RENDER UNTO CAESAR
Professor Timothy Patton
There are several new testament
verses that are quoted out of context by alleged government
authorities and false churches in order to deceive people into
believing that they should support their man-made governments
and obey their man-made law. This, however, is
not the
case, as God has never given His people authority to make their
own law or to walk in the statutes of men.
Therefore, a more detailed look
is necessary regarding these scriptures so that the deception can
clearly be seen. One verse that is relentlessly quoted is
“…render unto Caesar!”. Jesus was totally aware of God’s
Law, and we can be sure that he was not telling the
teachers of the law to do contrary to God’s Law. Let’s see just
exactly what Jesus meant by “the things which are Caesar’s”
when he said: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which
are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s”
The Pharisees wanted to trap
Jesus. They were the teachers of the Law, and knew full well what
God’s word says about laws and governments other than God’s. The
Pharisees knew ALL of the following:
They
knew that even their own Israelite kings could not make any law,
but could only administer God’s law, not Turing aside from the
commandment, to the right hand, or to the left:
[Deut 17:14] [The word of the Lord
through his servant Moses]: When thou [Israel] art come unto the
land which the LORD thy God gives thee, and shalt possess it, and
shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me,
like as all the nations that are about me;
[Deut 17:18] And it shall be, when he sixtieth upon the throne of
his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book
out of that which is before the priests the Levites: [17:19] and
it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of
his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all
the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: [17:20]
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he
turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand. Or to the
left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he,
and his children, in the midst of Israel.
Not adding to it, or diminishing from it:
[Deut
12:32] What thing soever I command you [all Israel],
observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish
from it.
The Pharisees knew that it
was a sin to walk in the statutes of the heathen, and that if
their OWN ISRAELITE KINGS made any statutes, it was a SIN to walk
in their statutes as well:
[2Ki 17:6] In the ninth year of
Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away
into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river
of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. [17:7] for so it was,
that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their
God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from
under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other
gods, [17:8] And walked in the statutes of the heathen,
whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and
of the kings of Israel, which they had made.
[ 2Ki 17:18] Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel,
and removed them out of his sight: there was none left
but the tribe of Judah only. [17:19] Also Judah
kept
not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the
statutes of Israel which they made.
The Pharisees knew that God’s
people have laws that are different from all other people’s [God’s
Laws] and that even in foreign lands they do not keep the king’s
laws:
[Est 3:8] Then Haman [the highest
prince in the kingdom of the Medes and the Persians] said to King
Hauser’s [the king of the Medes and the Persians who reigned from
India to Ethiopia], “There is a certain people [The Jews;
Judeans who were obedient to God’s Law] scattered and dispersed
among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their
laws are different from all other people’s, and they do
not keep the king’s laws. . .”
The Pharisees knew the principle
that consenting with a thief, be he king or commoner, makes one a
partaker with that thief –and an apostate:
[Ps 50:18] When thou sawest a thief
then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with
adulterers.
Adulterers—Strong’s
reference number: 5003
Hebrew: na’aph
Definition: to
commit adultery; fig. to apostatize
The Pharisees knew that those who
participate in evil through the use of an agent are guilty of the
act themselves:
[2Sa 11:14]
And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote a letter to Joab [his agent], and sent it by the hand of Uriah. [11:15] And
he wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of
the hottest battle, and retire ye from him,
that he may be smitten, and die.
[11:16] And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that he
assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant men were.
[11:17] And the men of the city went out, and fought with Joab:
and there fell some of the people of the servants of David; and
Uriah the Hittite died also.
[2Sa 11:26] And
when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she
mourned for her husband. [11:27] And when the mourning was past,
David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife,
and bare him a son. But the
thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
[2Sa 12:9]
[Then Nathan said to David] Wherefore hast
thou
despised the commandment of the LORD,
to do evil
in his sight? thou
hast killed Uriah the
Hittite with the sword,
[through the use of an agent] and hast taken his wife to be thy
wife, and hast slain him
with the sword of the children of Ammon.
Therefore, by the same principle,
the Pharisees knew that participating in a heathen government by
financing someone else [an agent] to enforce heathen laws makes
the one who pays the tribute guilty of the acts of the heathen
government.
The Pharisees knew that those who
are obedient to God will not pay toll, tribute, and custom to a
heathen king [“Caesar”]:
[Ezr 4:6] Now
in the reign of Ahasuerus [a
heathen king (“Caesar”)],
in the beginning of his reign, they [the king’s people through
their agents, the counselors] wrote an accusation [to the king]
against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. [saying the
following:][4:12] Let it be known to the king that the Jews [who
obey God’s law, not the king’s law] who came up from you have come
to us at Jerusalem, and are building the rebellious and evil city,
[from the king]s point of view only; righteous and obedient from
God’s point of view] and are finishing its walls and repairing the
foundations. [4:13] Let it now be known to the king that,
if this city is built and the walls completed, they will not
pay tax, tribute, or custom, and the king’s treasury will be
diminished. [They will pay no tribute to “Caesar”]. [NKJ]
[4:16] We
certify the king that, if this city be builded again, and the
walls thereof set up, by this means
thou shalt have no portion [no
tribute to “Caesar”] on this side the river. [KJV]
The Pharisees knew that the
throne of iniquity cannot have fellowship with God:
[Ps
94:20] Shall the throne of iniquity [wicked rulers] have
fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
[make enactments or decrees which condemn innocent blood by adding
to or diminishing from God’s Law]
The Pharisees knew that the
people in whose heart is God’s law are to obey His Law and are not
to fear the reproach of men:
[Is 51:7]
Hearken unto me [the Lord], ye that
know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is
my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of
their revilings.
[Is 51:12] I,
even I, am he that comforteth you:
who art thou, that thou shouldest be
afraid of a man that shall die,
and of the son of man which
shall be made as grass…”
The Pharisees knew God’s
admonition about doing after the manners of the heathen:
[Eze 11:10] Ye
[Israel] shall fall by the sword; I [the Lord] will judge you in
the border of Israel; and ye
shall know that I am the LORD.
[Eze 11:12] And
ye shall know that I am the LORD:
for ye have not walked in my
statutes, neither executed my judgments,
but have done after the
manners of the heathen
that are round about you.
Note: The
Hebrew word translated to “manners” speaks specifically of
governmental and judicial activity. Here, Ezekiel is not speaking
of “ways or customs” of the heathen, he is speaking about the
“statutes, ordinances, judgments, laws and government” of the
heathen.
Manners—Strong’s reference number:
4941
Hebrew:
mishpat
Derivation:
Derived from 8199
Definition:
prop. a verdict
(favorable or unfavorable) pronounced
judicially, espec. A sentence or
formal decree
(human or [partic.] divine law, individual or collect.) include.
The act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the
penalty;
abstr. justice,
include. right, or privilege
(statutory or customary),
or even a style
Manners—Strong’s reference number:
8199
Hebrew:
shaphat
Derivation: A
primary word.
Definition: to
judge, i.e., pronounce sentence (for or against); impl. vindicate
or punish; by extens. To govern; pass. To litigate (lit. or fig.)
The Pharisees know that God’s
people do not obey wicked governments that have other gods even if
they are thrown into a fiery furnace:
[Dan 3:16]
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king,
“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to
defend ourselves before you in this matter. [3:17] If we are
thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save
us from it, and he will resue us from your hand, O king. [3:18]
But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will
not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
[NIV]
[3:19] Then
Nebuchadnezzar was full of
fury,
and the expression on his
face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego.
Therefore he spoke and commanded that they
heat the furnace seven times more
than it was usually heated.
[3:20 And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his
army to bind Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abed-Negro, and cast them into the burning fiery
furnace.
[NKJ]
The Pharisees knew that God’s
people do not obey wicked governments even if they are thrown into
a lion’s den:
[Dan 6:7] All
the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the
counselors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish
a royal statute, and to make
a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any god or
man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into
the den of lions. [Dan 6:10] Now when Daniel knew that the
writing was signed,
he went into his house; and his
windows being open
in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he
kneeled upon his knees three times a
day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God,
as he did aforetime. [Dan 6:16] Then the king commanded, and they
brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. . .”
The Pharisees knew that those who
have set up kings and princes [governments] but not by God’s hand,
have trespassed against His law:
[Hos 4:1]
[The word of the LORD through the prophet Hosea]: Hear the word
of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the
LORD hath a controversy with the
inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor
knowledge of God in the land.
[Hos 8:1] Set
the trumpet to thy mouth. He [the enemy] shall come as an eagle
against the house of the LORD, because they [Israel] have
transgressed my covenant,
and trespassed against my law.
[Hos 8:4] They have set
up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I [the Lord]
knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them
idols, that they may be cut off.
The Pharisees know that it is a
sin to keep statutes made by Israelite kings, let alone a heathen
“Caesar”:
[Mic 6:13]
[The warning of the Lord through his servant Micah]: Therefore
also will I [the Lord] make thee [Israel]
sick in smiting thee,
in making thee desolate
because of they sins.
[Mic 6:16]
For the statutes of Omri are
kept, and all the works of the house of Ahab
[kings of Israel who made their own statutes], and
ye walk in their counsels;
that I should make thee a
desolation,
and the inhabitants thereof an
hissing:
therefore ye shall bear the
reproach of my people.
The Pharisees were fully aware
that God only allowed “Caesar” to be in power to prove Israel to
see whether they would keep the way of the LORD to walk therein,
as their fathers did keep it, or not:
[Jdg
2:21] I [the Lord] also will not henceforth drive out any from
before them [Israel] of the nations [heathen Caesars, etc.] which
Joshua left [unvanquished] when he died: [2:22] That through them
[the heathen governments] I may prove Israel,
whether they will keep the way of
the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not.
[Jdg 3:4] and
they [the nations which the LORD left] were to prove Israel by
them, to know whether they
[Israel] would hearken unto the commandments of the LORD,
which he commanded their fathers
by the hand of Moses.
And the Pharisees were aware of
the conclusion of the whole matter:
[Ecc 12:13]
Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this
is the whole duty of man.
Therefore, knowing all of the
above scriptures, the Pharisees laid a trap for Jesus similar
to the question: “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” They
were certain that they could trap Jesus into affirming that
either: it was lawful to pay tribute to “Caesar”, which they knew
to be against God’s Law, and thereby condemning him under God’s
Law to pay tribute to a heathen government [Caesar], thereby
condemning him under “Caesar’s” “law”. Then the Pharisees could
go tell “Caesar”, and thereby get rid of Jesus with the sword
of Caesar:
[Mat 22:17]
[The Pharisees sent their disciples to Jesus, who said,] Tell us
therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto
Caesar, or not?
Jesus was also
versed in the above scriptures. He was fully aware that it is
against God’s Law to give tribute to a heathen “Caesar”. He
also knew that it would enrage “Caesar” for him to say so. Jesus
knew that giving the correct
answer
was a trap
laid for him by the Pharisees, and he
evaded their trap
by the following: He didn’t
define
what was or was not “Caesar’s.
He didn’t even affirm that the penny
with “Caesar’s” image and superscription was to be rendered to
“Caesar”.
Jesus’ answer was that the Pharisees should render to
“Caesar”,
a heathen who did not know or obey God’s Law,
exactly what was due
to any heathen or Israelite
who did not obey God’s Law:
[Num 15:15]
One ordinance
shall be both for you of the
congregation
[of Israel], and also for the
stranger
[foreigner; non Israelite] that sojourneth with you,
an ordinance for ever
in your generations: as ye
are, so
shall the stranger be
before the LORD. [15:16]
One law
and one manner
shall be for you, and for the
stranger that sojourneth with you.
(i.e.: death for breaking God’s Law: [Deu 27:26]
Cursed
be he that confirmeth not all the words of
this law
[God’s Law, not Caesar’s law] to do them. And all the people
shall say, Amen.)
Therefore, the Pharisees knew that
what they had just been told was to render unto”Caesar” what God’s
Law required: death,
and since they were declining to carry out the sentence of the
law, they were hypocrites, since they were the enforcement
officials of God’s Law and knew what “Caesar” was due under God’s
Law. They had also been told that they were doing
presumptuously
by not harkening to carry out
the sentence of the law and they themselves should be put to death
along with “Caesar” in order to put their own evil away from
Israel:
[Deu 17:11]
According to the sentence of
the law
which they shall teach thee, and
according to the judgment
which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou
shalt not decline from the sentence
which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
[17:12] And the man that
will do
presumptuously,
and will not hearken
unto the priest that standeth to
minister there before the
LORD thy God, or unto the
judge,
[and render unto Caesar what Caesar was due, death in this
particular case] even that man
shall die
[the Pharisees, for not carrying out the sentence in this
particular case]: and thou shalt
put away the evil from Israel.
This is obviously why the
Pharisees marveled at him.
They were not about
to tell “Caesar” that God’s Law required him to be put to death,
because “Caesar” would have then
come after the Pharisees.
In addition, Jesus had just rebuked
both “Caesar” and the Pharisees
by stating publicly that both
“Caesar” and the Pharisees
should be put to death, and the Pharisees who hated Jesus knew it
but couldn’t go tell “Caesar” in order to get Jesus in trouble.
Also, “Caesar” and his agents
didn’t know enough about God’s Law
to realize that Jesus said that “Caesar” should be
put to death,
and “Caesar” thinks to this
very day
that Jesus was saying to pay
tribute. Checkmate.
Jesus will, incidentally, render to “Caesar”
what is “Caesar’s” at His
coming:
[Luk 19:27]
[Jesus, speaking of himself in a parable said,] but those mine
enemies, which would
not
that I should reign over them
[kings, “Caesars”, judges of the earth and their followers at His
coming], bring hither, and slay them before me.
[Pas 2:7] [The
psalmist foretelling that Jesus will “render unto Caesar what is
Caesar’s at his coming]: I will declare the decree: the
LORD
hath said unto me, Thou art my Son [Jesus];
this day have I begotten thee.
[2:9] Thou
[Jesus] shalt break them
[the heathen kings (Caesars) and judges] with
a rod of iron;
thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter’s vessel.
[2:10] Be wise now therefore,
O ye kings:
[“Caesars”] be instructed, ye
judges of the earth.
[Note: These verses in Psalm 2 are confirmed to be about Jesus in
Acts 13:33; Heb 1:1-5; Heb 5:5, and by Jesus Himself in Rev
2:26-27].
[Zec 14:9]
[Zechariah prophesying that Jesus will “render unto Caesar what is
Caesar’s” at His coming]: And the
LORD [Jesus]
shall be king over all the
earth:
in that day shall there be one
LORD,
and his name one.
[14:12] And
this shall be the plague
wherewith the LORD [Jesus] will smite
all the people [kings, “Caesars”, judges of the earth and all who
follow them] that have fought against Jerusalem [Jesus’ capital
city when He comes with his saints]; Their flesh shall
consume away
while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall
consume away
in their holes, and their tongue shall
consume away
in their mouth.
[Note: These verses can be seen to be about Jesus in Mat
25:31-32; Mat 28:18; Joh 18:37; 1Ti 6:13-15; Rev 11:15; Rev 19:14;
Rev 20:4-6].
Continuing with Jesus’ answer to
the Pharisees:
[Mat 22:18]
But Jesus perceived their
wickedness,
and said, Why tempt ye me, ye
hypocrites?
[22:19] Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a
penny. [22:20] And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and
superscription? [22:21] They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith
he unto them, Render
therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God
the things that are God’s.
[Mar 12:14]
And when they [certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians] were
come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and
carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but
teachest the way of God in truth:
Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?
[12:15] Shall we give, or
shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy,
said unto them, Why tempt ye
me?
Bring me a penny, that I may see it. [12:16] and they brought
it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and
superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar’s [12:17] and
Jesus answering said unto them,
Render to Caesar the things that are
Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.
And they
marveled at him.
[Luke 20:22]
[The chief priests and scribes asked Jesus,]
Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?
[20:23] but
he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them,
Why tempt ye me?
[20:24] shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath
it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. [20:25] and he said unto
them, Render therefore unto
Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and to God the things that
are God’s.
From that day forward, the
Pharisees and the Sadducees would not ask Jesus any further
questions:
[Mat 22:46]
And no one was able to answer
Him a word,
nor from that day on
did anyone dare question Him
anymore.
[NKJ]
[Luk 20:39]
Then some of the scribes answered and said,
“Teacher, You have spoken well.”
[20:40] but after that they dared not question Him anymore.
[NKJ]
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