Trinity 23| Matthew 22:15-22| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| November 8, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pharisees plotted together to ensnare Jesus in His words, so that they might be able to destroy Him. They sent their disciples along with some Herodians to ask Jesus whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar or not. The Herodians were supporters of the Herodian dynasty; the rulers descended from Herod the Great, who received his throne over Judea from the Roman government. Since their power depended on the favor of the Romans, the Herodians would be quick to put an end to any Jewish leader who forbid taxes to Caesar. Yet, the Jewish people resented Roman authority, especially among the religious. Pledging loyalty to Caesar would certainly cause Jesus to lose followers. The Pharisees thought they had Jesus trapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so, have people continued to try to trap Jesus and pit His kingdom against the kingdoms of this world. At the time of the Reformation, the anabaptists said that Christians could not participate in government at all nor serve as mayors, judges, or soldiers. Today, many seek to silence the Church, saying it should keep religion out of politics, so Christians and pastors shouldn\u2019t speak at all about what the government should do. But Scripture does not pit earthly government and the Christian Church against each other. Neither does it forbid Christians from participating in government. Rather, Scripture teaches that Christians live both under earthly government as well as under God\u2019s heavenly spiritual kingdom. Obedience to the earthly government does not conflict with obedience to God, rather God commands obedience to earthly government. And the aims of the earthly government need not interfere with the aims of God\u2019s heavenly kingdom, as Jesus said to Pilate, \u201cMy kingdom is not of this world.\u201d (John 18:36) And so, Christians should both obey the earthly government, pay taxes, and give their leaders honor, while also living as citizens of a heavenly, spiritual kingdom, as St. Paul writes in Philippians 3, \u201cBut our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.\u201d (vss. 20-21) As Jesus says, \u201cRender to Caesar the things that are Caesar\u2019s, and to God the things that are God\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, if we are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, why should we obey the earthly government? Isn\u2019t this splitting our loyalty, and doing as Jesus forbids, serving two masters (Matthew 6:24)? We obey the government, because the earthly government is God\u2019s servant for our good. God commands us to obey the government. When we obey the government, we are obeying God, just as when a child obeys his father or mother, he is honoring God who gave him father and mother. St. Paul explains this best in Romans chapter 13:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2<\/sup><\/strong> Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3<\/sup><\/strong> For rulers are not a terror<\/a> to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4<\/sup><\/strong> for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5<\/sup><\/strong> Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6<\/sup><\/strong> For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 <\/a><\/sup><\/strong>Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, Christians obey the law, pay their taxes, pray for their leaders, and show them respect, not simply out of fear of punishment, but for the sake of conscience, because they know that when they obey the government, they are obeying their God and are being faithful citizens of God\u2019s heavenly kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, this is not to say that Christians always find this easy. We often are very dissatisfied with our leaders. And not just that we disagree with decisions they make or we think they\u2019re corrupt or out of touch, but often our government does very evil things, which God condemns. The most glaring of these today is the legalization of abortion, which is the murder of unborn babies. The government is God\u2019s servant to protect these children, not to protect those who destroy them! Christians are right to complain about this, and we should never be silent to it, neither in our prayers that God would put it to an end, nor in our petitions to our government to protect the most vulnerable among us. And there are other complaints Christians may have against our government: the destruction of marriage, unjust wars, the devaluation of money, which is theft, injustice in courts, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But even these evils done by our government do not take away our obligation to obey and pay our taxes. The government remains God\u2019s servant. When Jesus said to render to Caesar what is Caesar\u2019s, Tiberius was Caesar in Rome, a godless man, whose personal life would make any of our elected officials look like saints, and under whose authority Jesus Christ was crucified. When St. Paul wrote that we should obey the governing authorities and pay taxes, Nero was emperor of Rome, a most wicked man, who not only was an incompetent ruler, but a persecutor of the Church. How much less should we let our dissatisfaction keep us from our duty of obeying our government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And this should give us consolation when we are troubled by our government. The government is God\u2019s servant and God\u2019s tool. Whether elected democratically or descended from monarchs, government serves at God\u2019s good pleasure. And He changes government according to His<\/em> will. As a carpenter switches from a flathead screwdriver to a Philip\u2019s, or from a hammer to a saw, so the change of government is simply God putting a different tool in His hand. This past election day was a sort of judgment day. The voters passed their judgment upon their leaders, and by and large rejected the Republican led governments across the country, because they were dissatisfied with their rule. But the Democrats are God\u2019s servants just as well as the Republicans. And both Republicans and Democrats should fear God\u2019s Judgment Day much more than election day, because God will judge the governments of this world according to how they carried out His will in pursuing justice. So, we should not neglect to pray for our leaders and recognize it as a heavy burden to serve in government, because they do not only have the voters as their judge, but God Himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, Christians should not be apathetic about government but should encourage the government in what is good and just, even as Daniel gave godly and wise advice to the heathen rulers Nebuchadnezzar and Darius. Yet, Christians should not be anxious about the government as if its rule is beyond God\u2019s control, as the Psalmist says, \u201cPut not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4<\/sup><\/strong> When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.\u201d (Psalm 146:3-4) And as Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, \u201cYou would have no authority over Me at all unless it had been given you from above.\u201d (John 19:11) God still rules from heaven. The government on earth remains His servant. If it fails to grant justice, God will fulfill your hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, this also sets the limit of our obedience. We obey the government insofar as that obedience obeys God. As St. Peter said to the high priest who forbid the apostles from preaching about Jesus, \u201cWe must obey God rather than men.\u201d (Acts 5:29) God\u2019s servant cannot command us to disobey God. Rather we should refuse to obey any law that would prevent us from worshiping or confessing Christ in word and deed. This is the consistent example of Holy Scripture, as the three young men in Daniel chapter three would rather be thrown into a fiery furnace than obey the king\u2019s decree to worship an idol. And so, the government does not determine what is right and wrong. Just because something is legal, does not mean that God calls it good or that you can participate in it without sin. We must not give government our full allegiance, but only what God commands, not more and not less. Otherwise, that would be to render to Caesar what is God\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We render to the government our taxes, our obedience in so far as it does not conflict with God\u2019s Word, and our prayers to God for our leader\u2019s health and wisdom. What do we render to God? Everything. Even our rendering to Caesar is rendering to God, because Caesar is God\u2019s servant and we obey him for Jesus\u2019 sake. We render to God our full obedience, our full trust, our heart, body, and soul. Because He has given us all these things and has redeemed them with the blood of Christ. Everything we have, we received from the Lord. And so, we should use all things in service to the Lord, our talents, our time, our labor, how we raise our children, how we behave as citizens of our earthly government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a great difference between the earthly government under which we live, and God\u2019s heavenly kingdom of which we are even now citizens. The earthly government is physical and temporary. The earthly government deals only with our bodies and temporal material things. It is charged by God to protect our bodies and property, to punish the wrong doers, to promote what is good, and to carry out justice. The earthly government deals only with the law, which commands us what to do and not to do. And the earthly government can only use physical force to coerce us to obey its will. But the earthly government cannot forgive our sins, condemn us to hell, or grant us everlasting life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God\u2019s heavenly kingdom is spiritual and eternal. It does not levy taxes or put in prison but rules the heart through faith. God\u2019s heavenly kingdom is not ruled by elections or constitutions, but by the Word of God found in Holy Scripture (Ephesians 2:20). In this kingdom, God richly forgives our sins, applying to us Jesus\u2019 blood and righteousness. Though governments on earth change, some better, some worse, some hostile to the Church, others more friendly, God\u2019s spiritual kingdom continues unchanged. Christ commanded that disciples be made in all nations, through baptizing and teaching, regardless of the government\u2019s permission (Matthew 28:19-20). Though governments on earth oppose Christ\u2019s kingdom, try to silence the preaching of the Gospel and hinder the growth of the Church, He who sits in the heavens laughs (Psalm 2). The Gospel can be preached in prisons and in homes, in wealthy countries and in poor countries, under good earthly government and under corrupt and dysfunctional government. We still follow our King Jesus through faith, hearing His Gospel, eating His precious food, His very body and blood, which clears our guilt and gives us strength to continue in the faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God\u2019s spiritual kingdom on earth does not have a military, no prisons or courthouses. Yet, it rules in every nation around the world. And though nations fall and governments fail, Christ\u2019s spiritual kingdom endures forever. When we die, the government relinquishes its authority over us, but we who kept the faith will continue in God\u2019s kingdom of glory. On the Last Day, all earthly governments will be abolished, God will dismiss His servants of wrath, yet Christ\u2019s kingdom of glory will be established forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As citizens of heaven, you are pilgrims here on earth. So, render obedience to the temporary government for a little while, but render not your heart or confidence. That you must render only to the Lord, who has earned your confidence by redeeming your heart from sin and winning for you eternal citizenship in His kingdom. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Trinity 23| Matthew 22:15-22| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| November 8, 2026 The Pharisees plotted together to ensnare Jesus in His words, so that they might be able to destroy Him. They sent their disciples along with some Herodians to ask Jesus whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar or not….<\/p>\n