Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Testing God

Bryan Schneider · September 16, 2023

Mark 12:13-17

sharonrpc.org/sermons/testing-god

Summary

Pharisees and Herodians set a political trap by asking whether paying Rome's poll tax is lawful, hoping either answer will discredit Jesus.
Their flattering address is hypocritical: they call Jesus a true and impartial teacher while having no intention of receiving his teaching.
The denarius bears Caesar's image and inscription, and the questioners themselves possess the coin they treat as controversial.
Jesus commands submission to legitimate civil obligations by rendering to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.
His deeper demand is to render to God what belongs to God: faith, worship, obedience, loyalty, and love offered to God's own image, Jesus Christ.
Political engagement is legitimate when pursued for God's glory and neighbors' good, but rulers and parties must never carry the hope that belongs to Christ.
Kingdoms, rulers, and movements pass away, but Jesus remains the King of kings and Lord of lords forever.

Does political news receive more attention and shape my thinking more deeply than God's Word?
Does my confidence in God's goodness rise or fall with polls, elections, courts, or parties?
Am I willing to fulfill lawful civil obligations even under rulers I dislike?
Do I engage public life for God's glory and my neighbors' good, or mainly for power and control?
Which loyalty, possession, relationship, or ambition am I withholding from God?
Have I placed the hope that belongs to Jesus in a president, party, judge, or movement?
What would rendering faith, worship, obedience, love, and loyalty to Christ look like this week?

Poll tax: The Roman census tax represented by the denarius and resented as a mark of foreign rule.
Pharisees: A popular reform-minded Jewish movement known for strict attention to law and inherited tradition.
Herodians: People aligned with the ruling Herodian order who joined their usual opponents to entrap Jesus.
Image: The likeness stamped on the coin and, more deeply, the biblical language identifying Christ as God's true image.
Civil authority: Governmental rule under God's sovereignty to which Christians owe lawful obligations such as taxes.
King of kings: Jesus Christ as the enduring sovereign above every temporary earthly ruler and political power.