Mark 12:13-17 (also in Matthew 22:15-22 and Luke 20:20-26)
“Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.”
The above reading is one of the many examples in the Gospels where the Pharisees set a trap for Jesus and he, in reply, dodged the trap while teaching a valuable lesson. The lesson this in this instance is, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” This can be rephrased to instruct us to obey the government and its laws, wherever you live.
This was ultimately a trap set by the Pharisees for Jesus, but the lesson of paying your taxes is important. I know nobody particularly loves taxes nor does everyone agree with every fiscal decision their government makes, nonetheless we are instructed to pay taxes. Benjamin Franklin said, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” He was right, there’s nothing a person can do to escape death or taxes, so we just have to deal with it.
The Bible doesn’t stop at paying your taxes, it goes further to instruct us to obey the government in all respects. Paul, in Romans 13:1-7, writes:
“Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”
In similar fashion, 1 Peter 2:13-17 says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.”
We as Christians are supposed to obey all laws, pay taxes, and respect the government, regardless of personal views or political views. To be crystal clear: tearing up draft cards, rioting, rebellion, and treason are all things the Bible teaches us against. Laws and governments are put in place by God to keep order and prevent chaos. 1 Corinthians 14:33 says, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.”
There are many examples of people disobeying the law for a ‘good’ reason. One of my favorite examples is Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau refused to pay the poll tax, which he believed “supported the Mexican-American war and the expansion of slavery into the Southwest.” He was arrested in July of 1846 and placed in jail, without argument.
There is a famous story, which is apocryphal, that goes with this. It goes like this: his mentor and friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, supposedly visited him in jail and said something like, “Henry, why are you here?” In the story, Thoreau replied, “Waldo, why are you not here?” (This story was started after Thoreau’s death.)
Let me give Thoreau some credit. Number one, he went to jail peacefully and without argument. Number two, slavery was a terrible institution and it was abolished, thankfully. Thoreau did the wrong thing for the right reason. As Christians, however, we shouldn’t do things like this. I’m not saying it’s easy, I’m just saying we shouldn’t. The only time Christians are allowed to disobey the law is when the law contradicts the law of God.
An example of this is in Daniel, the well known account of Daniel in the lion’s den. This account, recorded in Daniel 6, takes place during reign of Darius the Mede, after he conquered the Neo-Babylonian Empire following the assassination of Belshazzar (son of Nebuchadnezzar). Daniel was so respected, by this point, that Darius planned to put him in control of the empire (Daniel 6:3). The other administrators and satraps were envious at this, so they conspired to discredit Daniel by looking for corruption. They failed at this (6:4-5).
They then convinced Darius to “issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you [Darius], Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den.” (6:7) Daniel went home that day and prayed, and he would do this three times a day. The administrators caught him, arrested him, and took him before the king. Daniel accepted his punishment and was thrown in the lion’s den. The king was remorseful for punishing Daniel for this (6:10-17). Long story short, Daniel prayed to God and he protected him from the lions. Darius was overjoyed at finding Daniel alive the next morning the he praised God (6:18-28).
Now, the example of Daniel and the example of Thoreau may sound the same, but there is a major difference between the two. Thoreau broke the law to make a political point, whereas Daniel broke the law to stay obey God. God doesn’t care about politics, He cares about faith and obedience. We can’t allow our personal politics to get in the way of our obedience to God.
My final point about our obeying the law is that we are representing Christ and the church to those on the outside. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 says, “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” We are “entrusted with the gospel,” so we need to obey the law to set an example for others. If we Christians don’t obey the laws, then why would anybody see the difference between the body of Christ and the rest of the world.
In 1 Peter 1:14-16 we are told, “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”” Holy means set-apart, so we have to act it.
The take home message here is three parts: (1) obey the law and pay your taxes, (2) political or personal beliefs are not rationale for law breaking, and (3) obedience to the government sets an example for non-believers. I’m not going to lie and tell you that every law a government passes is good, however, unless it contradicts God’s law, we still have to obey laws. It isn’t always easy, but it’s the right thing to do.
