2. Then the Pharisees went and plotted to
entrap him in what he said. So they sent
their disciples to him, along with the
Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that
you are sincere, and teach the way of God in
accordance with truth, and show deference
to no one; for you
do not regard people with partiality. Tell us,
then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes
to the emperor, or not?”
MATTHEW 22:15-17
3. But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why
are you putting me to the test, you
hypocrites?
Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they
brought him a denarius. Then he said to them,
“Whose head is this, and whose title?” They
answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to
them, “Give therefore to the emperor the
things that are the emperor’s, and to God the
things
that are God’s.” When they heard this, they
MATTHEW 22:18-22
4. When God wants to transform this world,
he doesn’t send in the tanks, he sends in the
meek, the pure in heart, the hungry-for-justice
people, the mourners, and the peacemakers, and
by the time the bullies and the bad guys have
woken up from what’s going on,
the mourners, the hungry-for-justice people,
and the meek have built hospitals and schools,
looking after the poor, and are inculcating
people’s imagination with the idea
that there is a different way to be human
and it involves caring for one another…
5. And he reminds us of the importance that
the church is called to be a catalyst for change.
Elections won’t change the world, the church will.
But he warns “If the
church has left out a big gap in its agenda,
namely fostering a multi-cultural, multi-lingual
community of brothers and sisters in Christ, don’t
be surprised if other people with
other agendas try to fill the gap of
what we should’ve been doing all along.
6. Now when Jesus came into the district
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man
is?” And they said, “Some say John the
Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others
Jeremiah
or one of the prophets.” He said to them,
“But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
MATTHEW 16:13-16
7. And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you,
Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you, but my Father
in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and
on this rock will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I
will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven,
and whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
MATTHEW 16:17-19
8. He is mimicking Rome’s claims, thereby
contesting their validity. Matthew is making
a counter assertion that it’s not the Roman
emperor who manifests God’s true sovereignty,
presence and will for the well-being of humanity,
but Jesus. Jesus, not Caesar, is acclaimed in
Matthew to be
the one alone who is God’s agent of
divine purposes. Jesus is the anointed one,
the Christ, who is sent to save and
usher in God’s kingdom.
9. Jesus, not Caesar, is the one who
“manifests God’s sovereignty over this
world and its attendant blessings.”
Jesus, not Caesar, is the manifestation
of God’s presence; he’s Emmanuel,
God with us. Jesus, not Caesar, manifests God’s
will and purposes in the world. Conversely, the
power animating Rome’s sovereignty is the very
opposite of God’s;
it, in fact, is Satan. Finally, Jesus,
not Caesar, brings shalom
to the earth:
10. Matthew presents Jesus as God’s agent
in manifesting God’s blessing, and societal well-
being looks very different in God’s empire than
it does in Caesar’s.
In sum, imperial theology and
Matthew’s Christology…
collide as the Gospel both
protests and imitates
imperial claims.
11. If evangelical support of DonaldTrump
is purely political—driven, for example,
by a pragmatic approach to obtaining Supreme
Court nominees, I may not agree with this
approach, I may think it foolish and
wrongheaded, even dangerous—but neither do I
have a burning interest in critiquing it.
I understand the rationale of the single-issue
voter whose sole motive at the ballot box
is to cast an anti-abortion vote. I think this
approach is problematic, but I understand it.
But that’s not what I see happening…
12. What I see among evangelicals—
especially among some of the most prominent
evangelical leaders—
is an enthusiastic, uncritical, carte blanche
support of DonaldTrump that has more
than a touch of religious aura to it.
And this concerns me deeply.
I’m profoundly uncomfortable when
I see enthusiastic support for DonaldTrump
impinging upon allegiance to Jesus Christ and
what he taught his followers.
13. “When I’m looking for a leader who’s
gonna sit across the negotiating table
from a nuclear Iran, or who’s gonna be
intent on destroying ISIS, I couldn’t care
less about the leader’s temperament or
his tone or his vocabulary. Frankly, I want
the meanest, toughest son of a gun I can
find. And I think that’s the feeling of a lot
of evangelicals.They don’t want Casper
Milquetoast as the leader of
the free world.”
14. I too think that’s the feeling of a lot
of evangelicals. And that’s a problem.
They don’t want a peaceable leader—
a peaceable leader is denigrated as a Casper
Milquetoast. Do they not want
Jesus Christ as their leader as well?
After all, Jesus is the Prince of Peace
who teaches us to love our enemies
and to turn the other cheek. Does Robert
Jeffress think that the Jesus we see in
the Gospels is a Casper Milquetoast?
15. Do evangelicals really want a “tough”
leader who is willing to kill their enemies
on their behalf?That’s Barabbas!
Barabbas was a national hero
and a violent revolutionary willing
to kill in the name of “freedom.”
When you say, “I want the meanest,
toughest son of a gun I can find,”
be careful, you might be saying,
“Give us Barabbas!”
16. - Is our faith in Jesus as Lord
enough to overcome our fear
over an election?
- Is your fear that your candidate
will not win, greater than your assurance
that Jesus is Lord
and not Caesar?
- And lastly, how will your faith
lead you past the election
into the aftermath?
18. But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why
are you putting me to the test, you
hypocrites?
Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they
brought him a denarius. Then he said to them,
“Whose head is this, and whose title?” They
answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to
them, “Give therefore to the emperor the
things that are the emperor’s, and to God the
things
that are God’s.” When they heard this, they
MATTHEW 22:18-22
