Date: October 22, 2023 

Scripture: Matthew 22:15-22

Sermon Title: “Whom Do We Worship?”

Preacher: Rev. Dr. Bob Jon

You can also listen on Podcast from iTunes and Spotify. Search for “Podcasting from Rev. Bob Jon.”

At my first church, I was sitting for the finance committee meeting, which was my first time as a pastor. Right in front of the committee members, the chair of the finance committee turned to me and said, “So, tell us, Pastor Bob. Should we give our tithe to the church based on the gross income or net income?” I looked at everyone in the room anxiously, waiting to see how I would answer him. And I learned toward him and said, “Jack, what is the gross income?” 

I don’t know if he asked me the question to trap me. Maybe he wanted to see if I knew anything about the finance. But there are times when we have a hard time answering certain questions. My wife shows two earrings that are supposed to be different technically, but they look just the same to me. And she asks, “Which one looks better on me?” If I say A, she hesitates and is more attracted to B, and vice versa. If I say, “I don’t care, they look the same,” she would say, “You don’t love me anymore.” 

There are some trap questions like that. When you are sitting for a job interview, the employer asks you, “So, why do you want to leave your current job?” You don’t want to say, “It is because I did not get along with my former colleagues, and I hated my former boss who paid me poorly.” I became a US citizen back in 2018. And someone from my church celebrated with me and asked me, “So, do you want to register as a Republican or Democrat?” 

The Pharisees also wanted to trap Jesus because he was rattling the cage here and there, offending their way of life, and blaspheming their God. So, one day they sent their disciples to Jesus along with some Herodians who supported their regional ruler, King Herod Antipas. At first, these disciples of the Pharisees buttered Jesus up. “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God. You even show no partiality. So, tell us, Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 

“Gotcha!” thought they. If Jesus said, “Of course, you need to pay tax to Caesar,” the people would be upset to hear him supporting the Roman empire and their oppression. He will be a traitor to his people. If he said, “No, you shouldn’t pay tax to Caesar,” the Herodians would bring charges against him, saying he did not support the empire, instigating a rebel. The question is pretty dualistic. Is that A? Pay tax to Caesar? Or B don’t pay tax? Either way, he will fall into this clever trap and give a reason for him to be arrested. 

Then, Jesus said, “Hey, is there anyone here who has the coin used for the tax?” They brought a denarius which was a coin forged by the Roman empire. It was a worker’s daily wage and had the face of Caesar on it. Why do you think that Caesar had his face on the coin and required people to pay taxes with it? It is because Caesar thought that he owned the land and everything in it, the bread, water, trees, and even people. The coin symbolizes his self-delusion that he was in control and worthy to be worshipped.  

When I was a kid, there was a bully in the classroom. He was not even big. But he was known for being violent. He was almost sent to the juvenile for using a weapon on another boy. Anyway, one day, he declared to everyone in the class that he would start to collect taxes. He would go row by row, skipping the kids who looked stronger than him. But he would take a dollar from the kids who looked weak. But when he came to me, he skipped me because I literally had no money in my pocket. 

This bully was probably the loneliest kid at the school. And he wanted to build his relationship with others by exercising his power on them. He wanted to show others who was in power and control. “Should we pay our taxes to Caesar?” William Willimon comments that the critics sensed that people were giving their allegiance to Jesus over their government or their religious way. Therefore, the question about paying taxes is more like a liturgical question. “Should we worship Caesar or not?” 

And the Palmist sings, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too” (Psalm 24:1). Caesar thought he owned the lands and the people in it. But God is laughing at him, “Were you there when I laid the foundation of the world? Were you there when I created the universe, the sun, and the moon? Were you there when I ordered the land to produce all the fruits and trees? Were you there when I created all the animals, birds, and fish?

Genesis 2 tells us beautifully how God was like a potter who gathered the dust and clay and created the human beings in God’s image. God put God’s mark on Adam and Eve, indicating God’s special relationship with them. God rejoiced when they remembered God as their Maker and gave thanks to God. Even when sin came and destroyed their relationship with God, God never gave up on them. God would amend the broken relationship by sacrificing God’s own life because we belong to God. 

Howard Thurman was the first African-American Dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University. He shares in his book Jesus and the Disinherited that his grandmother used to be a slave. She went through a gruesome experience being treated not as a human being, but as someone’s property. Occasionally, this slave minister held secret religious meetings with his fellow slaves. Thurman remembered how everything in him quivered when his grandmother recounted the sermon from this slave pastor. “You—you are not slaves. You are God’s children.”^[1]

 Jesus said, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “It is Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they left him alone and went away. Although Caesar wanted to tell the world that he is the ruler of all, who has the authority to claim everyone as his own by putting his image on the coin, God is God who put God’s image on us, telling us that we are more than what this world tells us we are: we are precious children of God. 

One of the beloved movies of my children is Toy Story which came out in 1995. Andy is a young boy with many toys including his favorite Sheriff Woody, a toy cowboy. For his birthday, Andy receives his last-minute gift, Buzz Lightyear, a toy astronaut. When Andy is away, Buzz impresses other toys with his various features. He becomes Andy’s new favorite toy, therefore making Woody jealous. Woody tells Buzz, “You are not a space ranger! You are an action figure—a child’s plaything!” 

At first, Buzz would not believe in Woody’s words until he fails to fly. Buzz is also shocked by a TV commercial that reveals that he is indeed a toy. Buzz is full of grief, thinking that he is a failure. Woody tries to comfort him and says, “Hey buddy, you must not be thinking clearly. Look, ever in that house, there is a kid who thinks you are the greatest, and it’s not because you are a space ranger; it’s because you are his.” Buzz lifts his feet and sees the name of the little boy to whom he belongs. 

I want you to look into your heart. What do you see? This is what the Bible tells us. You all bear the image of God. From time to time, we are lied to believe that we are not loved, we are not beautiful enough. We are measured by our success and how rich we are. We are respected and appreciated by how much influence we can have on others. We all have Caesar that we worship and give our allegiance to. But God who created the universe and raised Christ tells us that we are more than those. We are children of God created in Gods image. We belong to God. We are God’s forever. 

Amen.

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^[1] Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited, (Boston: Beacon Press, 1976), 39.