June 01 2025

Sunday June 01

Luke 20:20-26 – God Ordained Human Government

20 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. 21 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: 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" 23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and said, "Caesar's." 25 And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

In Luke 20:20-26 the Jewish priests, elders, scribes, and the Herodians continue to confront Jesus seeking to find a reason to have Him killed (v.19). On this particular occasion, Jesus knew that the men who questioned Him were spies sent by the Pharisees and the Herodians according to Mark 12:13, but He patiently listened and replied.

These two groups were usually fighting each other, but now they had a common enemy, and this brought them together. They wanted to discuss taxes and Roman authority, hoping to provoke Jesus into offending either the Jews or the Romans. If Jesus said, “pay the Roman tax,” they knew that He would offend and anger the Jews who hated the Romans ruling over them. If Jesus said, “don’t pay the Roman tax,” He would be considered an insurrectionist by the Roman rulers and could be put to death. But Jesus lifted the discussion to a much higher level and forced the spies to think about the relationship between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of men.

The Bible teaches that governmental authority is instituted by God and must be respected (Prov. 8:15; Dan. 2:21, 37-38; Rom. 13; 1 Peter 2:11-17). Yes, our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20), and we are strangers and pilgrims on earth, but that does not mean we should ignore our earthly responsibilities. Human government is essential to a safe and orderly society, for man is a sinner and must be kept under control.

When you read the book of Judges you find what it is like when there is no authority over the people. Because there was no king in Israel, “every man did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 21:25). The land was filled with anarchy, violence, murder, stealing, confusion, and chaos! God knows we need human government for peace and order.

In verses 20-26, Jesus was not suggesting that we divide our loyalties between God and government. Since "the powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom. 13:1), we live as good citizens when we obey the authorities for the Lord's sake. When obedience to God conflicts with obedience to man, then we must put God first (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29), but we must do it in a manner that is honorable and loving. Even if we cannot respect the people in office, we must respect the office.

The counsel that Jeremiah gave to the Jewish exiles in Babylon is a good one for God's "strangers and pilgrims" to follow today. “And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace.” (Jeremiah 29:7) Today we are instructed in 1 Timothy 2:1-4, “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

Caesar's image and name were on the coins, so it was basically his currency. To pay the poll tax meant simply to give Caesar back that which belonged to him. God's image is stamped on us; therefore, He has the right to command our lives as citizens in His kingdom. We should seek to be such good citizens that God will be glorified and the unsaved will be attracted to the Gospel and want to become Christians (1 Peter 2:9-12; 3:8-17).

It is unfortunate that some Christians have the mistaken idea that the more obnoxious they are as citizens, the more they please God and witness for Christ. We must never violate our conscience, but we should seek to be peacemakers and not troublemakers. Daniel is an example to follow (Dan. 1).

God bless!