Based on Luke 20:20-26 (New King James Version)
“So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. Then they asked Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, ‘Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?’ They answered and said, ‘Caesar’s.’ And He said to them, ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.”
Before sharing this message, we will make a clarification. The purpose and reason for why this ministry and yours truly exists is to be dedicated to sharing Jesus Christ and His Truth with the world. The only standard that shall remain upheld, with God’s help, is precisely the Lord’s and everything that supports His things. Therefore, and as the Holy Bible as a foundation, with the thought that everyone (without exception) will need to give an account before the Most High someday, we will share and support precisely the things of God, and not the concepts of this world and society. So then, if there is disagreement or discontent with the content, you will not necessarily be contending with people and their opinions, but rather, with God Himself and the counsel that is given to us through His Word. In other words, do not get upset at the messenger because we didn’t write the Word of God, we only try to share it with the greatest fidelity possible, for the good of every person that either reads or listens to what is being shared. The Lord only wants what is good for us. In summary, the topic is this: to be able to please God and fulfill His will on earth, we are not called to rebel against the authorities, nor desire any evil upon them, but actually, quite the contrary.
To be able to understand this better, we need to consider the historic context in which the Lord Jesus found Himself when He spoke in this passage. The Roman Empire was the empire that was the most destructive and imposed itself more harshly over everything it conquered. The Roman Empire did not conquer the majority of its territory through diplomacy or friendship, but quite the contrary, they conquered through war, with the shedding of blood and death, with the advancement of its army and its legions. And when they reigned over the different nations, they were ruthless and inflexible. And with all of this, people needed to pay tribute and taxes just like we read today. The Son of God Himself paid taxes. Understanding all of this context, the Lord never spoke about rebelling against Rome, nor about destabilizing its authority, nor about putting up any kind of resistance. On the contrary, He said and taught: ‘Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ Understanding this, is there any Biblical reason to justify the contrary today, having conditions that are extremely different to those from before? There is simply no justification. God never spoke about defying the authorities, nor of rebellion, no matter how ruthless or unfair they could have been. This is what the Word of God teaches: “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:1-8. And this is how the Lord continues counseling us, and in the things we should occupy ourselves: “Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.” Titus 3:1-8.
And if there are injustices committed by anyone, without exception, this was what the Lord taught us: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48.
And finally, Paul is the greatest example we have of someone that was used greatly by the Lord after converting. That is why God is interested in a sinner’s transformation. We see in the following a small narration of how Paul behaved as a Jewish authority before coming to faith in Christ: “Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.” Acts 26:9-11. What would have happened if one of the Christians from back then would have killed Paul in vengeance for all of the evil he did? We would not have much of the Bible we have today, and even far less, many of us would not know the Lord. The glory belongs to God, but God used Paul as His vessel, for his eternal reward (because everything that we do for the Lord will have its reward in eternity).
So then, are you respecting God’s authority by respecting and praying for those that exercise authority over you? Lord bless! John