Taxes to Caesar and the Two Kingdoms

October 18, 2020

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 22:15–22 [Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?]
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ

The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus answered, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” We live in both the society of this world and in the fellowship of God’s Kingdom. It is not just about taxes and tithes; it is about all our obligations both to God and to others. Jesus also said that the two most important commandments were to love your God and to love your neighbor, Mt. 22:37-40.

In Lutheran teaching this is called “The Two Kingdoms of God.” These are the “Kingdom of the Church” and the “Kingdom of the World.”

We live in a country at a time when there is religious freedom and the separation of church and state, but at time of Martin Luther, things were not separated. The Roman church tried to control both the king of France and the emperor of Germany. When the church condemned a heretic, it wanted the state to execute the heretic. After the Reformation, towns and countries were free to choose which church denomination they wanted to follow, but this did not give religious freedom to the people living in those places. For example, in a small town with only one church, the mayor decided whether it would be Lutheran or Roman and the townspeople had to worship that way. But the Lutheran teaching on the two kingdoms is not about denominations. Many years earlier, Augustine wrote about the City of God and the City of the World, and Calvin used the words two kingdoms, but they understood them differently. Modern so-called Evangelical Christians have a different idea also.

Luther sometimes talked about the two realms of God, the right hand of God and the left hand of God. The right hand is how God works in the Church, and the left is how God works in the world. The churchly kingdom is pure Gospel. The citizens are those who believe in Jesus as their Savior. This is the so-called “invisible church.” The “visible church” is the building, the activities, and the membership roll, which includes hypocrites and unbelievers. The “visible church” is part of the kingdom of the world. Let me explain. The kingdom of this world includes creation, the universe, animals, people, society, and everything else. This world is controlled by law: from the law of gravity to the regulations of society. The institutional church is also controlled by by-laws and church councils and synods, so the congregation is also part of the kingdom of the world.

(By the way, the teaching about Law and Gospel is similar to the two kingdoms.)

And so we Christians are in both kingdoms. We work in both kingdoms. We pray for both kingdoms in the Lord’s Prayer. The words “thy Kingdom come” is a prayer that God would give us the Holy Spirit so that we would believe the Word of God and live in his eternal kingdom. The words “give us this day our daily bread” is a prayer that God would bless us and all the people of this world who need bread and clothing and house and home and money and goods and animals and a devout family and good government and good weather and good friends and the like. It is a prayer that God would bless the kingdom of his left hand, the kingdom of this world. We pray this way because we love our neighbor.

Why is this two kingdom idea important? “So what?”

How do we Christians live? The world is so evil and so hectic that it might be nice to draw away from it. The classic ways are to join a convent or become a hermit in a desert cave, or start a commune or cult. Or you might get a group of pilgrims together and sail off to a new continent to start a new, pure Christian community. When there is a lot of stress, many people want to escape. Prayer and meditation, perhaps going to a quiet church and praying, is very helpful. It is a way to escape the kingdom of the world.

On the other hand, the world is so evil and so hectic that some people think that the church should work to change society and the world. Many churches take stands on various issues: moral, political, economic, environmental, social, and the like. They take a prophet stand [=Law]. When the church condemns society, it is proclaiming Law, not Gospel.

But does the church have authority to do that? What authority did Jesus give his disciples? After his resurrection, Jesus breathed on his disciples and gave them the Holy Spirit to forgive sin. At his ascension, Jesus gave the disciples the Great Commission to preach the gospel. The only authority that the church has is to forgive sin.

But we Christians are members of the kingdom of the world. And as such, we are doing the work of God in society to work for peace and justice and safety. My personal opinion is that a group of Christians in a congregation can have a social project to work for. They can work together effectively, having Christian love and ethics and morals. Perhaps that is their Christian duty and calling. Can a Christian be in both kingdoms? To this issue, Martin Luther wrote a famous article about whether a Christian can be a soldier. His answer was “Yes, and try to be the best soldier possible.” The world needs law and order. I get a theological magazine entitled “Lutheran Forum.” In one issue there was an article, “Can a Christian Be a Cop?” The author’s answer was “Yes, and try to be competent and compassionate.” I would put it in the category of “love your neighbor” for their protection and safety. It is similar to all occupations that contribute to the good of others and that help our families and friends and world-wide neighbors. God has given us talents to use to do his work in the world. That is one of the big teachings of today’s Gospel reading about taxes to Caesar.

As Lutherans who celebrate our freedom in the Gospel, we might seem too worldly sometimes. We might think that grace alone and faith alone give us permission to do anything. Rather, they give us the power and permission to do the work of God in his vast kingdom. In the one kingdom God has forgiven our sin and given us eternal life and salvation. And in the other kingdom, God is with us to do his work. Therefore we close the Sunday worship service with the words, “Go in peace, serve the Lord. Thanks be to God.”

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


Sermon Index