TAX - MARK 12:13-17
13 The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?(Matt 22:15-22; Luke 20:20-26)
Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"
But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them,"Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."16 So they brought it.
And He said to them,"Whose image and inscription is this?"They said to Him, "Caesar's."
17 And Jesus answered and 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. NKJV
In this passage of scripture the Apostle Mark records the wisdom of God demonstrated through Jesus Christ on an old controversial issue that was never totally settled by the religion of that day. This controversial discussion still tries to rear it’s ugly head today but since the Lord Jesus settled this debate in His teaching upon the earth there is really nothing to argue about. The Lord Jesus establishes God’s truth in the earth for all mankind. All those who love truth agree with Jesus and those who do not accept truth always disagree with God. The issue of whether or not to pay taxes is much larger than the question of, “Should we give our money to someone else?” It is a logical debate of the mind questioning “if one should have to support a government they rationally disagree with”. The topic gets further clouded with the argument of, “should a holy righteous people give of their resources to an ungodly system?” The Jews of that time considered all material blessings a gift from God, similar to how some Christians view their assets today. The true Jews of heart believes that they are to be good stewards over what God has given them (blessed them with), as do fundamental Christians. Therefore, for them to give their righteous money toward an unrighteous government was thought to be offensive to God. Thus, they did not believe in paying taxes to Caesar. This is still practiced today by the unlearned because some religious people still believe it violates their conscience. However there is always a good portion of people that just don’t like paying any of their money to government so they resist paying taxes simply because they don’t want to. Notice is verse 13 that both the Pharisees and the Herodians came to test Jesus on this subject. The Pharisees represented the strictest religious order of that day, based on their own theology they could find no definitive answer. This was because in the Old Testament the Jews were suppose to be their own nation which taxed the people according to the laws of Moses. Performing any payment of tax outside of the Law of Moses toward the unrighteous could be considered unlawful if you only considered the Law of Moses. The Herodians represented the governmental officials of that region and they had a strong interest in all those who dare resist the laws of King Herod. All the people of that day who lived in or near this land knew the argument all to well. The problem the Pharisees had was that no one could pray to God directly to get His input because that could contradict their leadership. Remember for the religious Pharisees there is no new revelation from God only the interpretation of the existing Law of Moses. The Herodians on the other hand only knew that everyone must pay taxes to continue the operation of their government, remember whatever money goes to the government a portion of that same money goes directly into the pocket of the government workers. We will notice from verse 14 that the people who asked the question were not the Herodians but rather the Pharisees because the Lord may choose not to answer the heathen. This was a tactical move since the Lord will always respond to His covenant people even if they don’t like the answer. In verse 15 the bold statement is made, “Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?" as if they were really interested in obeying the Lord. This is why the Lord got angry with them in verse 15 with the description of their ways as “hypocrisy”. The Lord does not like to waste time instructing people who ask questions to Him with no intention of obeying His Words. The hypocrite always acts as if he is a faithful disciple in front of other people but inwardly (inside their heart) they are very rebellious to God being hard hearted and stubborn. Notice Jesus did not call them out publicly for their sin of being hypocrites. Since the Lord knew this was a major point of contention He thought it best to give them an answer from God. Notice in verse 15 the Lord ask them to show Him a portion of their problem. This reminds us that whatever problems (dilemmas, controversies) we face in this life a portion of the answer is right in front of us. Once we turn our attention to right source, God, the answer will appear with some simple words of illumination and actions of truth. All of the answers from God are spiritual, however on the earth there is always a natural application. So start by looking inwardly to God first, then look around you for the natural application of the spiritual principle. Thus, Jesus receives the coin (a denarius), then looks at the coin and after that asks them a question. This is one thing I love about the Lord, He will sometimes answer man’s question with His own question until the answer is so obvious that every man can see it. The Lord is a teacher so He is more interested in us learning than passing information unto us. Learning is the Lord’s true definition of education, not a reading of information that is not digested into the heart. Jesus ask the question that even a child could answer, it was so simple that all the common people, the religious leaders and the government officials were all forced to answer the same. Thus, this brought unity and harmony among the crowd, at least for that moment. The answer was predetermined by God so the people walked right into this revelation from God. When the people responded to Jesus question of, “Who’s money is this?’ by stating “Caesar's" they answered their own problem. We have found that typically complex problems are resolved through very simple answers, the key is seeing the answer and then doing it. The Lord knew His next response would not be a question but rather a statement to end their debate. The Lord spoke a truth and when common truth is spoken (revealed) it is very difficult (hard) to debate it. The key is getting people into a position where they can receive truth because many times people will choose another way out. In this case they had backed themselves into a corner with no where to turn but truth and those that accepted this truth were made free. The understanding of possession being 9 -10th of the law is still a valid rule of government because if one can prove ownership they are ultimately staking their claim to the possession. When Jesus spoke the eternal truth of giving back Caesar what he originally created, who could argue. We must realize that the government has the right to make their own currency unless they are under the rule of another nation. Since the currency of the nation is usually uniform for commerce it is a failing argument to decree that you, as a citizen of that government, have the right to do as you please. No, my friend, you do not! If you would like to enjoy the benefits of being a citizen in that nation you must also submit unto the government of that nation. Yes, even when you disagree with their form (distribution) of taxes. The Pharisees error was that they were trying to govern themselves by their own rules as opposed to the establish authority of the land. Likewise, the Christian should not expect the America government to look exactly like the Kingdom of God in Heaven. We may hope for the best on earth but to publicly protest and hold rallies for your cause is not Christ like. Jesus revealed to the Pharisees that promoting your own laws in conflict to the established laws is ungodly and unacceptable because any nation divided shall fall. The Herodians were very pleased with that answer because it put everybody on the same level playing field. This proved that God’s is no respecters of person but rather He is most definitely a respecter of hearts. That brings us to the last point made by Jesus in verse 17 which is, “Render to God the things that are God's”. This we all know means to, “Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with all your soul (mind) and will all your strength” simply because He is your Creator. So pay your taxes due to your government and remember the payment of taxes is not an agreement of government’s ways it is just obedience to the laws of land. If you believe in submission to God you must also believe in submission to God’s ordained authorities whom the Lord has set you under. It really does not profit you to marvel at truth as noted in verse 17 but it does profit you to do truth. We know according to James 1:22-25 that only the doers of God’s Word are blessed before God, the hearers only are often deceived. Amen!
In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster