Our Caesars

Oligarchy

Who are our Caesars today in a modern democratic world? Most of our economies are mixed, part government controlled and part privatized. Almost entirely capitalist countries only exist in the third world where there is enormous disparity between the rich and poor. In a mixed economy, we actually serve two Caesars, government and the oligarchy (the wealthy and powerful). One demands taxes. The other demands tribute. In America, just as in ancient Rome, our Caesars are also our gods. We worship our form of government and we worship our market. Is it right to pay tribute to our Caesars (Matthew 22:17)? We might ask today whose face is on the album cover, or on the bottle of pills, or on the pension check? Our Caesars ask too much tribute and give too little in return, but pay we must.

Right & Moral Ambiguity

Christian Ethics
and Contemporary
Moral Problems

Compromise is a dirty word to some people, yet anyone who is married is familiar with compromise. Some compromises are troublesome, such as making a choice between two evils. Which is worse, working for a corrupt corporation or not providing for our families, paying taxes which pay for evils or going to jail? Some people boycott particular companies for their sins. A boycott is like punishing one sinner and not the rest. All companies sin somewhere and the hidden sins may be worse than the known ones. So we work for companies that sin and pay taxes to governments that sin in a world that sins. Even if all Christians joined monasteries or communes to escape, our sins would follow us. In a world of moral ambiguity we pay tribute to corrupt Caesars in order to survive (Matthew 22:17).

Integrity & Flattery

How to Win Friends
and Influence People

Flattery is nice but it can also be a trap. Experienced pastors are well aware of the trap in a new assignment when they are flattered and a previous pastor criticized. Sooner or later, those who say such words may end up hating the new pastor too. Hollywood schmoozing may seem positive and encouraging on the surface, but it is flattery with a purpose, to get people somewhere. Just watch a Hollywood roast to find out how people really feel. And so in Matthew 22:15-22 a trap was set for Jesus with flattery: You are a man of integrity and teach God’s way truthfully without being swayed to shade the truth by popular opinion. Just as Jesus was not fooled by flattery, so too when we are flattered, we ought to go on high alert for a possible trap.

They Were Amazed

Watch Your Mouth:
The Impact
of Our Words

Let’s compare Stephen the Martyr’s response to questioning in Acts 7 with Jesus’ response in Matthew 22:22. Jesus knew that it was not yet his time to suffer the cross and so his answer was crafted with that in mind. He sidestepped the moral dilemma presented to him with a practical and inoffensive answer. On the other hand, Stephen went on the attack. His words were targeted and sharp, especially after verse 51. Particularly notice verse 56 in Acts 7. Stephen saw Jesus standing. Jesus who is usually described as sitting seems to have stood up in response. Stephen may have been even blunter than he needed to be, but there is a time for forthright accusation against religious injustice. If we choose to speak out, we must also know the potential consequences and the impact of our words.

Render unto God

Render Unto God:
Economic Vulnerability,
Family Violence,
and Pastoral Theology

The saying render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's comes from Matthew 22:15-22. We may assume this supports the separation of church and state, but that is wrong. It was written in a time when that was not even a concept and the Jewish and Roman religions were both part of the state. So rendering to God what belonged to God in that context then referred to the allegiance to the God of the Jewish people, not God entirely separated from a human government as we might picture it today. An unstated hidden message might be that Caesar in reality owns nothing. He is a false god. In faith we believe that what we must pay Caesar is a temporary burden. What do we render to God? Everything?

Invited and Chosen

The parable of the wedding banquet reveals that many are invited but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). This parable reveals heaven as a selection process in two stages: 1) the invitation and 2) being chosen. It also reveals two steps to being chosen: 1) accept the invitation and 2) wear the right clothing. It is no use just going to a weekly celebration of salvation. Faithful church attendance alone is not enough. We must put on Christ or clothe ourselves with him (Romans 13:14). When we are baptized we put on Christ (Galatians 3:27). Salvation is possible in Jesus Christ and those who ultimately refuse him refuse salvation. I say “ultimately” because some may have never even heard the truth about him and may only have an opportunity to even know who he really is later on.

Into the Darkness

Common views of hell see it as a place of fire and sulfur or eternal darkness. One view is of eternal suffering in fire. Another is of a lake of fire where people are thrown and burned up to become ashes under the feet of the righteous. Other Bible verses seem to describe people separated from God forever, cast into outer darkness, crying and grating their teeth (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; Jude 13). Does God cause their agony or is it the result of their own sins and the absence of God’s blessings? Does black darkness contradict bright fire, or are both metaphors picturing a horrible destination? Some have even tried to harmonize fire and darkness as “black fire.” Was that even the intent of the original writings? Bottom line: Don’t choose hell.

They Refused to Come

The Parables
of Jesus:
Made Simple

Many people don’t enjoy royal weddings. They seem like shallow affairs of families who got their power by the plunder of the weak and helpless. Sycophants paying fawning attention to a selfish, wealthy elite can be a complete turn off. Many of us may have difficulties with the picture of the kingdom of God being like a royal wedding in Matthew 22:2. We may even understand why some people shrugged their shoulders making light of the invitation. When Jesus spoke this parable, royalty had an even worse reputation than it does today. Royals terribly abused the citizens they were supposed to be serving. Yet, unlike most royalty in all human history, this was no invitation from a self-serving king to a list of snobs, but an open invitation from a self-sacrificing king who would die to save his people.

Tell Them to Come

The parable of the royal wedding in Matthew 22:1-14 is shocking. We have watered down the fear of God. Certainly, fear means deep reverence and respect. However, it also means to be afraid. We are too unafraid of God these days. The king in the parable is to be feared. He was not erratic and irrational. Knowing what he wanted was pretty easy to figure out. The invitation was issued politely, but a wise person knows that the king’s wish is a command. And everyone knows that when you go before a king, you wear proper clothing. It’s really quite simple. God invites. We respond. The only right clothing is that of putting on Jesus’ righteousness. We sure don’t have any such clothing. Also, hell is a choice that we make. It is a consequence of rejecting God’s invitation.

The King was Enraged

So You Don't Want
to Go to Church Anymore

Some people rarely or never go to church. What’s wrong with that you may ask? Is the habit of avoiding church, with obvious exceptions for the sick and elderly, a bad one? Is it not an invitation to a heavenly celebration? In the parable of the wedding feast the king became very angry with those who refused his invitation (Matthew 22:7). How long will we go on refusing God’s invitation? We have many excuses to avoid church attendance: people or musical style we don’t like, preaching, rituals, being with fellow hypocrites, or getting out of bed. Has not God invited us or is church just a club? The greatest wedding of all history is being celebrated. It is our choice to attend or not and it is God’s choice to act upon our decision. Will we accept God’s invitation?