Mark 11:27-12:40 “Do We go against God when We Respect Evil Authority?”

READ: Mark 11:27-12:40

Verses chosen for meditation: Mark 12:13-17

¹³ And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. ¹⁴ And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” ¹⁵ But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” ¹⁶ And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” ¹⁷ Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.

REFLECT

The Pharisees and the Herodians were different sects at odds with each other, but they had something in common: both wanted political independence for the Jews, and both didn’t like Jesus very much.

The pharisees were looking for a Messiah from the line of David who would bring down the Roman empire. Jesus was that Messiah, but far from the kind of political and military powerhouse they desired. The Herodians were looking to Herod or someone from his line to take over the Romans as their ruler (though Herod’s power rode on his aligning with the Roman Emperor). This unlikely alliance conspired to trap Jesus, pitting him against the Romans.

Here’s their scheme. When they asked Jesus whether it was lawful to pay the imperial tax, it was not so much about money but about who they should show loyalty to. If Jesus says they should pay, it’s like conceding that the emperor would have his loyalty. This would have discredited Jesus’ witness. How can a teacher of God show loyalty to a pagan emperor?

If Jesus says they should not pay, that would have been treason. They could then bring evidence of Jesus’ reply to the Romans to get him jailed or killed. But Jesus’ answer stumped them. Without going into allegiances, Jesus said that whatever belongs to Caeser, give to Caeser, and whatever belongs to God, give to God. By giving Caeser what’s due to him, that is not going against God. If they perceive that to be against God, why do they then use coins with the inscription of Caeser and continue reaping benefits from it?

RELATE

If the property and country these people live in belongs to Caeser, then they must give Caeser the rent that belongs to him. Jesus didn’t say, subscribe to Caeser’s beliefs or worship him. We see here that God allows room for Christians to enjoy or tolerate human systems and governments (even non-godly ones). If within that room, we retain the freedom to obey God’s will, then there is no contradiction. However, if asked by authorities to be unethical and go against God’s moral will, then it’s a different matter.

If what’s demanded of us does not go against God’s moral will, we must honour those demands, and respect the authority God placed us in, whether they are good or unjust. This is a hard teaching for Jesus’ disciples. They looked to Jesus as God, yet he asked them to submit to Caeser. In doing so, Jesus would still be king of kings, and they would still be serving God. It must have taken the disciples a long time to make sense of that, especially for stubborn Peter. But even Peter, during a time after Jesus’ death, when Christians were bullied and heavily persecuted by the Romans, wrote this letter to the Christians: 1 Peter 2:13-19.

Peter urged Christians to respect their masters, even the unjust ones! And this is even for God’s sake. It means that respecting and honouring our earthly authorities (evil ones included), not only does not go against God, but instead honours God. How does that work? Peter is saying that the role of Christians then is to be beyond reproach, meaning to leave no room for others to unnecessarily accuse Christians. God didn’t want his people to be labelled as rebels or accused of not living right before any kind of authority.

There may be instances where liars spread falsehood about a Christian’s conduct, but they have no concrete evidence. Fabricated evidence at most. However, should we find ourselves involved in foul play because we don’t like how demanding or unkind our authorities are, there will be undeniable evidence. We leave room for people to attack God’s honour through our disrespect. However, if we endure and do right and show respect, despite suffering injustice, God’s honour will shine even more. Afterall, Jesus did exactly that.

When we are treated badly, our 1^st response often is to fight back. It seems just at first, but Jesus shows a different way. There may be times where we may have to fight, for e.g. to protect others. We then pick our battles wisely. We continue to learn how to balance being just and right before those in authority and caring for those suffering under bad masters.

REST

Dear Lord, may my ways always be honourable, regardless of the authority I’m under. Give me strength to serve with excellence even under harsh treatment, so that it may glorify your name. Amen.

Chris Chong