Matthew 22.15-22

Excuses for being late to work are essentially the same in every industry, according to a Career Builder survey of more than 1000 HR managers.

The most common reasons for employee tardiness are pretty familiar, with traffic (51 percent), oversleeping (31 percent), and weather (28 percent) topping a managers’ list.

But among the most unique excuses bosses have heard:

“I was here, but fell asleep in the parking lot,”

“my fake eyelashes were stuck together,”

and “an astrologer warned me of a car accident on a major highway, so I took all back roads.

“Another that raised eyebrows: ‘I had morning sickness'”—that was from a male employee.

The article noted, “One things for sure: innovation is not dead in America.”

When it comes to getting out of doing things we don’t want to, we automatically become excuse machines pumping out all kinds of reasons why we can’t and shouldn’t get involved.

In our text this morning, the people questioning Jesus were looking for excuses.

First, they were looking for an excuse to stop paying their taxes.

The Jewish population felt oppressed by the rule of Roman government and didn’t feel that they owed them anything—especially a portion of their hard earned money.  They wanted to use the excuse that God was their King and therefore, the local and federal earthly governments had no right to require taxes from them.

The second thing they were looking for was an excuse to have Jesus’ authority, which is God’s authority, removed from their lives.

The Herodians, the Jews who sympathized with the Roman government, were upset because Jesus was claiming to be King and people were following him because of the authority that flowed from his words and actions.  They wanted Jesus removed from the public eye so that they could retain the power and prestige that came to them for being the recognized religious leaders of the day.  They wanted to be their own authority and they wanted to be ultimate authority for everyone else.

So, the two groups teamed up to trap Jesus with a question that they believed there was no way out of.  This group believed that Jesus would find himself in the wrong in the eyes of his peers regardless of how he answered their question.  Therefore, Jesus would be removed from their life and they wouldn’t have to worry about His God-talk that made them uncomfortable.

Let’s hear how this encounter went.

Matthew 22.15-22 tells us this:

[15] Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. [16] And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. [17] Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” [18] But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? [19] Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. [20] And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” [21] They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” [22] When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

The ultimate question that these two groups are posing to trap Jesus with is, “Which authority is more important?”

They see this as a trick question because if Jesus answers that God’s authority is more important than the Roman government’s authority, and therefore you don’t have to obey human leaders by paying the taxes they instituted, the Roman rulers can sweep in and charge Jesus with treason because it would look like Jesus was leading a rebellion against the established order of society.

On the other hand, if Jesus answers that the Roman government’s authority is more important than God’s authority, and therefore you have to pay taxes to a ruler who deifies himself, Jesus would lose all respect in the eyes of the Jewish population and he would become a non-threat to their religious prestige and power.

However, Jesus being omnipotent and knowing what is in the hearts of man, recognized what was happening and answered the only way he knew how.  Through complete Godly wisdom, Jesus’ response left both parties speechless because neither got what they wanted in this encounter.

Jesus did not give them an excuse to stop paying taxes.

And, Jesus did not give them an excuse to disobey God by removing him from the public eye.

Jesus’s answer went like this — God has a place for both earthly authorities and heavenly authorities in His Creation.

By saying that we should pay taxes to the government that rules over our land, Jesus is saying that the government has an important function in our life.

Now, I know this is going to rub some of you the wrong way because you believe that taxation is theft.  In your rebellion, you make deals to get paid in cash so that you can hide money from the government and you believe that our current elected leaders or the possible elected leaders coming in a month from now are nothing but pawns in Satan’s game to destroy us and our country.

Regardless of what you believe, governments are set up, given power to rule, and staffed by God himself for our benefit.

This is made clear when the apostle Paul speaks of how Christians should view and treat the leaders of their communities and their nation.

Paul speaks in Romans 13:1–7 and says:

[1] Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. [2] Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. [3] For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, [4] for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. [5] Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. [6] For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. [7] Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Paying taxes does not prevent one from serving God.

In fact, we can say that paying taxes is actually a way of obeying God’s command to love your neighbor.

Our tax money goes to make life better for everyone in this town, county, and country.

It pays the salaries of those that are appointed by God to work for us, overseeing the operations of this nation.

It pays the salaries of those that put their life on the line—police, firefighters, etc.—to keep us safe from harm.

It pays to provide help to the older generation so that their needs can be met after they retire.

It pays to provide help to single parents struggling to provide food for their children.

Regardless of your feeling on how any of these things are being managed at this point in time, it is the desire of God to have such practices in place for our good and the good of those around us.

In reference to the Jewish population speaking with Jesus in this morning’s text, one commentator says:

“They accepted the coin with [Caesar’s] image and thereby symbolically accepted the benefits of living under his government.  They used and enjoyed both the technology and peace supplied by Rome. Therefore, they had to be willing to render, that is, give back to Caesar what belonged to him for those services.  It was God’s will that the emperor be obeyed unless his laws were to clash with God’s edicts.”

But, Jesus’ answer doesn’t end with the idea that you should pay taxes because you are a citizen of an earthly kingdom.

Jesus’ answer goes on to mention that you are in fact a dual citizen.  You are also a citizen of God’s kingdom through your faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

And, as a citizen of God’s Kingdom, you are also to give to God what belongs to God.

That begs the question, “what belongs to God?”

And the answer is, “You!”

You belong to God because he purchased you and forgave you of your sin through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross.

God did everything to make you his own.  God did it all for you!

In his 2023 book, Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortland explains it this way:

“God didn’t meet us halfway. That is not his heart. He and his Son took the initiative. On terms of grace and grace alone. In defiance of what we deserved. When we, despite our smiles and civility, were running from God as fast as we could, building our own kingdoms and loving our own glory, lapping up the fraudulent pleasures of the world, [trying to get away from all authority in our lives—both earthly and heavenly], repulsed by the beauty of God and shutting up our ears at his calls to come home—it was then, in the hollowed-out horror of that revolting existence, that the prince of heaven bade his adoring angels farewell. It was then that he put himself into the murderous hands of these very rebels in a divine strategy planned from eternity past to rinse muddy sinners clean and hug them into his own heart despite their squirmy attempt to get free and scrub themselves clean on their own. Christ went down into death—“voluntary endurance of unutterable anguish,”1 Warfield calls it—while we applauded. We couldn’t have cared less. We were weak. Sinners. Enemies.

It was only after the fact, only once the Holy Spirit came flooding into our hearts, that the realization swept over us: he walked through my death. And he didn’t simply die. He was condemned. He didn’t simply leave heaven for me; he endured hell for me. He, not deserving to be condemned, absorbed it in my place—I, who alone deserved it. That is his heart. And into our empty souls, like a glass of cold water to a thirsty mouth, God poured his Holy Spirit to internalize the actual experience of God’s love (v. 5).”

Just as the roman coin was stamped with the emperor’s image, you through faith, are stamped with the image of the Son of God proving that you belong to him.

You belong to him today.

You will belong to him tomorrow.

And, you belong to him forever.

Forever!

That means that God’s love is with you and will never leave you.

That means that God will work in your life for your good and the good of those around you.

That means that you have meaning and purpose as you walk this earth.

So, know this today—God has placed authorities in you life for your good and there is no way out of that.

Give to earthly authorities what they deserve—honor, respect, and obedience (as long as they don’t ask you to disobey God).

But, more importantly, give to God what he deserves, your life through worship, thanksgiving, time in prayer communicating with him, spending 60 minutes a week in his house listening to His Word and responding to him, giving His Church a portion of your income so that others can be blessed by the work of God done by her, and following his commands to love God and others as He has first loved you.

This is the Word of God for you today.

This is the Grace of God for you today.

Amen.

Reverend Fred Scragg V.

October 18, 2026