Wingham United Church

October 18, 2026

Paying Unto Caesar?

Isaiah 45:1-7

Matthew 22:15-22

          Two quite different scripture passages this morning, and both present significant challenges. To be honest, I have never preached from this reading from Isaiah before, but something about it piqued my interest this past week, and being in the midst of municipal elections, these readings seemed like a good pairing as I started my preparations. Both speak of the relationship between God and government. The more I worked with them, however, the less confident I became.

          The reading from Isaiah requires some context. When you know the whole story, it is a remarkable passage. This is a prophecy that was delivered during the Babylonian exile. Tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Israelites are living in exile in Babylon or in nations controlled by the Babylonian empire. Those not living in exile were back home in Israel and Judea but still living under the tyranny of the Babylonians. Whether living in the Promised Land or in exile, the situation was much the same. Babylon was a cruel master. God’s people lived in a state of oppression they had not known since their years of slavery in Egypt. Babylonian kings Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, and Darius believed in assimilating the people they conquered, not unlike the British Empire tried to assimilate the native peoples of this land and others. You defeated a nation by taking away its identity and absorbing its people into your own.

          Then along comes Cyrus. Cyrus is the King of Persia who overthrew the Babylonians and became Israel’s new master, in political terms. Cyrus had a different view of empire. Cyrus believed in a diversity of cultures and peoples and ruled with a great deal more compassion and kindness than those Israel had known before. It was Cyrus that allowed tens of thousands of Israelites to return to their homeland and begin rebuilding the devastation left in the wake of Babylonian rule. He even provided resources to assist with the rebuilding of the temple and the Holy City of Jerusalem.

          But before that happens, Isaiah receives a message from God telling him that Cyrus, a pagan who did not know the God of Israel, would be anointed by God for the purpose of freeing God’s people.

          The Hebrew word for ‘God’s anointed one’ is Messiah. In Greek, the word is Christos. This is the truly remarkable, even shocking part of this story. There is no other non-Jew in scripture given this title, one we so automatically associate with Jesus.

          He is not the only person to be so anointed. Perhaps the best-known instance for most of us would be David, who was anointed by Samuel at God’s direction. But David and all the others were Jews, who knew God and worshipped Him. Cyrus is unique, not only because of his nationality, but because of his religion. God had chosen this pagan king to be Israel’s saviour!

          Cyrus did come to know God and listened to what God instructed him to do through the prophet Jeremiah, and under Cyrus’ leadership, Jerusalem and Israel were restored. You might remember the story from the Book of Nehemiah, whom Cyrus had appointed as governor of Israel, that when the wall around Jerusalem had been rebuilt, the people gathered to hear Ezra, the priest, read Torah and when they heard God’s Word read to them, they wept.

          The rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple represent a rebuilding of the relationship between God and His people, and it was God’s anointed King, Cyrus, a pagan who had never even heard of the God of Israel before, whom God used to make it happen.

          This may be one of the most astounding cases of God working in mysterious and unexpected ways.  A pagan king, a political ruler, the rebuilding of a city and a nation all leads to the reconciliation of God’s relationship with God’s people.

          A few hundred years later, Israel has once again strayed. Once again, they are under the rule of a totalitarian empire, downtrodden and oppressed. Once again, God sends his Anointed One to rescue them. Not a political figure this time, much to the disappointment of many. No – this time he sends His own Son. The exile the people live in now is not a physical one. It’s spiritual. They live in the land their ancestors were promised, but they have forgotten their relationship with the One who brought them here. As Jesus tries to show them where they have wandered off, he is met with challenge after challenge by the very people whose purpose in life was to maintain the very relationship Jesus is now trying to restore.

          Once again, they conspire to corner him with a question to which they can think of no answer that won’t get Jesus in trouble: Should a faithful Jew pay taxes to Rome? Roman coins bore the image of Caesar who expected to be worshipped like a god, so even possessing one could be considered an act of idolatry.

          If Jesus says ‘Yes,’ those who have been following him, listening to him, and believing him will suddenly see him as a collaborator with the enemy. They are all still hoping for a new Messiah that will save them from their oppressors, so the temple leaders know that if Jesus tells them to pay their taxes, many will begin to doubt that he is the      One they hope he is. He will lose much of his popularity and power.

          If he says ‘No,’ he will be labelled a seditionist, encouraging people to disobey the law of the land. That would easily be enough to have him arrested and imprisoned. Either way, the temple leaders get what they want. In order to set the trap, they send representatives of both the religious authority and the political authority as witnesses, then they dangle the bait.

          Once again, Jesus’ wisdom and integrity spoil their plans. It isn’t an either/or situation. It’s both/and. Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Give to God what belongs to God. The coins used to pay the taxes are man-made representations of value that bear Caesar’s image. They have no real value in God’s Kingdom. Caesar can have them. Notice here that Jesus had to borrow a coin to make his point. But what are the things that belong to God that we need to give to God?

          Where Roman coins, or any coins are man-made objects that typically bear the image of some political figure who has worldly power and authority, we are created in the image of God -- by God. Our lives belong to God, so if we are to give God what is God’s, we must give ourselves.

          That presents us with the same dilemma in which the temple leaders were trying to trap Jesus. The scripture reading says that they were amazed at Jesus reply. His answer leaves me wondering how to respond. We live in two worlds simultaneously – one political, one spiritual, yet Jesus told us that we cannot serve two masters. Is it possible to choose one over the other, or are we forced to find a balance? Is there a balance that does not demand an unacceptable compromise?

          This is the daily struggle for people of faith. Every day brings dozens of decisions in which we must weigh the consequences of whatever action we choose to take. Whether we like it or not, we cannot exist in this world without money. We need to buy groceries, pay the mortgage, heat, hydro, gas, doctors and medications – the list goes on. We cannot live this life we were created to live without money.

          Yet, as people of faith, we know that there is something we need that is far more important. So how do we live lives that are true to our faith and the guidance of Jesus while still existing in what many refer to as the “real world”? Where do we draw the line between what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God?

          As we consider that, we must remember that we are in the midst of an election. The outcome will determine how much Caesar demands from us, and what we will get for what we pay. There was once an attempt to create a separation between church and state. I’m not sure that ever worked. Is it really possible to separate our political lives from our spiritual lives? Even the groceries we buy these days have political implications. Doing what we believe is right is becoming ever more expensive. Where do we draw the line between living as residents of earth and living as Citizens of Heaven?

          After I thought I was finished with this sermon, I came across an essay written by C. S. Lewis, in which he proposes that there are three classes of people in the world. The first class live entirely for themselves, regarding life and the world around them as little more than resources to be consumed. The second class acknowledges that there is more than just themselves to consider. There is another claim on their life. It may be the will of God, the good of society, or a basic sense of morality. These people pursue their own interests only as far as this higher claim allows. Selfishness has limits. The third class consists of those who, like Paul, have accepted that “to live is Christ.” Those people release themselves from the claims the world places upon us, and those of the ego, and allow Christ to make us into a wholly new thing, perhaps even a holy thing. At this point, there is no longer a balancing act. Christ’s will becomes our will.

          I think most of us, myself included, are part of the second class, trying to find the balance between living as residents of this world and living as Citizens of Heaven. I suspect, though, that instead of there being three classes, it is more of a continuum, and we will all find ourselves at some point between the extremes of total selfishness and absolute selflessness. I think, or at least, I hope, that I am closer to one end than to the other. Where are you on the continuum?

          I’ve asked a lot of difficult questions, and I’m sorry to say that I don’t have any easy answers. Perhaps that is my purpose: to ask the questions for which there are no easy answers. I’m reminded, though, of Paul’s advice to the Philippians that we read last week: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Phil. 4:6)

          During this election season, or at any other times of our life, that may be our best response. “Pray about everything.”  Pray as we vote, then continue to pray after the votes are counted. If God can use a pagan king from a foreign land to save His people, surely God can use whatever government is in power to accomplish His will, if we just allow ourselves to be guided by the Spirit in everything we do and say in every aspect of life, including the voting booth.

Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv