Jesus the Politician

Mark 12:13–17 (NASB95) — 13 Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 “Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

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Was Jesus a Republican or Democrat? Was he for big business? What about social justice? 

As hostile as the political arena seems today, it was even more toxic in Jesus' time. If you fell on the wrong side of a political issue when you were in the wrong crowd, it could mean death.

Jesus was born a Jew while the Jewish people were subjugated by the Roman government. The Jewish people were allowed to police themselves to an extent, but if things got out hand the Roman government stepped in and handled the matter severely...a shoot first, ask questions later approach.

Rome was ruled by a Caesar who had absolute authority and whose commands were executed without any questions asked. You did not want to do anything that pitted you against the Caesar.

In this text we have recorded an incredible account of Jesus interacting with the politics of His day. I wanna show you Jesus' political position, He was not politically complacent nor did He put politics before all else. His position is radical.

To give you the context, before this encounter with the Pharisees and Herodians Jesus had barged into the temple, interrupted the commerce there, and chased people out with a home-made weapon. Then he set up camp there and began teaching and drawing crowds with his talk of the coming of the Kingdom of God. Needless to say this upset the people he drove out, namely the Pharisees and Herodians, who by the way were not friends but had united to try and take down Jesus.

They had devised a plot to get Him killed. They were going to ask Him a loaded question. If he responded one way He would lose His following and been seen as a phony, if responded another He would get himself killed. Either way they would win. The question is one that still has interest for us today...taxes.

But this tax was no ordinary tax....it was a head tax. It was one denarius which isn't a lot. If you had to put it into a modern equivalent that would be something like a quarter. So why is it such a big deal?

Let me explain, Jesus is a Jew from Galilee. When this tax was implemented, some 25 or so years before this event there was another Jew from Galilee named Judas. Judas had busted into the temple and drove out the gentiles and cleared the place of riff-raff. Then Judas of Galilee had instructed his followers not to pay the head tax. While the tax wasn't a significant amount, it was purpose of the tax that was offensive to a Jew. The head tax was a tax simply for having the pleasure of being under the rule of Caesar.

Judas of Galilee started a military and political rebellion that caused the Roman government to step in and silence them.

Then here comes Jesus, a Jew from Galilee who has developed a following of his own by preaching about the Kingdom of God.

Now because we are apart of western mindset we imagine that the Kingdom of God is some sort of spiritual, inner experience, not an actual Kingdom. The Jewish people would not have heard it that way, they were expecting Jesus to rise up in political and military power to crush the Roman government and restore Israel back to power.

Jesus is even walking in the footsteps of Judas by storming into the temple and clearing it of riff-raff. The echoes of Judas actions still ring in the ears of the Pharisees and Herodians as they ask the question, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?"

If he says no, then his followers (who would have been there to hear his response) would see that he was just blowing smoke. If he says yes, then he's essentially saying that he's here to start a rebellion against Caesar....which they could then report to the Roman authorities and have Jesus killed.

Jesus, what party are you for? Which side are you on? Where do you stand on this issue, are you for it or against it? Tell us! Yes or no?

Jesus's response is remarkable.

He says, "bring me a denarius to look at." Notice that Jesus doesn't even have one, he has to ask them to provide one. Then he says, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 
On the coin would have been an imprint of Caesar's image, but here's the thing...do you know what the inscription read?

"Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine." The other side would have read, "High Priest."

17 And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

What's so amazing about that?

The word we translate as "render" means give back what they deserve. Jesus is saying give Caesar what he deserves.......and how much does a tyrannical, power-hungry murder deserve after all? The coin has his image on it so it must be his, at least give that to him.

Then he says, give to God what he deserves. The coin had Caesar's image on it, but humans are made in God's image.

Jesus answer is amazing because of how much it said and how little it said. He said essentially said yes and no at the same time. Respect Caesar but Caesar isn't the ultimate be-all end-all, God is....and He's who you ultimately need to pay homage to.

His answer expressed all this meaning without falling into the traps they had set...

But that's not what's impressive about this encounter. Why is it recorded in three of the gospel accounts? What's so important about it?

Here the stage is set for the contrast between a great king and the King of kings. 

You have Caesar, the king with all the wealth and Jesus the King without a quarter. 

Jesus is a completely different kind of King. The things that Caesar spends his life chasing after are seen as valueless by Jesus. Jesus earlier had contrasted the values of this world with the values of His kingdom. He says...

Luke 6:20–26 (NASB95) — 20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23 “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. 25 “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.

Jesus is saying, you here in this world...you orient your life around power, status, wealth, comfort. All the decisions you make in this life are to bring you more power, more wealth, more comfort to yourself...but my kingdom is completely different. Those won't satisfy, those won't fulfill, only my Kingdom can give you the fulfillment you are looking for. Once you are in my kingdom, you are freed from slavery to those things and free to use them for the good of others.

Don't you see? Where do politicians go wrong? They go wrong when they get caught up in chasing the values of this world. Politicians are dirty when they seek their own wealth instead of the wealth of the people they're supposed to be representing. When they seek the comfort of themselves instead of the comfort of the people.

Only through faith in Jesus can you been freed from those things in order to truly help others. Only in Jesus can you be freed to truly be a political activist that can make a difference.

Jesus' political view was to complex to be simplified with a label, He was not a pacifist nor did He ascribe highest value to politics. Jesus started a political revolution that changed the world. He didn't just overthrow the king, he overthrew all of the values of the worldly kingdom. He didn't just change the players, he changed the game.

Caesar claimed to be the son of god and the high priest but Jesus is the real Son of God and true High Priest. Caesar kills those that oppose him but Jesus prayed forgiveness for those that were killing Him as they crucified Him. Caesar lives in a lavish palace and uses his strength to oppress the weak. Jesus gave up his heavenly palace so that we could have a place in it. Jesus gave up his strength in order to save those who are weak.

Don't you want a King like that?