https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0gTPFQL9YY
TEXT: Mark 12:13-17
[13] And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. [14] And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” [15] But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” [16] And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” [17] Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
SERMON: “The Hound of Heaven”
So, our family used to have Disneyland passes. And this is back when we only had to pay for one childand not four — Jones and Rowe were still under three and Cohen wasn’t born yet. And back in 2019, when we went more frequently, we would take liberty to rest and enjoy air conditioning — things annual pass holders do. Two of the places we loved frequenting especially during the summer times in California Adventure were Animation Academy and the Frozen show, the latter which is now discontinued. And one of my favorite parts of the show was when the cast would sing For the First Time in Forever. And if you remember Frozen — and maybe some of you don’t want to. Sorry, parents, if it brings back some trauma. But if you remember the song, this is at the beginning of the movie, when Princess Anna, who’s been trapped in the castle, is singing with excitement and anticipation. And this excitement and anticipation and this buzz is shared by everyone in Arundel, because as the song goes — Finally, they’re opening up the gates. And in the show, the whole cast does this inspired look, and they sing together — For the first time in forever — in perfect unison. And it’s really this magical moment. Because what’s being captured is that this coronation service was a big deal, it was a public ordeal. And everyone came together for it. And it was a big deal for the to-be crowned Queen Elsa, but it was really a big deal for everyone in Arundel. Everyone would gather to come and see Elsa put on the crown and assume the rightful position of authority and rule.
Because the right ruler had lasting implications on all who were in the land. And that’s the case for any ruler — in Arundel, Pride Rock, Narnia, Gondor. People are meant to be ruled — not in a subjugating and domineered sense. But we are created with authority but with a vested authority. If you remember back in 1 Samuel 8:4, when the people of Israel were asking Samuel for a king like all the nations, Godtold Samuel that they weren’t rejecting Samuel as their leader. But rather, it was that they were rejecting God as their rule and authority. Because as people of God, we always look to his authority and his rule over all of our lives. God’s people were like this then, God’s people were are like this now, and God’s people were most certainly like this during Jesus’ time in our passage. Because you think about the predicament Jesus is in. The people around him were essentially singing — For the first time in forever. The Jews had been exiled for over half a millennium. And there were the Assyrians, then the Babylonians, then the Persians, then the Medes, then the Greeks, and now the Romans. And so, they’ve seen so-called dynasties. And historically speaking, this one was one of the greatest. All the while, with all the changing hands with dynasties and rulers, the Jews were still without land. And with every big personality that the people could gather around and be led by, it had to have been the thought — Is now our time?
After all, there were, in recent history, insurrectionists who had been able to gather zealots together to revolt against the powers of Rome. Albeit unsuccessfully, it was still an indicator of the politically charged climate of the day. Judas the Galilean was the most recent of these insurrectionists. He had lead a group of people through cleansing out the Temple of the Gentiles. As in — driving out the Gentiles, which is something that Jesus was enraged by mere days before. But with Judas the Galileana generation before, with this gathering of people who were committing to following his lead, he publicly announced that he’s bringing in the kingdom of God. And we might think him to be crazy, but people followed him. Because they were waiting for their king. And so, that’s the kind of political energy that’s with the Jews during these recent times. You add on top of this that it’s the season of the Passover, the day of great national remembrance. There are Jews from everywhere gathered in Jerusalem — really a high point in the year in many ways. And so, nationalism is at a high and concentrated in this really emotionally packed season. And here is Jesus, who’s shown his power and his ability — healing people and preaching powerfully. And he’s said the same thing that Judas had, which lead a national revolt — about the kingdom of God and the Temple being his Father’s house. And so, this is a Jewish nationalist’s dream come true. In many ways, they might have felt like they found their guy. They were just waiting for him to say — Let’s go get the Romans and capture the Capitol.
If you remember back in January 6, 2021, this was the insurrection at the US Capitol. And in response to this event mere days after, my professor in seminary Michael Horton addressed the issue of Christian nationalism here in America. And in this politically charged climate, here Dr. Horton said of this movement that it was, at its heart, heretical, confusing law with gospel. Because it took man-made theology and centered it so that Scripture would be used not as the rule or basis but in order support the rule of their own thoughts. And I don’t know if you’ve seen those who identify as Christian nationalists, but the doctrinal convictions are all over the place. Because at the heart, it’s not Scriptureor the gospel that serves as the authority, but it’s manmade convictions and theology.
And so here, in our passage, when we find that Herodians and Pharisees are coming together, it doesn’t make much sense. It might not shock us when we read that in our hearing today, but these are political extremes. The Pharisees were the conservatives and the Herodians were the political liberals. The Pharisees felt threatened by Jesus religiously, and the Herodians felt threatened by Jesuspolitically. The Pharisees didn’t like how Jesus was using the Scriptures against them, and the Herodians didn’t like how Jesus was being called king. And so, they hatch a plan and come together — these groups of opposite extremes. And somehow, this mixture of oil and water get together to be cohesive about something. This is like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump coming together for something. It makes you wonder — Something’s up, something’s not quite right, there has to be something underneath. Because there was no occasion where these two groups would have been seen side by side under normal circumstances. But they’re seemingly united and linking arms in a united hatred of Jesus. That just as Jesus is able to bring together a diversity of people to him, even as a baby and as a young toddler — Jewish shepherds from the fields, Babylonian magi from hundreds of miles away. In the same way, he’s seemingly able to bring together those who are seeking to oppose him. And in this politically charged moment, these Pharisees and Herodians, as we read in verse 13, are together and said to try to trap Jesus.
That’s how the ESV reads. And that word for trap is a hunting term when people hunt for animals. The idea is that of a violent hunt and pursuit that’s happening here. There’s a This American Life episode titled Question Trap. And it’s something we often do — using questions seemingly innocuously to get at something deeper. There are a variety of questions that were asked, one of them which turned out to be coined as the Beyonce Question. And this was just a feeler question that people used in order to gauge another’s perception of a particular strong black woman. But it’s not an innocent question but a leading one. Because depending on how you respond to the Beyonce Question, assumptions could be made about you. And here, these Pharisees and Herodians are seeking to trap Jesus, with all of these Jews who are around. And it’s a question trap. And I want to note something here. We’ve been seeing this pursuit of trapping Jesus. This has been happening for a while now. But the thing is — they haven’t been able to stump him. And I just want us to pause there for a second, because haven’t we been disappointed with leaders and pastors who have stumbled and who have slipped into moral failure? And these Pharisees and Herodians are trying so hard to get him to slip, but he won’t. And so, they’re no longer going after his conduct — they want to manipulate his words. And it’s for this reason that Jesuscalls them hypocrites in verse 15. And this is a word that came from the Greek word ηυποχριστος, which is the word translated as stage actor. And these stage actors during this time would perform with masks on stage. And these masks would often depict a smile or frown or tears. And the purpose of this was to show the audience how they were to feel. The audience was not supposed to look beyond and under the mask. And what Jesus is saying is that he sees what’s under. He knows the intent behind the question they’re asking.
Because the question they’re asking here — Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. I mean, this is the most disingenuous thing, isn’t it? And so, here these question trappers, these hypocrites ask — Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?And the reason why this was such a dangerous question was because the audience knew — to pay taxes to Caesar was to submit to him as king. And in many ways, the way that Jesus answered these questions would lead to the ways of his rule. This was what many might have anticipated as his William Wallace moment, with the Passover season at hand. But as we know, the kingdom of God is completely different. It’s a new kingdom that doesn’t make sense with the earthly categories of this world. And Jesus sets out to prove this. Because Jesus actually doesn’t avoid this question or dodge it. He actually faces it head on. Because what is he shown to do here? He asks for a denarius to be brought to him. And why is this important? It’s not just a random amount. This was a day’s wage for the worker in that setting. So, it was common people’s money. This would have been familiar to most who were around him at that time. But in addition, it would have struck a particular cord, especially for those who reluctantly paid their taxes. Because the denarius is what was paid for what we know as the head tax or census tax. And so, Jesus essentially looks at these Pharisees, these Herodians and essentially confront them — Is this what you’re asking?
And so, he holds up the coin. And what did it show? On the front, there was a big picture of Caesar, and it read — Tiberias Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus. And what it showed was the foregone conclusion that after Augustus died, he was considered to be divine. And the biggest and most powerful religion at this time was the imperial cult. There were more temples to the imperial cult than any religious buildings we have here in America. These things were everywhere. And so, that’s what it showed on the front. What about the back? On the other side of the coin, there was a picture of Tiberias, with the inscription Pontifus Maximus, which means high priest. And it showed him seated in the temple of the imperial cult. And thus, this coin wasn’t just about taxes, as Jesus is showing everyone around. This was a coin that represented worship in its very depiction. And so, many Jews, because of the consciousness of the first and second commandments, would have thought this not only to be wrong but completely blasphemous. On this denarius that Jesus is holding up is God, high priest, and king. And you think about the implications of this for the Jews. And so, we face the question that’s asked once again — Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not? And the response to this is absolutely brilliant, because Jesus actually changes the verb. He tells them to render. And to render is not to give but to pay back or give back. It’s to pay your debts. That what Jesus is saying here, in essence, is that his kingdom is different.
Because here’s how we’re going to close. We read here that we render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and we render to God the things that are God’s. Because that word for likeness is the Greekword icon, which is where we get the word image. And as those who are image bearers, it’s not just our taxes, our tithes, our money that we give to the Lord. But as those who have his likeness stamped upon us, we are to give our lives. Because our ultimate identity doesn’t come from Caesar — it’s not about whether we’re conservative or liberal. Our ultimate identity comes in our identity in God, as those who are image bearers. But something that John Calvin comments on, in his commentary in Genesis, when observing the Fall of Man. He notes that while all of humanity bears the image of God even after the Fall, in our sin, it is now a marred image — what he calls a frightful deformity. Because that image of God is covered in our sin, in our imperfections, in our deformed manifestations of our sinful will against God. And if that’s the case, we ask the question — Why would Jesus say those words? Why would he say render to God the things that are God’s? Because to render means to pay back. It’s to give what is deserved and owed. And for Caesar, he said that as much as you paid him, you belonged to him, you were subject to him. But what about Jesus? It’s not about what you pay him but about what he pays for you. That we hear those words on the cross, when he paid for our sins, when he exclaimed — Paid in full. As the Son of God, as the Pontifus Maximus, the high priest, as the king on the cross, the emblem of power in his upside down kingdom. That as much as you trust in his payment, this is the way in which we belong to him.
And we come back every week to be reminded of this, just as we need to be reminded of not only our image bearing but our marred image bearing. That as much as our sins had covered the image of God, now through his payment, his blood covers it. Because the marred image that we now see is the one who was flogged, hung, and devastated on the cross for the likes of you and me — that we might not only bear the image of God but the image of Christ, the image of redemption, the image of salvation. And so, again, we come to be reminded that we belong to God. And I know that’s hard for us to believe in at times — after all we’ve done to hurt God and to offend him. Because what did Caesar use to bring his images, his coins back to him? He sent out tax collectors. And they would hound after each uncollected sum and bring the rightful amount back to Caesar. But what about God? How does he bring those who belong to him back to him? How does he go after his marred, his fractured, his runaway image bearers? If Caesar sent out tax collectors to hound, God sent the hound of heaven to sniff out and drag home image bearers. That in our brokenness, in our hiding, in our constant running away, Godunleashes his Son to chase us down and to carry us home. For the hound of heaven is after our hearts. And he is the Word become flesh, whose flesh was torn, whose face was marred. And by his living and active Word, he pursues us. As Martin Luther once said, the Word of God has legs — it runs after you. And so, I wonder if you’ve come this morning with the proclivity to hide. If you belong to God, you can’t hide for long — the Word will chase you down, as the hound of heaven shows you his outstretched hands as the high priest interceding for you in the heavenly places. So that every time we gather, you and I can sing, with inspired hearts — For the first time in forever. Our king has come for us, and he invites us in — not because of anything we’ve offered but because of what he’s accomplished.
