Separation of Church and State

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

"Caesar's," they replied.

Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's" (Matthew 22:15-21).

In this lesson, Jesus instructs us on the relationship between Church and State. We in America have been taught, growing up, that there is a separation between Church and State. But it has always been a source of controversy, trying to decide how that division is supposed to work.

These same tensions existed in Jesus’ days among us. The Roman Empire had conquered the Jewish homeland many years earlier, but the Jews still resented being occupied by foreigners who did not understand or respect their religion. They certainly did not like paying the Roman poll tax, which went to support the government and militia that controlled their country. And the Jews despised Roman collaborators, people of their own nation who worked willingly with the Roman government. Distressingly, the Jews own royal family, the Herods, had agreed to be Rome’s puppet rulers in Palestine.

This, then, is the background for the attempt to trap Jesus. Jesus had been growing in popularity among the people, and the Pharisees did not like it one bit. Until Jesus came along, everyone looked to the Pharisees as examples as to how to lead a godly life. As Jesus gained fame, the Pharisees saw their influence among the people begin to dim. Something had to be done; Jesus had to be discredited somehow.

Normally, Pharisees and Herodians hated each other. The Herodians supported the royal family’s dealings with Rome; the Pharisees saw paying taxes to foreigners as sending God’s money into the hands of pagans. But these two groups made common cause to trip Jesus up publicly—politics do, indeed, make strange bedfellows.

They start with flattering Jesus, making a big deal out of how Jesus adheres to the truth and is not swayed by the opinions of powerful or influential people. They then present Him with a "yes" or "no" question—should a Jew pay the Roman poll tax or not?

They think that they have all the bases covered. If Jesus says no, that Jews should not pay taxes to a pagan government, then the Herodians can report Jesus as an insurrectionist and have Him arrested. If Jesus says yes, the Jews should pay the poll tax, then many of His followers will regard Him as selling out true religion and will turn away from Him as their teacher. And if Jesus remains silent on the question, it will appear that He really does care about the opinions of the powerful and the wealthy, and again, many will abandon this so-called "teacher of the truth".

But Jesus knows immediately what is going on, and refuses to be forced to choose from among the options presented by the Pharisees. Instead He calls for a coin, the kind used for paying the taxes in question. He directs their attention to the face on the coin. The face is Caesar’s, the emperor of the empire. Only Caesar’s government has the authority to make these coins, and the emperor’s face proves that the coin represents Roman authority. Like any government, Rome created its money and established its value for trade.

Jesus said, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." A truly remarkable answer. Jesus escapes the trap that the Pharisees had crafted for Him, and at the same time He teaches us an important truth about the relationship between Church and State.

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s. Here in today’s world, we could just as well say, "Give to the government that which is due to the government." And what all does that entail? Well, the government makes several demands on we the citizens. Most obviously, we are assessed taxes to pay for government services. Our taxes pay for the protection provided by the police, the military, and health inspectors, to name only a few. Our taxes also pay for the education of our children. Our taxes provide support to those who have little or nothing due to natural disaster, and those who cannot earn a livable wage due to their health. Our taxes even pay to provide us with passable roads so that we can get to work and earn our living.

But our government requires more from us than just taxes in exchange for services. Our government is a participatory government—we are all expected to chip in our time and abilities. In time of war, those who are fit are expected to serve in the armed services and protect our fellow citizens. When called, we are expected to serve on jury duty and see that our fellow citizens receive justice. And when elections are scheduled, we are expected to study the issues and cast our vote, to see that all Americans have the best possible government to live under.

These, then, are the things of the State: our time and our money supporting the government in protecting us, teaching our children, caring for those in need, and trying to make sure that freedom and justice are preserved among us.

…and to God what is God's. What, then, are the things of God? What does God expect from us? Jesus answered this question when He said, `Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: `Love your neighbor as yourself' (Matthew 22:37-39). Let us consider what these commandments entail.

Loving our God completely means, first of all, to trust in Him completely. When God tells us that we were conceived in sin and were born as atheists, we believe Him. When our heavenly Father tells us that the only way to be embraced by His love is to ask His Son Jesus to forgive us, we trust that He is telling us the truth. When Jesus tells us that the blood He shed on the cross as He died has paid for our sins and frees us from guilt, we accept His Good News with confident joy. When the Spirit of God reminds us that Jesus has risen from death and has opened heaven to all who put their trust in Him--even when our faith is just a weak and flickering flame--we live our lives knowing that death is not an end to be feared, but a momentary unpleasantness on our way to unending joy and peace.

Trusting in God’s promises also prompts us to pray. God has promised to answer our prayers to Him, and so we pray every day. We thank Him for His goodness. We ask Him for His guidance in making decisions, both large and small. We ask Him for relief from sickness, financial need, and oppression by the representatives of evil. We ask His aid in mending broken relationships with others, and we ask Him to widen our circle of family and friends.

Loving our neighbor as ourselves is patterned on the love of God. Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). That is what Jesus did—we are all His friends, and He laid down His life so that we could escape eternal punishment. This is what God seeks of us—that we love without consideration of what that love will cost us.

The currency of God is different than human currency. When you hand over money, you expect to receive something of equal value in return—goods or services. Even when you deposit money in a bank, you expect to be able to draw it out again in the future, hopefully with interest. We tend to treat our interpersonal relationships the same way. We give a person a compliment or give him our attention while he is talking about something that is important to him, with the expectation that at some future time he will compliment or listen to us. We put up with a friend’s tirades, assuming that she will let us blow off steam sometime. We help a neighbor put up a fence, assuming that we can call on that neighbor’s help if an extra hand is needed fixing the combine during harvest. But love inspired by God does not operate this way. Godly love is concerned with serving another person in her needs, with no thought of ever receiving anything in return. Such love is not an investment, it is charity, a gift from the heart with no strings attached.

These are the things of God: regular worship of our Lord, repentance for our selfish sins, trust in His promises, devotion to His ways, and loving care for all His children of faith living here with us.

Where, then, is the problem? How can Church and State be in conflict? God established the power of government, as St. Paul tells us: The authorities that exist have been established by God (Romans 13:1). Conflict only arises when a government tries to exert authority over the things that are God’s. When the government tries to compel us to worship false gods, or to keep silent instead of preaching about the one, true God; when the government tries to get us to lead our lives as if personal gain is a higher priority than service to God and to each other; only when the government oversteps its bounds are we to say with the Apostles, "We must obey God rather than men!" (Acts 5:29).

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." Give to the government your time and your tax money; do your part to participate in protecting America, educating its children, seeing that justice is done, and that freedom is preserved. Give to God first place in your heart; seek His forgiveness, rejoice in His mercy, serve in His Church regularly and willingly, and serve His children with a giving heart wherever you encounter them. And remember the words of 1 Peter chapter 2: Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.