Luke 20:20-26 ~ Kingdom Living ~ Carl Crouse

I’m a rule follower….a few years ago when Jim and Jan were living across from Killams on corner of Telegraph and Morgan, I could not believe how often people would blast through the stop sign on the Morgan without slowing down.  If I did that, I’d lose a week of sleep from the guilt, the “what if’s.…

I’m a rule follower…  student… rules of road... taxes… it’s my personality.  Some of you are more rebellious by nature… make your own rules, challenge authorities… we start with a basic character traits, molded by experiences… Maybe the perfect person finds a balance between selectively challenging the rules but following the norms of society when possible.  There are times I should get more angry/pro-active at injustices… 

This scripture is meant to stick with you… I’ll try and crack the window and let some breeze in, but the real application is meant to impact your life/ thinking/ actions.  A scripture like this is an important lesson in our present environment of national division, how to be a Christian in an eroding society.  In the context of Luke 20, this scripture about paying taxes, is about the larger message how to live in the world as a Citizen of the Kingdom of God.  We are called to follow the rules in this world  when possible, but our greater loyalty is to God Almighty!  I cannot anticipate all struggles of making sense of this world as a Christian, which is why I hope the words of Jesus haunt you, so that you can move closer to God while you let go of the trappings of this old world.  When Jesus says, “give to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s and give to God what is God’s,” you can hear the wisdom of letting go of some of our bitterness/control of the world’s rules and put a greater priority on obedience to God.  God has promised eternal life for those that believe, but living with Christ begins NOW!  Follow the rules, but put the Kingdom First!  This is Kingdom Living.

In our politically charged world, some of the most difficult words to hear are Rom. 13:1-2 READ.  25 years ago in the Nooksack Church Norm Beebe came to me and asked if I would preach on Rom. 13 and the Christians relationship to government.  He said he had asked Alan Shore years earlier, the previous pastor.  Alan did.  Norm said Alan didn’t do a very good job and didn’t answer his questions.  I said I would.  A few months later when I fit it in.  Later I hesitantly asked Norm how he thought I did.  Norm hemmed and hawed and said it was ok.  He told me I did a little bit better than Alan!   I don’t know if we can ever get away from a tension of living as Citizens of the Kingdom of God in a sinful abusive world… It’s easy for me to tell people to follow the rules that are easy, but when the government system let’s people down, when injustices of lesser offenses are punished with greater severity than greater offenses, something is wrong, when powerful people get away with more than common people, surely we are not called to shrug our shoulders and say, “oh well.”  Maybe Norm Beebe understood more than he realized…

There was tension in Jesus’ Day over how the Jews were to live in their own country with the Roman occupation of Israel.  What I understand is that every citizen of Israel was required to pay a tax to the Roman government.  That would be like somebody breaking into your house, moving in with you, and forcing you to pay rent to live in your own house.  There were a number of responses to the Romans: some cozied up to the Romans like the tax collectors who worked alongside the Romans, some openly rebelled, the organized ones became known as the zealots… one of the most amazing things about Jesus is that he chose a zealot and a tax collector on his team of disciples… the different groups of religious leaders seemed to form an uneasy alliance with each other and the Romans, because they did not like each other ~~ but they needed each other…  the Romans needed the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  All the religious leaders like the power.  they had in common a desire for order, power, for many decades they found a way to dance with the Romans even if they did not like each other… They forgot the greater purpose of putting God and His Kingdom first. 
Jesus came along and was a threat to the uneasy peace (like Roe v Wade today). Jesus was a threat because he was popular with the common people.  He spoke in a way that was different… what he had to say was intriguing because he challenges priorities….He sought to bring integrity to the nation of Israel and the priority of God… “Be in the world but not off the world” were some of things he taught…(paraphrase of John 17:14-15).  As a citizen of the Kingdom, our status with the world is important, but it is of less importance than our status with the King.  The Kingdom is our first identity.  How else do people in an unjust world find peace?  Because our citizenship is in heaven! 
 
The set up in this scripture is wild.  Luke 20:20 says the religious leaders sent spies… they are watching Jesus.  “They pretended to be honest.”  They thought they had him.  First they flatter Jesus in Luke 20:21… don’t let the world flatter you, that’s a major strategy in getting you away from the Kingdom of God as a priority! 

The spies flatter Jesus to set him up to paint him into a corner. Beware of those who flatter. Those who flatter are either sincere gushing admirers who don’t really know the whole story, or insincere people seeking to manipulate us by means of our pride. The Bible warns us of those who flatter:

• "Everyone lies to his neighbor; their flattering lips speak with deception." (Psalm 12:2)
• "Whoever flatters his neighbor is spreading a net for his feet." (Proverbs 29:5)
• "By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people." (Romans 16:18)

The difference between flattery and sincere gratitude is often a fine line.  Often people will sincerely compliment and admire others…that’s a good thing.  Graciousness seeks to honor and act the best toward a person. Flattery seeks to manipulate and turn them to our own purposes. The key is motive.
The crazy thing about what the spies say is that their words are true: Jesus DOES "speak and teach what is right," He DOESN'T show partiality. He DOES teach with full integrity. But their words, even though they are true, are meant as flattery. If they can get Jesus to strut a, they may be able to force him to blurt out a desire to overthrow the Romans. That is their strategy. Jesus did not listen to the flattering words of the spies.  As one person said, “flattery bounced off like raindrops off a raincoat.” 
 
The world does not want us to have a Kingdom first mentality because the more we put God first, the less control the world has, the more threatening we are…the most threatening person in this old world is a Christian with strong convictions that Jesus Christ is Lord over all!   to care a bit less about the world and a bit more about the kingdom gives us a powerful godly strength. 

The goal is to have a Kingdom first priority… it’s about Kingdom living. When Jesus says to follow the rules (give to Ceasar the things that are Ceasars), but make sure you are also following God with your whole heart (and to God the things that are God’s).  Insecure people are susceptible to flattery.  People that like too much of the world’s approval are susceptible to flattery.  Pride can easily become our downfall as people tell us what they think we want to hear. The antidote to flattery is genuine humility that has a Jesus first mentality.  A Kingdom First mentality…
 
The spies assume Jesus sees himself as a new king that will pit himself against the Romans…  I’ve noticed that people who are manipulative and seek power are narrow in their thinking as they think everyone else wants to be like them… The spies think they have Jesus between a rock and a hard place…

if he says YES, pay taxes, they would be surprised, because that would be a slap to his followers… A zealot that wants to bring reform and restoration hated the tax because of what it symboliozes…  
if he says No, don’t pay taxes, they would have their gotcha moment and could turn Jesus over to the Romans as a traitor.  Either answer would put Jesus on the defensive …  Jesus saw through their tricky question immediately it says in Luke 20:23, so he asks for a coin and asks them to tell him whose picture is on it…

As Jesus forces them to speak the word Ceasar, the head of the Roman world, the chief occupier of the Holy Land, there surely is bitterness in their heart.  Guilt.  Jesus forced them to confront their compromised convictions.  The spies had embraced a system they despised…  Paul spoke of compromising our convictions when he said in Rom. 7:15: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.   How often we do things we don’t even believe in ….
            The religious leaders are in bed with Ceasar, an unholy alliance…
 
“Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s and to God what is God’s.”  Any zealot listening would certainly raise their eyebrows at the first part…anybody today who just wants to get angry, complain, resist probably still has the same reaction… “Give to Caesar” has a tinge of disappointment, or bewilderment… Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s? 

But that second part, “give to God the things that are God’s.”  That is the sting to the religious leaders, the spies, those that have compromised their relationship with God and don’t know it!  Get that part right as a priority… of course we need to care about justice in this world and fairness… but how much more do we need to bare our own soul, behavior, examine our own practices when it comes to God.  Is your heart right before God?  Are you fully serving him?

Jesus is reminding everyone on both sides that there are two world’s, this world and the heavenly realm, both are real, we need to be responsible citizens of both, but the Kingdom of God has far more relevance than the earthly Kingdom… it is a matter of priorities!  Follow the rules whenever possible in this old world, but live as citizens of the Kingdom of God as a first priority.  Put into practice Kingdom Living.  Amen.