Sermon Series: Getting to Know Jesus What We Owe Mark 12:13-17 PSBC 8/25/02

In a nutshell: We have obligations to fulfill. Some things must be done because it is our duty. And one of those duties is to pay what we owe-not only to man, but especially to God.

I. Introduction

A. Bumper Sticker

As you know, I've just returned from a 4300 mile motorcycle trip through the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, the Big Horn Mountains, and the Black Hills. It was an awesome adventure!

But not all of it was glamorous exciting. Sometimes, traveling 500 or 600 miles a day, on a motorcycle can get boring-especially from about Barstow to Salt Lake City. There are some pretty long stretches of unremarkable land on that portion of the journey. So, when I'm bored, one of the things I like doing is to read and memorize bumper stickers. Here are a few I saw on this trip… -I took an IQ test and the results were negative -Friends don't give friends fruitcake -Jesus is coming soon-look busy -If you think I'm a bad driver, you ought to see me putt. -The worst day fishing beats the best day of doing work. -Do it tomorrow, you've made enough mistakes today.

But my favorite was on a huge motorhome. I guess it was the context in which it appeared that made me laugh. You see, the motorhome was pulling a trailer with three Harley Davidson's loaded on it, each one worth about $25,000 each. The bumper sticker read… I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.

B. Owing

Even if you don't own a Harley, I think you can attest to the universal truth of that slogan. All of us have payments to make. All of us have obligations to meet. It is a way of life. We owe for the car. We owe for the house. We owe for the kid's braces or their college education or their wedding. We owe, we owe, so it's off to work we go.

However, as many of you know, the secret of owing is not to accumulate unmanageable debt. Unfortunately, it is reported that most Americans live on about 120% of their income. At that rate, it doesn't take very long to put yourself in a position where debt runs your life.

The bottom line to all this is that we all have responsibilities. All of us have obligations. Most of us, if not all of us have some kind of debt. And along with that debt comes a consequence or a responsibility. That responsibility is the duty to pay what we owe. And that's the focus of the passage we're going to be looking at today. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Mark 12

Mark 12:13-17 13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him.

C. Two-fold debt

This passage says that all of us have a two-fold debt. We have horizontal obligations to fulfill, and we have vertical obligations to fulfill. Our horizontal obligations are to human beings, and our vertical obligations are to God. On the horizontal plane, we are responsible to human government. On the vertical plane, we are responsible to divine government-because we belong to the Kingdom of God.

In these five verses, Jesus challenged the people to pay what they owe, both to man and to God. He teaches us here, that these debts cannot be left unpaid. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a duty to pay what we owe.

So, what do we owe? What are our debts? Our text today will give us the answers to those questions. Let's start at verse 13…

II. The Two Debts

A. Unholy Alliance

…Verse 13 records that the religious leaders who hated Jesus, sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. Now, if you understand who these two groups of people were, you will understand that this was an amazing alliance.

1. The Pharisees were highly religious people who were dedicated to keeping the law at every point. They resented the rule of Rome. In fact, they resented any outside, secular rule that was placed over them.

2. The Herodians, on the other hand, were Jews who were sympathetic to King Herod, the puppet king of the region, who was set in place by Caesar. These guys were political sell-outs. They made accommodations to Rome and freely accepted the Roman rule of their homeland.

Normally, the Pharisees and Herodians would be fighting like cats and dogs. So, for them to band together in a common cause required something of extremely high priority for them both. And Jesus was just such a priority. -The Pharisees wanted Him out of the way because He threatened their religious ambitions. -The Herodians wanted Him out of the way because He threatened their political ambitions. So they pulled together this amazing alliance.

Verse 13 says they came together…"to catch him in his words." Their motives weren't to serve God, but to serve themselves. They didn't want to hear God in what Jesus had to say. They wanted to prove that God was not in what Jesus had to say.

When they came to Him, they came with deceitful flattery. Look again at what they said in verse 14…

Mark 12:14 14 They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth….

What a bunch of hypocrites! They no more believed that Jesus taught the way of God than they believed the moon was made of cheese. When they flattered Jesus, they were simply lying through their teeth. Their deceitful flattery was simply an attempt to set Jesus up. They wanted to set Him up in order to knock Him down.

They thought they would put Him in a true dilemma. They were going to give Him two options which were both no win situations. In the last part of verse 14 and the beginning of 15, they asked,

Mark 12:14b-15a Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?"

Two options - to pay, or not to pay. That was the question. They thought they had Him.

-If He said they ought to pay their taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees could have accused Him of a lack of nationalistic concern, or of giving in to the rule of Rome. What kind of Messiah would do that? -On the other hand, if He said not to pay tax to Caesar, the Herodians could accuse Him of being subversive. I'm sure thought they had Him.

B. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's

But their trap had a flaw. The dilemma they planned for Jesus, was about to turn into a tri-lemma for themselves. In a stroke of genius, Jesus asked them to bring Him a coin. They brought Him a denarius. Now, this was a small, silver coin, which was imprinted on both sides. -Caesar's image was on one side, along with an abbreviated inscription which, roughly translated, read "Tiberius Caesar, the Divine Augustus, Son of Augustus." -On the other side, was the inscription "Pontifix Maximus," which means "chief priest."

He asked them whose image was on the coin. And they said, "Caesar's." And so, Jesus replied, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's." Suddenly, the tables were turned. Those who thought they had Jesus, suddenly were had themselves. How could they argue with that logic? Give to Caesar what is Caesar's. They used his coinage. By doing so, they accepted his rule and his protection. So it was just right that they pay him back a portion of his own money. Jesus had them.

But Jesus didn't stop there. He went on to a related issue. Not only did He say, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's," but He also said, "…and to God what is God's." This was the challenge He issued to these religious leaders. And it is the same challenge which is issued to followers of God, today-Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. In that statement you have the two basic debts of human beings-the horizontal and the vertical.

C. What We Owe To Caesar - Our Share Of Taxes

So, what do we owe to Caesar? Caesar was the emperor of Jesus' time-the head of the nation of Rome. The word "Caesar" was the surname of the Julian family. Julius Caesar was the first of this family to be the Emperor of Rome. His successors decided to keep the name as a title. We find a derivative of Caesar in the Russian language as Czar. It also appears in the German language as Kaiser. For us, Caesar is simply representative of human government.

So, what do we owe human government? Do we have an obligation? Jesus says we do. Simply put, we owe human government our share of taxes. God calls us to be good citizens. The Scripture calls us to submit to the governing authorities. Read Romans chapter 13, and you will see that God has ordained human government for our good and for His purpose. And after all, we do receive services from human government. If our house were to catch on fire, we would expect the fire department to come and put it out. If we needed the service of the police, we would expect them to be there to aid us. We want our sewers to work and our roads to be smooth, and we expect our government to provide those things. We receive services, and because of that, we must pay our fair share for the privilege of those services.

Illustration: I heard of someone who wrote the IRS an anonymous letter which said something like this: "My conscience has been bothering me. Enclosed you will find $175 which I owe in taxes. If my conscience continues to bother me, I will send you the rest."

That's not the standard. Whether you feel like it's the "Infernal Revenue Service," or the "Eternal Revenue Service," God commands you to pay every penny you rightfully owe. We are to be law-abiding, tax-paying citizens because God has commanded us to be so. That's what we owe.

D. What We Owe To God-Everything

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's. So, what do we owe to God? Very simply, we owe God everything. As a matter of fact, we have a debt to God that can never be paid in full. But while that debt cannot be paid in full, it must always be paid to date. We must keep our account current with the Lord. He deserves it. We owe it to Him.

Think about it this way, just as the coin bore the image of Caesar, so our lives bear the image of God. We are made in His image. We can feel and think and love. We have a will and a personality. We are free, moral beings, with the power to make decisions. We bear His image. And that means we belong to Him.

But not only are we His because we are created in His image, but we are His because He bought us as well.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

We have been bought with a price. What is that price?

1 Peter 1:18-19 18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

The price is the precious blood of Jesus, shed on the cross. We are not our own. We are His. He created us and He bought us.

Illustration: Years ago, I heard a story of a young boy who had spent many hours making a toy sailboat to play with in a stream near his home. One day as he was playing with the boat, the current caught it and pulled it downstream. He wasn't quick or agile enough to make his way through the thick underbrush down the riverbank to catch it, and it went out of sight. It was lost. He looked and looked for the boat, but he never found it.

Some time later the boy passed a toy store in another town, and he saw his boat in the window. He went into the store and told the owner his story. The store owner replied that he had purchased the boat from someone who had found it. And although he wanted this young boy to have it back, he couldn't just give it back. The boy would have to buy it for what he paid for it. The boy returned home, broke his piggy bank, and came back with the money. After paying for the boat, he said to it as he walked down the street, "Little boat, you're twice mine. I made you, and I bought you. You're twice mine."

And friends, that's the way it is with us. God says to us, "You're twice Mine. I made you, and I bought you with nothing less than the precious blood of My Son." What do we owe to God? We owe Him everything.

III. Practical Application

A. Time

So, let's put it in practical terms. When we say we owe God everything, we're talking about at least three specifics.

First of all, we mean that we owe Him our time. In order to give God everything, we must give God our time. In order to come to know Him intimately and personally, we must spend time with Him. God yearns for your fellowship. I'm not simply talking about time spent in services of worship at church. I'm talking about daily time in prayer; and regular, personal Bible reading and meditation on those words. What I'm talking about is time spent seeking the face of God.

Corporate worship is important, but personal worship is no less important. To give God everything, to give God what we owe Him, we must give Him our time.

B. Treasure

In order to give God everything, we must also give Him our treasure. Actually, when we give God our treasure, we are simply returning to Him what is His treasure in the first place.

1 Corinthians 10:26 26 for, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it."

On the front of your copies of This Week…, I put a statement that appears in a brochure from Scottsdale Bible Church that defines giving. I picked it up at our recent Pastor/Elder retreat. I really like this definition...

Giving is by nature the freewill sharing of whatever your thankful heart desires to give…, and the heart set on God gives the best that it has.

On your note sheets, I've listed what giving of our treasure really is, based on God's Word. You see, it's not a legalistic thing, or a set amount, it's not a token, it's not just for emergencies, it doesn't earn you favor with God, and it's not an automatic promise of financial blessing. Look at what giving God our treasure is…

Giving God our treasure is… 

…our acknowledgment that God owns everything, and we are simply managers (Psalm 24:1) 

…our recognition of God's giving to us from His abundance (James 1:17) 

…worship (Matthew 2:11) …a demonstration of our understanding of God's priorities (Matthew 6:19-21)

 …providing support for missionaries (Romans 10:14-15) 

…helping with special needs (1 Chronicles 29:7, 9) 

…a demonstration of faith in, acceptance of, and contentment in God's provision (1 Timothy 6:6-8) 

…an act that is to be joyful (1 Chronicles 29:9) 

…an act that is to be sacrificial (2 Samuel 24:24) 

…to help support God's work and His servants (1 Corinthians 9:14 and Exodus 35:21) 

…to be planned (2 Corinthians 9:7a) 

…to be a regular occurrence (1 Corinthians 16:1-2a)

 …to be faithfully done (Luke 16:10-13) 

…an opportunity to be in a place where God can bless us (Deuteronomy 15:10) 

…a demonstration of an awareness of the material and spiritual needs that exist in your community (1 John 3:17)

Giving God everything, means giving Him our time and our treasure. But it also means giving Him our talents.

C. Talents

God has called each and everyone of us to service. There is no retirement in God's Kingdom. He has called all of us to be actively involved in advancing His Kingdom and building His people until the day we die.

Friends, we must have a Kingdom priority if we are to give God everything. That means we cannot be satisfied to sit passively back and be a spectator. Christianity is not a spectator sport. God expects each of us to get involved in the life of a local church, and be involved in doing something that intentionally builds the people of that church up in their faith. He has called everyone of us. He has gifted everyone of us. And He has given everyone of us abilities to be used in His service.

We can't be like the steward in one of Jesus' stories, who took what God had given him and dug a hole and hid it in the ground because he was afraid that he'd fail. He lost his reward because he never tried. Friends, we must intentionally use our talents for God, if we are to practically give Him everything. We must step forward and report for duty. It's part of what we owe to God.

IV. Conclusion

To give God everything means… …that we must give Him our time in personal devotion; …our treasure according to the guidelines in His Word, to support His Kingdom advancement in a local community; …and our talents to build up the faith and the ministry of others in the church.

Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God what is God's.

What do you have today that belongs to God? 1. Are you holding on to your time? Do you really think it's yours? Maybe God is saying to you today, "I want time with you. I want to know you more personally, and more intimately." Maybe God is calling you to make a commitment today to faithfully block out regular time for Him in your schedule.

2. Are you holding on to God's treasure, mistakenly thinking that it's not really His, but yours? Are you robbing God-by keeping for yourself what belongs to Him? God cannot bless those who are stealing from Him. Obey Him today. Begin to give back to Him, today.

3. Or maybe you're refusing to use the talents and abilities God has given you. -Maybe you think retirement from work means retirement from Kingdom work. -Maybe you think that young children are an excuse not to use the talents and gifts God has given you. -Maybe a career or an activity is causing you to sit back, unwilling to really get involved, unwilling to really commit to participate fully in the life of the church. Perhaps the Lord is speaking to you today to get involved, to get committed, to report for duty.

Friends, you and I owe God our time, treasure and talents-just like we owe the IRS for our taxes.

What have you been keeping from Him?

If God is speaking to you about what you owe Him, you have an opportunity to be obedient right now, today. On the bottom of your note sheet/insert write this… I need to bring my account up to date with God by_____________________________. This morning is your chance in the quietness of the next few minutes to bring your account with God current. It is your and my duty to do so. What is it? Write it down, and commit it to Him.

Amen.