suck up to those in power so life does not become too awful. Essenes – hide away in the desert and wait for God to eventually step in. Pharisees –
believed that the Roman occupation was the result of No unity between various groups except united in opposition to Jesus (popular, turned over temple tables, mixed with the wrong people, criticised religious leaders, made claims about himself, didn’t seem to be too careful about keeping the Law (Sabbath etc). They were wanting to arrest Him but were afraid of the people (Mark 12.12). They try and find more subtle ways to trap Jesus and get him into trouble. Trick Question: Herodians and Pharisees get together and ask – with false
flattery attached (v14-15.) They must have thought they had got Jesus on this one. If Jesus said that it was not right to pay taxes then the Herodians would have gone straight to the Romans and brought a charge of sedition against Jesus – that would soon have him arrested. If Jesus said it was right to pay taxes to the Romans then the many people who longed for the Romans to go and for the Messiah to come would have turned against Jesus – he could not be the promised Saviour that they were beginning to hope that he was. Jesus asks for a coin – interesting how readily one of
these offensive coins is produced! He
asks them whose portrait is on the coin – Caesar’s - “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” In one phrase he crushes the emperor’s
pretensions of power and divinity – he is worth no more than a grubby little
coin which the Jews found offensive even to handle (if that – most people say
there is irony here – Caesar is worth nothing). But God, instead, was and is to be trusted,
he is worthy of worship, he has not changed or lost his power since the
giving of the commandments or from the creation of the universe. And in Jesus God is very present with them
and bringing in the *Jesus the
Revolutionary: - Challenges the status quo – he does not see the Romans as having any particular right to be there and he challenges those who are compromising their faith by sucking up to them. - He challenges the religious leaders who put themselves on a pedestal, he challenges the way they elevated Law above grace. - Challenges the claims of the emperors to be divine - only God is King, only God is God, only God is worthy of worship. - He challenges the way the various Jewish groups are responding to the situation and calls for new ways of responding: - He speaks against those who want violence – see Sermon on the Mount – If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also…love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you… (Matt 5). Jesus never advocated violence - His is the way of the cross and resurrection – the way of salvation was not by power or military might but by the coming of God into this world in Jesus and by the death of Jesus on the cross. This is what would defeat the powers of evil; this is what would break down the barriers that had separated people from God. The resurrection of Jesus would throw open the door to life for all who wanted to get on board. - Jesus calls us to respond by worshipping God and by following him. “Follow Me!” - Jesus
brought in the - Kingdom is open to all, for the good of all – not just for the good and the wealthy and powerful but for the sick, the poor, the down and out, those who have messed up… Jesus said that he came to save the lost, he came to bring life and wholeness, forgiveness and reconciliation. - grace not law – the Pharisees thought that salvation had to be earned by keeping the Law, - which no-one could fully achieve, Jesus offers salvation as a gift – free to all who will accept it by turning to him. Jesus says never give your heart to those who abuse or dominate or make false claims about themselves – give them no more than they deserve. Caesar could demand tax but had no right to demand worship. Instead follow Jesus because he is worthy of our love and our worship and he can be trusted with our lives. And so we do proclaim - Jesus is Lord! A revolutionary statement – then and now. |
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Saints Church Thorpe