The Temple Tax

Today we’re going to continue our walk through the ministry of Jesus. We’re engaging this morning with the story that I believe the Holy Spirit put there to inform how we think about two things. We’re going to talk today about freedom. That’s not right. Freedom and citizenship. That’s what we’re going to look at today.

If you have a Bible, you could turn with me to Matthew, chapter 17. We’re going to get there in just a moment, but before we do any of that, I would like to play a little bit of trivia with you. This is for you. So don’t shout out the answers. Just keep them in your head, and I’ll ask for them.

Before you become a US. Citizen, you have to answer some questions. I know some of you have actually gone through that process. If you’ve gone through that process, can you raise your hand? There’s a couple of you guys.

Yeah. You should get a pluses on this. You sit in a room and they do lots of things, some interviews, et cetera. But they give you ten questions out of a set of 100 questions that you have to answer about American history or American civics. And the reason these questions exist is really for one thing, and this will be the main point of the lesson today, it’s this, there are things we need to know about our citizenship before we can embrace the freedom it provides. That’s what we’re going to talk about today. But for fun, let’s just have some of these questions. Here you go. Are you guys ready?

I’m going to give you four. Let’s see if you can get them all. How many amendments does the Constitution have? In your mind. In your mind. In your mind, in your mind, in your mind. All righty, now you can give me an answer. What do you think? 27 is the answer. Did anybody get this right? Yeah. There you go. All right. Very good. Very good.

Okay. What is the supreme law of the land? Everyone can say it now. The Constitution. Everyone’s very insecure. I could feel it. I could feel the insecurity. No one wants to say what’s wrong. I get it.

Okay, next one. What are the three rights in the Declaration of Independence? Think about it. Think about it. Think about it. Okay, everyone together.

That’s exactly right. You guys did it. Wonderful. All right, last one, last one. Name the current your current state senators. Current state senators. There are two of them. All right. Hopefully you know what they are. All right, here we go. That’s exactly correct. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. Fantastic. Everybody gets an A. I’m a millennial participation trophies for all.

Why does our country ask these questions? I already said it. But this is what we’re going to explore. There are things we need to know about our citizenship before we can embrace the freedom it provides. This is important. If you’re a part of any organization, you need to learn the rules, you need to learn the history, you need to understand what it means to be a part of the organization before you can deal with and engage with all of the wonderful liberties that organization or that citizenship provides.

We’re going to talk a lot about this, but if you’re a follower of Jesus, if you’re sort of born again into the faith, you know this, but you’re a part of a different type of citizenship, a citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. In fact, this is one of the major reasons Jesus says he comes. He’s setting up a new nation, a new people with new principles, with new regulations, who have their eternal citizenship in heaven. And in that citizenship you have some freedoms. But before we can get to the freedoms, you have to learn the rules, the regulations, how to engage in that citizenship.

There are things at play because in addition to being citizens of heaven, you and I are also citizens of this country or whatever country you’re a part of. In many ways you’re a dual citizen. And in that way there’s always a question for the Christian. Where does the Christian find his balance? What is our relationship to our national laws and our obligations?

What is our relationship to the authority of the government? Or another way to say this is how does our Christian citizenship relate to our American citizenship? And how does our Christian freedom relate to our American freedom? This is the issue that’s at play in our text in Matthew chapter 17.

Normally what I would do is read the text and, and I would give you kind of the biblical principle, but I’m not going to do that today. I’m going to give you the biblical principle first and then we’re going to read the text. So let’s just walk through it a little bit, learning a little bit about what it means, answering this question before we get to the text. First of all, there is no question at all that you and I, who are disciples, have been called to be apart from the world. You agree with this?

We are in fact designated in the Bible as citizens of heaven. Citizens of heaven. The apostle Paul sets a sort of pattern in his letters relating to this. He says this in Philippians chapter three, verse 20, it says, but our citizenship is in heaven and we’re kind of set up against the world. In the book of Ephesians, chapter two, we find a very similar statement.

In verse 19. It says, consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, meaning with God, but fellow citizens, with God’s people. Hebrews chapter twelve teaches the exact same concept, but says that this citizenship is a heavenly citizenship. He says this but you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels and joyful assembly, to the church of the first born whose names are written in heaven.

Basically, he’s saying, when you come into the church, you enter in through a heavenly citizenship. You’re a citizen of heaven if you’re a disciple of Jesus Christ. This tension continues to, I would say, boil over as we look at the Book of James in chapter four, verse four. Don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? If you’re a friend of the world, you’re an enemy of God. That’s what he’s saying. Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Literally, I just said this. Amen.

So we’re called to be separate. We’re called to not really combine ourselves. We’re called to be apart from the world. We’re called to have no fellowship with the world to separate ourselves from the unfruitless works of darkness. And so if you get this right, then you start thinking, wow, if I belong to the citizenship of heaven, if I belong to the assembly of God’s kingdom, if my household is God’s church and the saints, then I am a stranger in the world. And if this isn’t my home, if my citizenship doesn’t lie here, then I have to conclude that I have no obligations here, that I’m not responsible, right?

That I have some type of this is what I call it religious immunity. Sorry. I am not really a part of this world. I am a Christian. I don’t have to do this or do that. I don’t have to engage in this civil issue or that civil issue because I am a Christian. I am separate from the world. Because you feel like I’ve been infused with heavenly life. Who cares about the life that I currently live? We could actually believe that it’s not our, it’s actually our position to criticize the world, to tear it apart, to attack the systems rather relentlessly. Because from the point of view of a citizenship of heaven, this country is not ours, who really cares? Then this would draw us to some new questions, which is, then what’s our relationship supposed to be to the worldly authorities? And here as you’re trying to, you know, as your brain’s going, oh, man, I don’t have to do anything they say. The Bible speaks again.

First, Peter, chapter two. Again, we’re going to work our way back to Matthew, chapter 17. Peter is writing to believers who were unquestionably, going through some incredible persecution. They’re under the attack of an oppressive government that wanted to exterminate them, literally commit genocide on these people. And this is what Peter writes to these people.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. He’s saying you are a part of God’s kingdom, God’s special possession that you may have, that you may declare the praise of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. He goes on to say verse ten once you were not a people, once you were just citizens of the world, but now you are a people of God. Once you had not received mercy, now you have received mercy. Then he says this, dear friends, I urge you as foreigners again you’re a foreigner, here as an exiles.

In other words, you don’t belong to this world. You’re a pilgrim. You’re like a person visiting another country. You’re just here for a moment. And he says, first of all, what I want you to do is abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your soul.

The first thing you have to do is make sure you’re not contaminated by the world you live in. First of all, hey, you’re a foreigner, don’t be contaminated by the world you’re living in. And then he says this, verse twelve live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. In other words, live the way that people would go, wow, this guy’s incredible. I can’t criticize him. The word’s upright here. Live such good lives. Rather it means honest lives. Don’t tell any lies. You’re not a citizen of this world, but you’re an ambassador of the heavenly world.

That’s the idea. And then he says this, submit yourself for the Lord’s sake to every human authority. The word submit here is the word to get underneath. Get underneath all of the authorities that humanity has. Rank yourself under every other man. Obey every law.

Obey every law for the Lord’s sake. And here’s the key. It isn’t that every law is right, as God would judge right. It isn’t that every law is equitable, as God would judge equity. It isn’t that every law is even sensible, as God would judge sensibility.

But we are to submit to every law of man for the sake of Christ. Why? Because you’re going to be looked at by your society and people are going to say, is this a good man, a good woman? Does this person engage? Are they an honest person?

Do they live with integrity and character? And they’re judging you through the standard of the world. And as they judge you through the standard of the world, God wants you to be looked at as someone who is approved by the world. It’s pretty intense. It’s much more difficult, right, for you to invite someone out to your church after you’ve been pulled over for a speeding ticket.

You’re like, hey, police officer, you’re going 95 and a 25. You’re like, yeah, but would you come to my church? Like, no.

It’s much harder for you to have an example to your boss that you’re living a righteous life when you take a really, really, really long coffee break and you’re obviously wasting their time. Or if your children see you acting differently at home, than when they see you at church.

Do what’s right. Do what’s right on earth so that when people see you who are outside, they think to yourself, you know what? That’s a very, very good man or woman. At least the way they judge good. We are called to submit to everybody.

And I believe not only it’s an act of physical submission, but of also mental attitude. Our submission is supposed to be a willing one to the laws of man. So that’s the basic principle. You got it? You’re following so far.

But there’s a couple of footnotes, so let me just say them and then we’ll get to the story. Footnote number one. Someone will say to me, well, now, wait a minute. What if they tell me to do something the Bible tells me not to do? And there’s a very simple answer to that.

Here’s the thing. You could take a picture and just remind yourself we submit at all points, except when the law of man counteracts the law of God. Easy. Acts, chapter four. Peter’s there, he said they tell him to stop preaching. He goes, do you want me to obey God or you? Who do you want me to obey? And he goes, I’m obeying God. Have a nice day. That’s the way we do it, right?

So that’s where if they overstep, then you say no. If the government comes along and forces you to kill someone, or to enslave someone, or to lie about someone, or to steal from someone, or to oppress someone, you just say, no, I have a higher law. It’s the law of God. Okay, another footnote. I’m not saying you don’t try to change society.

The ordained channels for change, you use all of those. But you don’t rebel. You aren’t an insurrectionist, right? There’s no non compliance. You don’t have freedom to do that.

Does that make sense? This is the same principles as Romans chapter 13 is the last verse I use. And then we’ll get to the story, I promise. Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is I’m going to read this very carefully. There is no authority except that which God has established. Be subject, again submit to the governing authorities. Why? Every authority has been placed there by God.

I don’t care if you hate the guy, doesn’t matter. Placed there by God. Be subject to them. Government is established by God. He put it there. Government is a divine institution, just as the church is a divine institution, just as family is a divine institution. Every soul should be submissive to it, even if it’s the Emperor of Rome who believes that he is God, even if the laws are not equitable, not sensible and not fair. Submit. For there is no power but of God right? The power that have been ordained by God. Now, with all that in mind, we finally get to Matthew, chapter 17.

You got the principle, right? There are things you need to know about your citizenship before you can embrace the freedom it provides. Citizenship in heaven allows for us to say that we’re apart from the world, but it tells us to be subject to the authorities in the world. That’s what it tells us. Okay, here we go.

Matthew 17, verse 24. I love this story. It’s so, so cool. Verse 24, it says, after Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum. Capernaum, the little city in the northwest point of the Sea of Galilee. We’ve talked about this.

This is the city where Jesus lived. This is the city where Peter lived. This is the city where the disciples preached, taught, healed thousands and thousands and thousands. They lived in this little house that we actually know about. They are traveling from Cesarea Philippi, from this kind of northern area.

They’ve traveled all the way down. They’re coming back to Capernaum as they’re heading to Jerusalem, where eventually Jesus will die. They stay there for a couple of days in Capernaum trying to maybe get all their stuff in order before they head down. The disciples are in the house. Jesus is in the house with the disciples and Peter is on the street.

He’s hanging out, grabbing food. We don’t know what he’s doing, but he’s on the street. And this is what it says. The collectors of the two Drachma temple Tax came to Peter and asked, does your teacher pay the temple tax? Now, Jesus and the disciples have been absent for so long.

It’s been months and months and months. Now that when they get back to Capernaum, Peter, while he’s out, he is immediately confronted by a tax collector who says, hey, dude, where are your taxes? Specifically, where are the taxes of your teacher? This question sounds like, does he pay temple tax? The way that the commentator I read described it is he’s saying, your teacher hasn’t paid the temple tax? Hey, your teacher owes the temple tax. What’s up with him? Now this is a Jewish tax relating to the temple. These, these are people within kind of the Jewish system and they collected taxes for the work of the temple. Duh. Exodus, chapter 30. Initiates this tax. Verse 13, this is what it says. Each one who crosses over to sorry. Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. All who crossed over, those who 20 years are older. When you skip down a verse 16, it says, receive the atonement money for the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. So there you go. So it’s been in the Bible since like very, very, very early on. This temple tax, it’s around right it’s a half shekel. Nehemiah collects the same temple tax, but he reduces it to a third of a shekel, probably because they were very poor.

But by the time Jesus is around, it’s gotten back to a half a shekel, which is two Drachma. It’s paid annually. It’s around $50. I don’t know what that’s equivalent to. I don’t know, like maybe the renewal of your tags or something like that.

It’s a small amount of money. It’s a temple tax. You got to give it. So anyway, the point is this. These guys go up to Peter and say, hey Peter, where’s your master’s money? Has he been willing to pay his temple tax? And you can imagine if Jesus said no or if Peter would have said no. The religious system that you’re a part of is a croc. The temple is full of wretched, broken, immoral people because it’s true. Jesus earlier has flipped tables and he’s going to go back and do the same thing again.

Jesus could have very easily taught, hey, they teach a false gospel. Why would I pay this stupid temple tax? If Peter would have responded that way, it would have meant that you and I could have disregarded the taxes that the government puts on us. But that’s not the way Peter answers and said Peter answers like this, yes, he does. He replied saying, hey, Jesus is not a tax dodger. He’s not a tax evader. The conversation may have been more than this, maybe. The tax man says, well, I have a list here. He didn’t give it this year. So at this point, Peter comes off the street and goes into the house, and now he’s going to talk to Jesus about not paying his taxes.

Peter has been talking to Jesus about things and getting rebuked over and over again. Can you imagine this conversation? Hey, dude, probably is not true. I don’t know. But the tax guy, you’re in my house. I don’t know what to say. Anyway, so he comes to Jesus and before he’s even able to explain it, says, when Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. I appreciate Jesus, thank you, thank you for doing this. And he says to him, what do you think, Simon, what do you think? What’s on your mind? What are you thinking about? He knows what he’s thinking about. He’s thinking about the fact that Jesus might have a tax bill. And Jesus uses this opportunity to teach about citizenship and about freedom. What do you think, Simon? He asked, for whom does the king of the earth collect duty and taxes? For their own children or from others?

Now, I’m going to give you a little note here. Taxation in those days is not like taxation today. These countries are run by individuals. The empires were run by a single person, an emperor. The temple was run by a single person, a high priest. There was no democracy. So there was one person at the top of the pile, at the top of the pyramid who collected all of the taxes of everybody of the people collected taxes from everybody of the people under his care. And they collected the taxes to support their own lifestyle and to support their family’s lifestyle.

So when he asked the question, for whom does the king of the earth collect duties and taxes? What he’s saying is, you know, basically you don’t have to be a pi kappa beta to answer this question. The idea is no king would collect taxes from his children. He gave it to his children. He collected it from the people to support their lifestyle.

So it’s obvious the way that Peter would answer. What does he say? Well, from from others. He doesn’t collect it from his children. Of course he doesn’t.

If you run the place, if you run the palace, you’re in charge of collecting the money from other people to support your lifestyle. That’s what you’re there to do. Peter, he’s asking hey, help me understand. You’re asking about a temple tax. Does the father ask the son for taxes?

Does the father ask his children for taxes? Of course they don’t. Jesus. Then Jesus says this, then the children are exempt. I like the new American standard. It says, then the sons are free. That’s right, he’s free. And you have to equate it to the idea that this is talking about the temple. Who is the king of the temple? God.

Who is his son? Jesus. Jesus is the son. I don’t have to pay my own taxes. God is the father, I am the son. I don’t have to pay any taxes. It was the temple collecting taxes. Who’s the king of the temple, Peter? God. Who’s his son? Jesus. Yeah. So that I’m free, I don’t have to pay taxes. God is the head, I am the son. These taxes, in fact, are for me.

They’re for my lifestyle. They’re for the work that I have to do. Just imagine if it stopped there. This would be like people’s favorite verse. They send it to the IRS. The sons are free, I am free. But I want you to hear what Jesus says. Oh, the principle is so beautiful, but so that we may not cause offense. Another way to say the same line is so that we don’t cause anyone to sin.

Now, wait a minute. You mean you don’t want to offend this broken religious system? Exactly. Because then they won’t receive my message. What? That means that you don’t want to offend the government that has been destructive of my people?

Exactly. Yeah, I don’t want to offend anyone, any one of these people. I am totally free, and yet I will still pay to make sure that my message can be received.

I don’t have to pay. I don’t have to pay. I’m free. But I don’t want to offend them. I don’t want them to think that I’m a sinner.

I want to live up to their standards. So Jesus pays his taxes. And how Jesus pays his taxes is crazy. But go to the lake and throw out a line. Take the first fish you catch, open its mouth and find four drachma. Take it. Give it to them. For my tax and yours. Now, you think, well, if I had a fish with money in it, I would pay my own taxes. That’s not really the point.

What was the point? He’s trying to show Peter and the other disciples he may not even have any money, but he’s still willing to pay. He doesn’t have any money. That little band of brothers, they were poor, but they were still remember, they had a guy literally stealing money from them, but he’s still willing to pay. That leads us to the principle.

What is the principle? Again, I’m going to say it again. There are things we need to know about our citizenship before we can embrace the freedom it provides. So what do we need to know about our citizenship in Heaven? In the Kingdom of God?

Listen, however unpleasant it might be, however difficult, however seemingly unequitable or whatever it might seem and though we’re not even a part of this world we are to fulfill our full duties as American citizens or whoever country you’re from.

That’s the demand of the Church. That’s the demand of Christian people. Be a good American, just like be a good Venezuelan. Whatever country you’re from, be a good citizen of the country you’re in. There is freedom as a disciple.

But you have to first realize that freedom doesn’t allow you to be free of the duties of your citizenship to this country. You’re bound by the laws of God. You’re bound by the law of God which says, do not cause any one offense. Even Jesus puts himself under the laws of government and in doing so, he sets for us the ultimate pattern, be submissive to the authority. He had no reason to submit in a divine sense, right.

He created all of them. He had no reason to submit to them. And yet he did it for our sake. Now here’s a very personal extension. In this room, we are called to submit to one another out a reverence for Christ. Not only to the rulers and to the Authority, but to each other.

To lay aside our freedom for the sake of other people. To love people in such a way where you deny yourself of the things that you’re actually free to do for the sake of other people. I’m free to do that. I’m allowed to post whatever I want on social media? Yeah, you are technically allowed to post whatever you want.

But why would you use that freedom and cause other people to stumble?

I’m free to wear whatever I want? Yeah, okay, sure. You’re free to wear whatever why would you wear whatever you want and cause other people to struggle? I’m free to do act however I want and engage with whomever I want to. Maybe you are free to engage with whomever you want to.

But why would you use that freedom and cause other people to struggle? Why would you do that? You think to yourself, Because I’m free and I’m allowed to do it. Well, just because you’re allowed to do it doesn’t mean that God asks you to do it or that you’re called to do it. And so it’s a very important thing, right?

Jesus was willing to submit to other people that he had authority over because he didn’t want to cause anyone to be offended. I wonder, and this is the question for all of us can you do the same for the sake of others?

It’s a very important question. I trust that the Spirit of God has already confirmed in your heart that it’s right. The question is whether or not you’re willing to do it. Willingly, Jesus chose to suffer an unjustly death for the sake of the salvation of others. That’s our pattern.

That’s our pattern. How much should I suffer? Well, to the point of death. That’s our pattern. Now, I understand we’re human, whatever, but that’s what we’re supposed to go to not declare how free we are, but declare how much we’re willing to suffer and sacrifice for the sake of other people. That’s the idea. That’s the point.

I want to close with Philippians, chapter two, because I think the passage I’m just going to read it’s not on the screen. I think the passage speaks so much to this idea. It says, in your relationship with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, how you’re engaging with people. Think about Jesus. What did he think? He was in very nature God, but did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. He was God, but he didn’t even he said, I don’t care, I’ll be nothing. Rather, verse seven he made himself nothing by taking on the nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in the appearance of a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. The principle is clear you have loads of freedoms, but do not use your freedom and do not allow your freedom to be used to cause other people to struggle.

Know what it requires to be a citizen of heaven before you decide you want to really use all the freedom that it provides. Jesus did the same thing. He had all the freedom of heaven and on earth but became nothing for our stead, taking on our burden, the burden of our sin, taking on our wrath so that we could have life ever after. Let’s pray.

Father, we thank You, Lord, for your scriptures, just how beautiful they are and how they teach us just simple truths.

I feel as though the American kind of evangelical Christian scene has evolved to become a scene that just is critical of society.

I pray, God, that we won’t have that in our hearts, Lord, that instead what we’ll be is we’ll be apart from the world, but we’ll also be willing to be subject to anybody who we could serve, who we could give our hearts to. Lord, I just pray, Lord, that we’ll be willing to relinquish our own freedoms for the sake of you and Your cross and Your church and others who are Your image bearers. God, we thank you for the image and the reminder and the illustration that Jesus gave us as he took on the burden of our own sin. He did not deserve the cross. Nothing would have said that he deserved to be crucified and put on the cross and bear the burden of all of man’s sinfulness.

But he did that willingly. He took on the nature of the person who receives the wrath in order that we might have freedom. God, I pray that we’ll do that for others that will follow that example. This is a high calling. I pray, Lord, that we can make improvements in practicing this, of lowering ourselves for the sake of others.

We love you, Lord. We thank you. It’s in Jesus name. Amen.