Mark 12:13-17 exposition How to respond to government as Christians? How do we balance our duties as citizen with our accountability to God?

3. Quick Reference
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4. Government’s Orders
Democracy
Republic
Communistic
Mornarchy
Military dictatorship
Etc.

5. Government’s Policies

6. Quick Questions
How to respond to government
as Christians?
How do we balance
our duties as citizen with
our accountability to God?

7. Mark 12:13-17

8. 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?”

9. Taxes: an explosive issue
A census was then taken,
from which the Romans
levied a head tax.
This provoked Judas of
Galilee to lead a revolt
because it placed God’s
land at the service of
foreigners (Acts 5:37).
Judea became a Roman province in A.D. 6.

10. Mark 12:13-17
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?”
Can one pay taxes to Caesar and still
give allegiance to the God of Israel?
Are people traitors to God for supporting
Caesar’s hegemony over the land?

11. 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.
The Pharisees were were a strict
Jewish religious group and
resented Roman rule with its
paganism with Caesar as the focus
of Imperial Cult.

12. 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.
The Herodians were a religious/
political group that supported the
‘herods’, an appointed king from
the romans to rule selected parts
of the empire.

13. 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.
SHOULD
PAY /
NOT ?

14. Mark 12:13-17
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.
TI[berius]
CAESAR DIV[i]
AUG[usti] F[ilius]
AUGUSTUS
PONTIF[ex]
MAXIM[us]
A portable idol promoting pagan ideology

15. Mark 12:13-17
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.”
16a And they brought one.
Since they are able to show the coin,
Jesus also exposes that they have no
reservation about doing business with Caesar’s money and
about bringing an image of Caesar’s power and ‘deity’.
They had answered their own question by tacitly acknowledging
Caesar's authority and thus their obligation to pay the tax.

16. Mark 12:13-17
16b 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.

17. Likeness/Images
GENESIS 1:26a
Then God said, “Let
us make man in our
image, after our
likeness.”
Under God’s
Authority

18. Likeness/Images
MARK 12:16
“Whose likeness and
inscription is this?”
“Caesar’s.”
Under Caesar’s
Authority
MARK 12:7a
Render to Caesar
the things that are
Caesar’s

19. Likeness/Images
MARK 12:7b
... and to God the
things that are God’s.
Under God’s
Authority

20. Likeness/Images
MARK 12:7b
... and to God the
things that are God’s.
Under God’s
Authority

21. Render to God
MARK 12:30
And you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind
and with all your strength.

22. Under the rule of God
Jesus acknowledged Caesar’s rightful role
as governor under the higher
rule of God.
Give to Caesar what God
has entrusted to Caesar.

23. Romans 13:1-7
1 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 Therefore whoever resists the authorities
resists what God has appointed, and those who
resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a
terror 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 for he is God's servant for your good.

24. Romans 13:1-7
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 Therefore one must be in subjection,
not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake
of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay
taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God,
attending to this very thing. 7 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.

25. Judges 21:25

26. No Small Request
Paul's exhortation to Roman believer to
be subject to government rulers
is no small request.
AD57 The writing of Romans
AD49 Christians were expelled from Rome by the
government
AD64 Government-sanctioned persecution of
Christian began under Nero

27. What if
What if the government tells us to
... renounce our faith?
... or abort our children?
... or serve in a military waging
an unjust war?

28. Higher Authority
Respect for leaders does not mean
unqualified compliance.
Do not give to Caesar
what belongs to God.

29. God > government
ACTS 4:19-20 But Peter and John answered
them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God
to listen to you rather than to God,
you must judge, for we cannot but speak of
what we have seen and heard.”

30. Early Christians
Celsus (repected Roman
scholar, 2 AD) accused
followers of Jesus of
treasonous and atheistic
because they did not
worship the gods of
Rome nor revere Caesar
as a god.
Early Christians enduring
severe institutional
persecution.

31. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah

32. Daniel

33. Where Shall We Go?

34. Jeremiah 29:4-7
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God
of Israel, says to all those I carried into
exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ”...
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of
the city to which I have carried you into
exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it
prospers, you too will prosper.”

35. Micah 6:8
He has told you, O man,
what is good; and what does
the LORD require of you but
to do justice,
and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

37. Jeremiah 29:4-7
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God
of Israel, says to all those I carried into
exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ”...
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of
the city to which I have carried you into
exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it
prospers, you too will prosper.”

38. 1 Timothy 2:1-4
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications,
prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be
made for all people, 2 for kings and all who
are in high positions, that we may lead a
peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in
every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in
the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all
people to be saved and to come to the
knowledge of the truth.

39. Jeremiah 29:4-7
This is what the LORD Almighty, the God
of Israel, says to all those I carried into
exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: ”...
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of
the city to which I have carried you into
exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because
if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
FAMILY / CITY / NATION

40. Negeri ini
[Indonesia] sangat
luar biasa indah.
Jangan putus asa
Just!tia

41. Doa Kami
Syukur untuk setiap rencana-Mu
dan rancangan-Mu yang mulia
Dalam satu tubuh kami bersatu
menjadi duta kerajaan-Mu
Kuucapkan berkat atas Indonesia
Biar kemuliaan Tuhan akan nyata

42. Doa Kami
Bagi bangsa ini kami berdiri
dan membawa doa kami kepadaMu
Sesuatu yang besar pasti terjadi
dan mengubahkan negeri kami
Hanya namaMu Tuhan ditinggikan
atas seluruh bumi

43. Doa Kami
Kami rindu melihat Indonesia
pulih dari semua problema
Hidup dalam jalan kebenaran-Mu
Pancarkan terang Kemulian-Mu
Kuucapkan berkat atas Indonesia
Biar kemuliaan Tuhan akan nyata

44. Doa Kami
Bagi bangsa ini kami berdiri
dan membawa doa kami kepadaMu
Sesuatu yang besar pasti terjadi
dan mengubahkan negeri kami
Hanya namaMu Tuhan ditinggikan
atas seluruh bumi