Engaging the World Without Enthroning It: A Gospel-Centered Approach to Politics

• Politics and Polarization [00:33:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor addresses the taboo nature of discussing politics on Sunday, citing Pew Research data on increased animosity between political parties and comparing current levels of division to the Civil War era.
• The Upside-Down Kingdom [00:32:25 ▶️ 📄]
  > The sermon series title, derived from Jesus' conversation with Pontius Pilate, explores what it means to be part of an 'otherworldly kingdom' in contrast to worldly systems.
• Political Context of Jesus [00:37:50 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains the historical context of Roman occupation and Jewish oppression to highlight the disillusionment Jesus' followers faced, providing perspective for modern political angst.
• Political Oppression and Historical Context [00:38:17 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts modern democratic privileges with the 500-year oppression of Israel under Roman rule, highlighting the intense political disillusionment of Jesus' followers.
• The Trap of the Pharisees and Herodians [00:41:06 ▶️ 📄]
  > An analysis of the political trap set for Jesus regarding taxes, explaining how both opposing factions sought to entangle him in his words to facilitate his arrest or assassination.
• Civic Engagement and Honor [00:47:03 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Christians are called to respect and honor civil authorities, citing Peter and Paul, regardless of the leaders' character or competence, as a means to advance God's kingdom.
• Practical Christian Political Application [00:52:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > Four specific applications are given: voting is a biblical duty, religious beliefs should impact politics, dialogue conduct is a gospel issue, and praying for leaders is a command.
• Idolatry of Politics [00:55:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that while we engage with politics, we must not 'enthrone' it, distinguishing between rendering to Caesar what is his and giving to God what bears His image.
• Prayer for Leaders [00:53:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor argues that Christians must pray for all political leaders, regardless of personal preference, citing biblical commands to pray for enemies and noting that this practice has been consistent at his church since 2009.
• Political Idolatry vs. Christian Identity [00:55:13 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor explains that while Christians should engage civically, they must not 'enthrone' politics, emphasizing that human dignity comes from being made in God's image, not from political affiliation or wealth.
• Cross-Political Community [00:58:46 ▶️ 📄]
  > Using the example of Matthew (a tax collector aligned with Rome) and Simon the Zealot (an anti-Roman revolutionary) being disciples together, the pastor illustrates that the church should foster relationships across the political spectrum.
• The Gospel as a Compelling Counter-Narrative [01:01:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the Greek myth of Orpheus to illustrate that the beauty of the Gospel (Jesus) drowns out the destructive 'siren song' of political division, allowing believers to engage without losing their peace or identity.
• Communion Logistics [01:09:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor provides specific instructions on how to physically participate in the communion service, including aisle usage, gluten-free options, and beverage selection.
• Grace and Shipwrecks [01:10:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the metaphor of 'shipwrecks' to describe human failure and sin, contrasting it with God's grace that cuts across political and relational lines.
• Spiritual Presence [01:10:54 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor emphasizes that the sacrament is an opportunity to acknowledge the need for grace and believe in Jesus' spiritual presence.
• Kingdom vs. Politics [01:15:38 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts God's kingdom with political salvation, stating that God is not a political savior but came to save us from this world.

• Sermon Illustration [00:35:33 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor uses the Greek myth of the Sirens to illustrate the allure and danger of modern politics, comparing news and social media feeds to the Sirens' song that leads to spiritual shipwreck.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:26 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the limited political angst of the US system (max 8 years of leadership) with the 60 years of Roman occupation and 500 years of general oppression faced by the Israelites in Jesus' time.
• Sermon Illustration [00:38:30 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor compares the limited political angst of modern democracies (max 8 years) to the 500-year oppression of Israel, noting that Passover was a 'nostalgic' celebration of freedom they no longer possessed.
• Sermon Illustration [00:43:10 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes the denarius coin, noting that it bore Caesar's face and title 'highest priest,' forcing Jews to confront the spiritual implications of Roman authority every time they bought or sold anything.
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor shares a personal anecdote about his church (Midtown) praying for every US president since 2009 (George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden), noting how difficult it was for congregants to pray for leaders they politically opposed.
• Sermon Illustration [00:54:15 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor recounts the history of his church praying for various US Presidents (George W. Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden) to illustrate the difficulty and necessity of praying for political leaders regardless of party.
• Sermon Illustration [00:59:05 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor contrasts the political alignments of the disciples Matthew (a tax collector aligned with Herodians/Rome) and Simon the Zealot (who opposed Rome and refused taxes) to show how Jesus creates community across deep political divides.
• Sermon Illustration [01:01:29 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor retells the Greek myth of Odysseus, who had his crew put wax in their ears and tied him to the mast to survive the Sirens' song, illustrating how people often avoid politics entirely to avoid conflict.
• Sermon Illustration [01:03:12 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor retells the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, where the musician Orpheus played his harp so beautifully that the crew was distracted from the Sirens' song, illustrating how the beauty of the Gospel drowns out political division.
• Sermon Illustration [01:10:14 ▶️ 📄]
  > The pastor describes believers as 'shipwrecks' who have wrecked their lives through various means like politics or immorality, yet God's love cuts across these lines.

• Pastoral Charge [00:52:08 ▶️ 📄]
  > Vote in elections
• Pastoral Charge [00:53:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for political leaders
• Pastoral Charge [00:53:51 ▶️ 📄]
  > Pray for political leaders
• Pastoral Charge [01:08:21 ▶️ 📄]
  > Stay seated and engage in silent reflection for non-believers
• Pastoral Charge [01:09:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > Participate in communion by following specific logistical instructions
• Pastoral Charge [01:09:22 ▶️ 📄]
  > Physically move to the center aisles, take bread and juice/wine, and return to seats.
• Pastoral Charge [01:09:57 ▶️ 📄]
  > Volunteers/servers to come forward to assist with communion.

[00:05:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:05:12] All right, good morning and welcome to Midtown Community Church. It's a special welcome to Any guests we have today and those joining us online. It's good to see all your faces Well, we begin by being called to worship and so to get us started. Let me ask you a question What are you owed? What do you deserve? Right now you might be thinking I deserve some more coffee before someone asks me tricky questions
[00:05:44] about basic human rights, about how we all deserve to be treated with those rights in mind.
[00:05:51] So now let me ask you, what does God deserve? Today's call to worship is taken from the Psalms and in it we see the psalmist talk about what God deserves and why. On page three of your bulletins
[00:06:04] you will find this call to worship. I will read the portions marked leader and please respond with me for the portions marked all. At this time I'd invite you to stand if you are able and we can be
[00:06:15] called to worship together. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord all the earth.
[00:06:25] Sing to the Lord. Bless his name. Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to
[00:06:41] be praised. He is to be feared above all gods. Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.
[00:06:48] tremble before him all the earth. Let the heavens be glad. Let the earth rejoice. Let the sea roar and all that fills it. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples. Ascribe to the Lord
[00:07:03] glory and strength. Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring an offering and come into his courts. Let us worship together.

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:07:31] whose goodness faileth never, I have nothing like if I am his, and he is mine forever, and he is mine forever.

[00:07:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:07:56] Where streams, where streams of living water flow, my ransomed soul he leadeth,

[00:08:05] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:08:05] Where the verdant pastures grow With food celestial feeding Never fasting My soul I shepherded Lost and foolish Off I strayed But yet in love he sought me And on his shoulder gently laid Just dark veil I fear no ill

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:09:08] For deciding

[00:09:12] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:09:12] God has staffed my comfort still Thy cross before to guide me Never failed my soul My shepherd and soul So through all the length of day Thy goodness faileth never Good shepherd may I sing your praise

[00:11:20] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:11:20] Within your house forever Within your house Within your house forever

[00:11:28] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:11:28] You're the God of this.
[00:12:14] You're the king of these people's nations.
[00:12:29] This darkness.
[00:12:31] You're the hope to the hopeless.
[00:12:35] You're the peace to the restless.
[00:12:53] There is no...

[00:13:00] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:13:00] Let's do that again.
[00:13:00] You're the God of this city.

[00:13:07] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:13:07] People's nation.
[00:13:20] You're the hope to the...
[00:13:22] To the restless.

[00:13:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:13:47] Greater things.

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:13:48] things. Things have yet to come. Things are still to be done. Things have yet to, still to be done in this city. Things have yet, things are still, the Lord of creation. You're the Lord of creation. To the broken, you're the joy in the sadness. Things have yet to, on page six of your bulletins, you can find today's confession of faith. It is taken from the Heidelberg

[00:16:47] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:16:47] Catechism, and I will read the question. Please join with me in reciting the answer.
[00:16:54] Christian, what is your only comfort in life and death? That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my
[00:17:12] sins with his precious blood, and has set me free from all the power of the devil.
[00:17:19] He also preserves me in such a way that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head.
[00:17:29] Indeed, all things must work together for my salvation.
[00:17:34] Therefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for Him.
[00:17:48] Let us continue our worship with a song of thanksgiving.
[00:17:50] And at this time, we'll also be taking up our tithes and offerings.
[00:17:55] You might give now, online, at a different time, but regardless of when you give, as the offering plate comes past you, take a moment to think about what God has given you and be grateful for what he has.
[00:18:06] If you're a visitor, please feel no pressure to give today.
[00:18:09] And at this time, I'll also invite the deacons who are coming up to help us with our tithes and offerings.
[00:18:15] Let us continue to worship.

[00:18:16] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[00:18:16] Jesus, cast a look on me.
[00:18:33] Give me sweet simplicity.
[00:18:38] Make me poor and keep me low.
[00:18:46] All it feeds my busy pride.
[00:18:52] Cast it evermore aside.
[00:19:00] In my will to thine servant.
[00:19:05] May me humbly at thy feet.
[00:19:15] Of my wisdom spoken only in this old man.
[00:19:43] Peace of God.
[00:19:47] His precious blood.
[00:19:49] In this posture.
[00:20:29] Hosanna.
[00:20:31] In this temper.
[00:20:32] Blessings flow.
[00:20:59] Lord, please have all creatures here below, please have all creatures here below.
[00:21:12] If everybody can take a seat at this time, thank you.

[00:23:56] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:23:56] Welcome to Midtown Community Church.
[00:23:58] My name is Lindsey Williams, one of the pastors here.
[00:24:00] Glad you could join us this morning for worship.
[00:24:05] One major announcement is our family table.
[00:24:10] I don't know if you ever heard this before.
[00:24:11] I like this quote.
[00:24:13] If you follow your heart, it will lead you to a church potluck.
[00:24:20] I actually like that.
[00:24:22] Family Table is sort of our name for a church potluck.
[00:24:27] We're also getting some help from Chewy's to get some good Mexican food thrown in there as well.
[00:24:33] But this is really an opportunity for us to really live into the reality of what the church is meant to be, which is it's meant to be a family table.
[00:24:43] We're meant to come together and be reminded that we're not alone in this journey called life, and we're called to share food and life and love together.
[00:24:52] And so a family table is tonight.
[00:24:54] It begins at 445.
[00:24:57] And so the basic instructions are we'll be having our meeting in the chapel, which is right across the courtyard there.
[00:25:06] And so if you're bringing any sort of sides, you'll put those in the fellowship hall.
[00:25:11] and then if you've got kids, the child care being the children's ministry building and then you'll promptly make your way to the chapel for our meeting.
[00:25:20] Try to be as timely as possible.
[00:25:22] We've got a lot of information that we want to get into a short period of time.
[00:25:26] So punctuality be really important.
[00:25:28] If you are here today and you have not signed up for the family table, it's okay.
[00:25:34] Come, we've got you covered.
[00:25:36] There'll be plenty of food.
[00:25:38] And so if you are a regular part of our church, this is a really important meeting to be a part of.
[00:25:44] If you are a visitor becoming a regular attender and you want to have the opportunity to just get a feel for what it looks like to basically make this church your home, there's no better way to do it than to test it out
[00:25:59] with their culinary expertise as a potluck.
[00:26:02] So this is a great opportunity for you to come and get to know our church a little better.
[00:26:07] And one other announcement I will make, there was an email that was sent on Wednesday through the church center app it was entitled MCC building fund family table discussion if you did not get that email
[00:26:23] first thing I do is check your junk box to make sure that the email didn't go there and if it's still not there then feel free to reach out to our admin her email is in the bulletin
[00:26:36] admin at midtown-church.org you can email her and we can do some troubleshooting to make sure you're getting these emails but that was just a little bit of pre-reading to get us prepared for our discussion tonight if you haven't
[00:26:48] read the email and if you're not going to read the email beforehand doesn't matter just come it'll just help to further our discussion along all right that's it for the announcements we really hope you'll come tonight for family table uh warren's gonna come pray and then we'll jump

[00:27:03] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_02]
[00:27:03] into God's word. So let's take some time to pray. And as I'm praying and you think about your life and you think that you might have prayer requests and you might value someone praying about your
[00:27:18] life, you should see in the pews in front of you a connecting prayer card. Feel free to fill that out. You can put it in the offering box, hand it to someone you see up here, any of those options
[00:27:27] work. And as a leadership, we can pray for you. All right, let's bow our heads. Lord, you tell us in Micah 6 verse 8, he has told you a man what is good and what does the Lord require of you
[00:27:41] but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God. Lord, we heard in Psalm 96 about worship being due to you because you are glorious, you are different, you are
[00:27:55] above all. And we hear in Micah, we read more about what you require. Thank you, Lord, for giving us the scriptures. Thank you for giving us guidance. Lord, there are so many voices in the world,
[00:28:09] what we read, what we watch, what we hear, that tell us what is important, usually with a cost attached to it. But nonetheless, so many different competing priority sets. And yet here we can read
[00:28:22] what really is important, where the God of the universe has told us what to focus on.
[00:28:27] Thank you that we have that clarity. Yet, Lord, it would not be hard for each of us to look at our past week and see that we have at times not been just, not been kind, and not been humble.
[00:28:42] Forgive us, we pray. Thank you that the stain of these failures can be washed away by the atoning work of Jesus, and we can look forward to the next day to walk with you. Help us to
[00:28:54] grapple with these requirements, to grapple with what you need of us, to look to you for help.
[00:29:01] help us to fulfill them. Lord, justice and kindness are hard. They often involve sacrifice.
[00:29:07] Help us to remember that in you, we already have all we need. Help us too with humility by reminding us that being friends with the God of the universe means we don't need to promote ourselves above
[00:29:19] others anymore. And Lord, we pray a particular blessing on our college students today. The semester is ending. Many students are headed off to start their summer plans. Lord, we pray simply for travel safety, we pray for success in their summer tasks, and we pray for a peaceful return
[00:29:39] in the fall to resume their work. And for those starting new careers, please be with them in this new phase of life. It can be daunting, challenging, but also very exciting. And be near to them,
[00:29:51] help them to find good community in you wherever they go. Thank you for their presence. Thank you for the college students in our church. It's a blessing to have them here. Thank you for giving
[00:30:01] us that voice that part of your people of your children here with us for them and for the rest of us lord help us to do justly to love kindness and to walk humbly before our god and now lord as
[00:30:15] we turn our attention to the preaching of your word and the reading thereof please bless our ears for without you without the holy spirit this is just words and information flowing up here but It has no life-changing effect.
[00:30:29] But with your Holy Spirit, which you promised to all who ask, there is a chance, there is a guarantee, there is a hope that that which is unfixable to anyone else is possible with you.
[00:30:43] It's fixable, it's improvable, it is transformed into the image of your Son.
[00:30:50] You'll pray for the words of your faithful servant, that Lord, as Lindsay preaches, that we would hear you through his words, and that we would be transformed into you to look more like you.
[00:31:02] In Jesus' name, amen.

[00:31:14] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:31:14] This morning's scripture reading will be from Matthew chapter 22, verses 15 to 22.
[00:31:20] Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words.
[00:31:27] And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you were true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone's opinion.
[00:31:37] for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us then what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
[00:31:52] Show me the coin for the tax. And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, Whose likeness and inscription is this? They said, Caesar's. Then he said to them, Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And when they heard
[00:32:11] it, they marveled, and they left him and went away. This is the word of the Lord. So if this is your

[00:32:25] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:32:25] first Sunday at Midtown Community Church, we're in the middle of a sermon series on the Gospel of Matthew, and we've titled this The Upside-Down Kingdom. And the title, it actually comes from one of the last conversations Jesus had before his death.
[00:32:43] And honestly, consistent with today's topic of discussion, it just so happened to be a conversation that he had with a politician.
[00:32:52] The Roman governor Pontius Pilate, the guy who oversaw Jesus' death.
[00:32:57] And on that Friday, Pilate asked Jesus, essentially, like, why is it that your own people are turning on you?
[00:33:11] And Jesus' response is simple.
[00:33:14] My kingdom is not of this world.
[00:33:18] And so what we've been doing this year of 2026 is asking the question, what does it mean for us to be part of this otherworldly kingdom of Jesus?
[00:33:30] If you were with us last week, we explored this idea that rather than the prevailing cancel culture of our day, Jesus led with a forgiveness culture.
[00:33:41] In today's passage, we're going to consider, all right, how does the kingdom of God shape the way we enter into this really messy topic of politics?
[00:33:54] Now, on the one hand, politics has to be one of the most taboo Sunday morning topics that we can handle.
[00:34:01] But on another hand, we are not even in election season, folks, and we are already feeling this, aren't we?
[00:34:11] I've had a few folks reach out to me over the past month asking for help because of how politics has actually damaged their existing relationships.
[00:34:24] And I imagine there's a number of you who could testify to the same fact.
[00:34:31] We've talked about the fact that we're very polarized today, but there's a recent study that was conducted by the Pew Research Center, and it was determined that we view members of the other political party
[00:34:46] with more animosity than any time since they started conducting polling.
[00:34:53] So it's not just that we are polarized, but it's how we view the other side.
[00:34:59] and they looked at it on a number of different areas, like whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, we view the other side as lazier than ever, more immoral, more dishonest, more unintelligent, more closed-minded than at any time in history
[00:35:18] since they've been doing this sort of polling.
[00:35:21] There have been an increased number of historians who suggested that the last time that our country had this amount of animosity was during the Civil War.
[00:35:33] If you know Greek mythology, you've heard the story of the sirens song.
[00:35:41] So sirens were these beautiful half-woman, half-bird creatures who would sing their song from this island to passing ships.
[00:35:51] And their song was so alluring, so enchanting, that sailors would jump overboard, try to swim ashore, and they would drown, or they would steer their vessels towards the island only to become shipwrecks amongst the rocks that were just offshore.
[00:36:09] For many of us, I have just described our experience with politics.
[00:36:20] The news feeds, the social media feeds on both sides, are they not like siren songs that invite us to put our hope in getting this politician elected into office or getting this one out.
[00:36:36] There was an article by David Brooks, New York Times columnist, and he suggests that like the sirens of Greek mythology, he says, quote, politics these days make categorical demands on people.
[00:36:51] It demands that they remain in a state of excitement caused by this or that scandal or hatred of the moment, but it doesn't actually transform life or even fill the hole left by the lack of other attachments. We'll get to that. He says, if politics is going to get better,
[00:37:13] we need better myths. So, like, at its core, what a myth is, is a myth is a sacred story, a sacred story that centers a group of people. And what I'd like to suggest this morning
[00:37:33] is that what we see here in Matthew 22, Jesus is offering us a better and a truer myth as it relates to this topic.
[00:37:44] All right, so before we look at Jesus' words, I want us to consider Jesus' political context.
[00:37:50] So our passage, it begins with some of Israel's religious leaders.
[00:37:55] They come to Jesus, and here's what they say.
[00:37:58] Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully.
[00:38:03] and you do not care about anyone's opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances.
[00:38:09] Tell us then what you think.
[00:38:12] Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
[00:38:17] So at this point in Jewish history, the Israelites, they've been under the authority of the Roman Empire for about 60 years.
[00:38:26] That's when Rome first invaded Jerusalem.
[00:38:30] The Jewish people, they did not have the luxury of voting for their leaders.
[00:38:36] If you take, say, like our countries, we'll look at sort of our executive leadership structure.
[00:38:42] We have the opportunity and the privilege and the power, right, to vote on our leaders, and there's no one person who could be an authority for more than eight years, right, two four-year terms.
[00:38:53] And our country has enough checks and balances to severely limit the power of whomever is elected president.
[00:39:02] And so at most, we can build up about eight years of political angst over whomever is in office.
[00:39:11] That's the most we'll ever have to deal with.
[00:39:14] But the Romans were just the latest empire to force their way into Israel, right?
[00:39:19] We're not talking about just 60 years, but Israelites have been an oppressed people for going on 500 years, right?
[00:39:27] Rome is just the latest flavor.
[00:39:30] So just imagine for the moment the amount of political disillusionment amongst Jesus' followers here in Matthew 22.
[00:39:41] That alone should sort of set or put into perspective whatever amount of disillusionment we have about whatever leaders we're thinking about in the civil sphere.
[00:39:54] Add to that the timing of this question on the Jewish calendar year.
[00:39:59] So, Matthew 22, Jesus has now entered Jerusalem at what is known as the beginning of Passover week, right?
[00:40:06] Which is the yearly celebration marking the time that God delivered the nation of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, right?
[00:40:14] So Passover was the Jewish equivalent of Independence Day.
[00:40:20] But whereas our Independence Day every year is an opportunity to celebrate our present freedoms, Their Independence Day was purely an exercise in nostalgia, right?
[00:40:34] It was speaking of an event for which none of them have any present experience.
[00:40:42] And so the point is that the first century church dealt with far more objective political oppression than any of us have ever experienced.
[00:40:52] And this whole conversation, Matthew 22, is taking place during the most politically charged week of the entire calendar year.
[00:41:06] When we're told in Matthew 15, it says that the Pharisees and the Herodians, and we'll get to them in a second, how they came to, quote, entangle Jesus in his words.
[00:41:16] That Greek word, entangle, could also mean trap, and it's a term that's used as a hunting term, as if to say to take by hunting, something like setting a trap for a wild animal who will be
[00:41:31] slaughtered. And so this wasn't merely an opportunity to play a gotcha statement against Jesus, right? This was a chess move that was moving towards the path of a political assassination, right? This was political violence, the first stage of it. All right, let me explain the trap.
[00:41:54] So generally speaking, the Pharisees, they resisted Roman government control.
[00:42:02] Whereas the Herodians were advocates of the government of Rome.
[00:42:07] They backed Herod, who was the Jewish appointed king over Judea by the Roman Empire.
[00:42:16] The Pharisees and the Herodians, they were political enemies.
[00:42:20] They were on the opposite side of the spectrum.
[00:42:22] But they were united in seeing Jesus as a potential threat to any of their political hopes.
[00:42:31] Now, the majority of Jewish people in Jesus' day were on the side of the Pharisees, right?
[00:42:37] They hated the fact that they were dominated and oppressed by the Roman Empire.
[00:42:43] They hated Roman taxation, right?
[00:42:45] This is why tax collectors were so despised amongst God's people, right?
[00:42:50] It was a constant reminder that they were subjects of Rome.
[00:42:55] And just to sort of make it a little bit more practical, every time they bought or sold anything in their own lane, they had to use coinage that had the face of Caesar on it.
[00:43:10] Now, there's actually, if you take the denarius, which was the most common coinage of the time, you can actually buy those online, I think on Amazon.com.
[00:43:19] So they're still in circulation today.
[00:43:22] But every time they bought anything, Caesar was not only claiming on his coinage political authority, but he was claiming spiritual authority.
[00:43:34] And so on one side of the coin, it stated, Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus.
[00:43:45] If you flipped on the other side of that denarius, it said highest priest.
[00:43:50] And so Roman currency was a way of reiterating that the emperor, not the God of Israel, was the true spiritual leader over them.
[00:44:02] Every time they bought or sold anything, they were faced with the spiritual implications that were being forced upon them, shoved down their throats by the Roman Empire.
[00:44:12] And so what this means is that when they asked Jesus, Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
[00:44:21] If Jesus said, yes, you should pay taxes, he would risk turning the majority of Jewish religious people against him, and he would be branded a traitor because he's caving into the pagan culture that is promoting spiritual authority over them.
[00:44:40] How could you be a religious leader if you're saying we should actually pay taxes?
[00:44:45] On the other hand, if he said no to paying taxes, the Herodians have got him.
[00:44:52] They would then be able to tell the Roman soldiers who could arrest him, and he could be tried for insurrection.
[00:44:59] And so either way, this moment was an opportunity to get a major player voted off the island.
[00:45:08] Neither of them liked Jesus, and they thought this was an opportunity to move him off the chessboard.
[00:45:14] But with this one sentence, when Jesus says, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's, Jesus did more than simply jump over a trap.
[00:45:30] Right after he said this, I don't know if you caught it, but at the very end of the passage, here's what we're told.
[00:45:36] When they heard it, they marveled.
[00:45:41] So there are only six occasions in the Gospel of Matthew where people are said to have marveled at Jesus six times.
[00:45:52] Only one of those occasions is it because of something that Jesus actually said.
[00:45:57] The other five were because of things that Jesus did.
[00:46:01] That one occasion is right here.
[00:46:04] This is the moment where people marveled at Jesus' words.
[00:46:11] King Hughes, a theologian, he couched Jesus' statement this way.
[00:46:16] He said, the statement by our Lord was not only astounding the instant it was uttered, but it is even today universally acclaimed to be the single most influential political statement ever made in the history of the world.
[00:46:31] So what we're going to do in our remaining time is just to try to unpack the weight of what Jesus' words were because I think it actually gives us a basic starting framework for how we enter into politics as Christians.
[00:46:49] And so here's my sermon point.
[00:46:52] Jesus calls us to engage, but not to enthrone.
[00:47:00] So first, all right, he calls us to engage.
[00:47:03] The first statement was to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's.
[00:47:07] Now, the reason I gave you Israel's political background is so that you'd be able to see how this particular statement, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, this would have stung for a number of Jesus' listeners.
[00:47:24] Jesus is calling his followers to have a level of respect for a government that is thrust upon them that is frankly difficult for any of us at any point in time to have for a government that is elected,
[00:47:39] whether on a state, local, national level at any point in time, right?
[00:47:46] This is a government that claims spiritual authority.
[00:47:50] You know, I'll often hear people say, I've said this, I could never honor this leader because of this character flaw.
[00:48:02] I can't honor him because of this.
[00:48:07] But what's interesting here is that Jesus doesn't attach our honor of civic leaders to their character or their competence.
[00:48:18] And when you look at Jesus' followers, they seem to have really picked up the message of what Jesus was saying here in Matthew 22.
[00:48:27] Take the Apostle Peter.
[00:48:29] He was there when Jesus was having this interchange with the Herodians and with the Pharisees.
[00:48:35] Peter would go on to say, and you'll find this in 1 Peter 2, he says this, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be the emperor as supreme or the governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil
[00:48:52] and to praise those who do good.
[00:48:53] For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish.
[00:49:01] That's a hard Bible verse to hear.
[00:49:08] But I find it interesting that Peter's statement, is he says that our influence as Christians is predicated upon our ability to show some measure of honor towards non-Christians who are in civil authority.
[00:49:29] It's as if he's saying, if you want to shape your culture, your disposition towards those in power actually plays a significant role.
[00:49:40] This doesn't mean you can't disagree or disagree strongly, with various leaders, but your disposition towards them is one of the mechanisms that God uses to advance his kingdom amongst his people. Consider another follower of Jesus, the Apostle Paul.
[00:49:57] Romans 13, he said this, let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there's no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed. Pay to all what is owed to them,
[00:50:17] taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. You know, it's not lost on me that Paul's writing a letter
[00:50:30] to a church in what city? Rome, right? It's the center of the politics of the Roman Empire.
[00:50:42] Now, lots of conversations we can have about there being biblical room for civil disobedience whenever an authority asks us to do something that's strictly prohibited in the Bible.
[00:50:54] But what I find interesting here is that the reason Paul gives for why we respect those in civil authority, it isn't driven by their level of competence, but it has to do with God's competence
[00:51:10] in even putting people into positions of power.
[00:51:16] Part of what's being communicated here is that the kingdom of God is advanced through Christians who figure out how to live with honor when they are on the political margins of society.
[00:51:31] If you want to build the kingdom of God, another way to put it is political power is not required.
[00:51:38] historically, and this is another conversation, but most of Christianity's most explosive growth has actually come when we were on the margins of society, not when we were in the center of it.
[00:51:53] All right, so let's get down to sort of some real-life applications to this point. All right, here's my first application. Vote. I think there's a strong biblical case to be made that you are sinning if you do not vote in elections, right?
[00:52:14] Voting is how we honor our particular form of government known as a democracy, right?
[00:52:21] This is the way that we most practically fulfill 1 Peter 2.
[00:52:26] Second, I find statements like, let's not let our religious beliefs impact our politics to be unhelpful.
[00:52:38] let's not let our religious beliefs impact our politics.
[00:52:43] I find that oftentimes to sort of be a cop-out to keep us from actually taking our faith and figuring out how to apply it into this world.
[00:52:54] I think when Jesus says, let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, there's an invitation to let the kingdom of Jesus filter into the way that we deal within the context of the complex and messy relationships
[00:53:08] that we have here in society.
[00:53:11] Third application, how we dialogue about politics is just as much of a gospel issue as the content of our political discussions.
[00:53:24] And again, this doesn't mean that we can't strongly disagree with various leaders or political policies, but how we engage politics matters.
[00:53:35] Our conduct as Christians is every bit as important in Jesus' eyes as the content of our discussions.
[00:53:43] So how we engage people on the other side, on social media, Facebook, Twitter, I think it matters.
[00:53:51] All right, fourth, pray for your leaders.
[00:53:56] This is mentioned numerous places in the Old and New Testament.
[00:54:01] Here at Midtown, you'll witness this at some point if you haven't already.
[00:54:06] At various points, we will pray for the elected officials of our country, and maybe even on the local level.
[00:54:15] You know, Midtown was, we started in 2009.
[00:54:18] So the first president we ever prayed for was George W.
[00:54:23] There were people who had a hard time with us praying for George W.
[00:54:30] When it was Obama, that stung for some people as well.
[00:54:35] When Trump was elected, that was hard to hear people praying for him.
[00:54:40] Biden, that was hard.
[00:54:43] Trump, again, that was hard.
[00:54:48] The Bible often commands us to do things that are hard.
[00:54:56] The invitation of the gospel is to pray, right?
[00:54:59] Jesus even said, pray for your enemies, pray for those who persecute you.
[00:55:03] So I don't think there's an out clause for praying for those who are in political.
[00:55:08] All right, second category.
[00:55:13] Jesus says that even though we engage, we should not enthrone politics.
[00:55:19] So Jesus says, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.
[00:55:25] So, all right, follow the logic here.
[00:55:28] In the first part of his response, Jesus says, because the money you use bears the image of Caesar, it's right for him to get some portion of your possessions.
[00:55:40] But then with this second sentence, Jesus is effectively saying, you should give to God the things that bears God's image.
[00:55:53] What do we have that bears the image of God?
[00:55:58] I think you probably know the answer, right?
[00:56:02] It's ourselves.
[00:56:05] We are made in the image of God.
[00:56:09] We are the currency that makes the kingdom of God visible here on earth.
[00:56:15] And what I love about this is that if we are the currency that makes the image of God, the kingdom of God visible here on earth, then it actually doesn't matter how much actual coinage you have in your pocket.
[00:56:32] Your dignity is not defined by what is in your Wells Fargo or Bank of America checking account.
[00:56:38] Your dignity is defined by your personhood, by who you are.
[00:56:46] The point that I think Jesus is making here is, listen, We can be patriotic about whatever country we belong to, but your heart belongs to Jesus.
[00:57:02] That's what it means to be a Christian.
[00:57:04] Your heart belongs to him.
[00:57:07] It should never belong to any earthly kingdom.
[00:57:13] You know, the closest that God's people have ever come to linking their faith and their politics, this would be the nation of Israel, right?
[00:57:23] This is the only time that God ever ordained a theocracy where the church and the state were the same.
[00:57:31] This was not the case with America.
[00:57:33] Israel is the only occasion where God ordained a theocracy.
[00:57:38] But even in that context, we're told in Hebrews 11, it speaks of the Old Testament believers, and it says these all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar,
[00:57:51] and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on earth.
[00:57:57] Even in that context, they recognized that they were ultimately citizens of a greater kingdom.
[00:58:05] And so to be a Christian is to live in the knowledge that there is no kingdom or political party that should ever serve as your ultimate home.
[00:58:16] We can certainly dialogue about which political party is more consistent with the kingdom of God in a particular election cycle.
[00:58:25] It's worth wrestling through those conversations.
[00:58:28] But we should never equate one party as being equal to the kingdom of God, right?
[00:58:33] This would go against Jesus' very statement, his response to Pilate, for my kingdom is not of this world.
[00:58:42] Let me give you just one major application on this point.
[00:58:46] If you really believe it, you should have meaningful relationships with people across the political spectrum.
[00:58:53] And it's interesting, when you look at the 12 disciples that Jesus chose, this is a great picture of it.
[00:59:05] So the author of this gospel is Matthew.
[00:59:08] What did Matthew do before he became a follower of Jesus?
[00:59:12] He was a tax collector.
[00:59:14] He would have been aligned politically with the Herodians.
[00:59:18] These were his people.
[00:59:21] Now, there was another disciple among the 12, a guy named Simon the Zealot.
[00:59:26] But zealots, interestingly enough, historically, they were opposed to the Roman government.
[00:59:34] In fact, the zealots, the very people that Simon was a part of, they avoided paying taxes altogether.
[00:59:41] They refused.
[00:59:42] And in fact, they on several occasions led revolts against Roman power.
[00:59:49] So just think about the prospects of Jesus calling, on one hand, Matthew, And on another end, Simon the Zealot.
[00:59:59] And he says, I want you two to be part of this group of 12 men, and we're going to change the world.
[01:00:07] I think that would have been a hard thing for them to get their minds and their hearts around.
[01:00:17] Jesus invites us to draw into a community that goes across political spectrums.
[01:00:25] This quote's in the front of your bulletin, Philip Yancey.
[01:00:28] He said this, politics draw lines between people.
[01:00:31] In contrast, Jesus' love cuts across those lines and dispenses grace.
[01:00:39] And so the evidence that we've entrusted ourselves or have not entrusted ourselves to our politics is proven by our capacity to actually be in relationship with people of a different political affiliation.
[01:00:54] So this has really been one of my goals for our church from the very beginning, is that we would follow into the footsteps of Jesus, that we'd cut across political lines and be committed to a community
[01:01:07] that is all about dispensing the grace of Jesus in the lives of those around us.
[01:01:13] So going back to Greek mythology, this idea of politics being one of the dominant sirens of our time, there's a couple of stories in Greek mythology about how people dealt with sirens.
[01:01:29] One comes from the Odyssey, which I think Matt Damon's going to be in a film coming out this summer, a retelling of Odyssey.
[01:01:37] But Homer tells in this book of the story of Odysseus and how he longed to hear the siren's song.
[01:01:47] But he also wanted to survive.
[01:01:49] He didn't want to die.
[01:01:50] And so he got on his boat, but he told the crew, I want you to tie me to the mast of the ship.
[01:01:58] And no matter how much I beg, I want you to not untie me.
[01:02:03] And then he told all the men on the boat, he told his crew, I want you to put wax in your ears.
[01:02:10] That way you will not be able to listen to the siren song.
[01:02:13] If we don't become shipwrecks because of politics, I feel like this is a great picture of how a lot of us end up landing when it comes to political conversations and affiliations, right?
[01:02:31] We eventually decide, I'm just going to put wax in my ears.
[01:02:37] I'm going to avoid politics altogether.
[01:02:40] This is why we go on social media fasts, right?
[01:02:43] We're putting wax in our ears.
[01:02:45] This is why we decide, you know what?
[01:02:46] All right, this Thanksgiving, I am not going to be the one that brings up politics.
[01:02:51] When we're building intimate relationships with one another, we're not going to talk about politics, right?
[01:02:56] We put wax in our ears.
[01:02:58] Maybe we go to an extreme like, I'm not even going to vote.
[01:03:01] I'm not going to engage.
[01:03:04] But there's actually another story about how to respond to the sirens that I think is a more compelling story.
[01:03:12] And it's the Greek tale of Jason and the Argonauts.
[01:03:16] So Jason decides that he and his crew are going to survive the sirens in a different way.
[01:03:22] So aboard their ship, there was this musician that they brought, a guy named Orpheus.
[01:03:28] And Orpheus was a master of this ancient harp called the lyre.
[01:03:34] And so as the crew passed by the siren's island, Orpheus played his harp.
[01:03:41] And even though the sirens continued to sing their evil song, Jason and his men were so engrossed by the beauty of their friend's music that none of them were drawn to the siren's temptation.
[01:03:57] because Orpheus produced better music than the sirens did.
[01:04:04] Going back to the beginning of the sermon, right, that line of politics is going to get better.
[01:04:12] We need a more compelling myth, a more compelling story, a more beautiful one.
[01:04:18] What I want to suggest here is that Jesus is the true Orpheus.
[01:04:24] He's the one that gives a more beautiful song, right?
[01:04:28] This is a great line that Jesus gave.
[01:04:30] I'm with Kent Hughes, very significant line.
[01:04:33] But Jesus gave us more than a how-to, right?
[01:04:38] Jesus gave us himself, right?
[01:04:43] And let's just think about it, right?
[01:04:45] Jesus, he does not need your vote.
[01:04:48] He does not need your vote in order to accomplish what he wants to accomplish.
[01:04:53] And yet he wants you anyway.
[01:04:56] Jesus, he makes promises just like all politicians do.
[01:05:02] But he makes good on every promise.
[01:05:04] He always delivers.
[01:05:07] Every other politician, whoever you put your hope in, they will eventually run out of terms.
[01:05:16] Herodians don't exist.
[01:05:17] Pharisees, they don't exist.
[01:05:20] But Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
[01:05:26] Jesus is a man of integrity.
[01:05:30] You never have to worry about him being impeached or forced out of office for reasons outside of politics.
[01:05:36] what he says and what he does, it matches. And here's the deal. When you let the song of the gospel become your defining song, when you let it just capture your heart, it'll actually give you
[01:05:53] the freedom to enter into the messiness of politics and the knowledge that your true identity is not at stake. It's not on the line. It's not on the ballot, right? You can engage without being
[01:06:07] overcome by rage. Because Jesus is on the throne, you're okay when whatever politician you vote for is unseated. Jesus, he really does put everything in perspective. You know, that line that I quoted earlier, that politics draws lines between people. In contrast, Jesus's love cuts across those lines
[01:06:32] and dispenses grace. And so what the sacrament of communion is, is the sacrament of communion is an invitation to just listen to that better and truer song.
[01:06:47] I'd imagine, right, if you've got notifications turned on, there's all sorts of things that are going to hit you from CNN, Washington Post, whatever the news channel is, as soon as you get out of the sanctuary.
[01:06:59] But we come here to center ourselves upon the better, the truer, the more lasting song, and that's the song of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[01:07:10] And so, listen, if you come here this morning and maybe you're dealing presently with shipwrecked relationships, maybe you feel like you shipwrecked your faith, this is an opportunity where you can receive grace.
[01:07:26] Jesus wants to dispense it.
[01:07:28] And so no matter what your week has looked like, no matter what you've done, no matter what's been done to you, you can come here and this is a chance to listen to that more beautiful song
[01:07:38] and receive the grace that Jesus offers in his gospel.
[01:07:42] The sacrament of communion is intended to be an opportunity for people who've gotten to a point in their faith journey where they've decided to put their faith in the person of Jesus Christ.
[01:07:55] That their identity is not found in anything from this world, but it's found in the person of Jesus Christ.
[01:08:03] And so if you've never put your faith in Jesus Christ, if you can't proclaim that I ultimately belong to him more than anybody else, then this is actually an opportunity for you to not take the Sacrament of Communion,
[01:08:15] but instead to stay seated, to use this as an opportunity for silent reflection.
[01:08:21] And so if you've never put your faith in the person of Jesus Christ, we'd encourage you, stay seated, use this as an opportunity to continue your spiritual journey as you sort of explore the claims of Jesus
[01:08:33] and what he calls you to in his life.
[01:08:36] But know that we offer this sacrament to anybody who gets to a point in their journey where they've decided, yes, Jesus is the one truer, more beautiful song, and this is the song that's going to center my life,
[01:08:51] and I'm going to center my whole life around.
[01:08:54] And if that is you and you have put your faith in Jesus, he wants us to be reminded that on the night that he was betrayed, he took the bread, He broke it.
[01:09:03] And he gave it to his disciples, and he said, this represents my body that was broken for you.
[01:09:09] And after the supper, he took the cup, and he said, this cup, it represents my blood.
[01:09:13] It was shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.
[01:09:16] Drink from it, all of you.
[01:09:18] So if you're taking communion here this morning, here's how it works.
[01:09:22] After I pray, you'll come up through either of the center two aisles.
[01:09:27] You'll pinch off a piece of bread.
[01:09:28] If you need a gluten-free option, that will be on my far right.
[01:09:32] You're far left.
[01:09:33] And then every tray, the outer ring is grape juice.
[01:09:36] Everything else is wine.
[01:09:38] So take according to your conscience.
[01:09:40] Then you'll exit through the exterior aisles, return to your seat.
[01:09:44] After everybody's been served, I'll then lead us so that we as a community of faith can center ourselves on the person and work of Jesus Christ together.
[01:09:54] Let me pray, and if those who are serving would come forward at this time.
[01:09:57] Heavenly Father, if we're really honest looking at the stories of our lives, we're all shipwrecks.
[01:10:14] We've all shipwrecked our lives in various ways, whether it's through politics, through immorality, whatever the problem is in our lives.
[01:10:24] And yet we take this sacrament of communion as a reminder that your love, it cuts across all lines, political, relational, whatever they may be.
[01:10:37] and that you give us grace.
[01:10:41] And so, Jesus, the greatest thing that we can do in this very moment is just to acknowledge that we need the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives and to believe that through this sacrament that you are spiritually present.
[01:10:54] This is an opportunity to receive grace from you.
[01:10:57] And so I pray for that very fact to be true for all of us as we take this sacrament of communion together right now.
[01:11:03] We pray this in your name. Amen.
[01:11:04] It represents my body that was broken, then set this cup.
[01:15:11] It represents my blood that was shed for many.
[01:15:13] for the forgiveness of sins.
[01:15:14] Drink from it all.
[01:15:15] Heavenly Father, we are your church and we have the sacrament of communion because you said no to being a political savior.
[01:15:38] You are after something much greater.
[01:15:41] And so we thank you that your kingdom truly is not of this world.
[01:15:45] And yet you are a God who came to this world to save us.
[01:15:50] So I pray that your grace would be something that would center us as we go back out into this world, that we would live as people who are in the world, but not of it, because of what you did on the cross 2,000 years ago on our behalf.
[01:16:04] We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

[01:16:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[01:16:06] Amen. Why don't we stand and sing our final song together?

[01:16:15] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_06]
[01:16:15] Oh, ages past, our hope for years to come.
[01:16:29] Our shelter from the stormy blast.
[01:16:35] And our eternity sure the year stood.
[01:17:12] Just a reminder for Family Table, everybody's welcome tonight.

[01:18:22] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[01:18:22] If you are planning to come but haven't signed up, it would be helpful for us just to make sure we've got numbers right to sign up after you leave the service today if you've not already done so.
[01:18:32] Again, we'd love for you to come, 445 here on the church property.
[01:18:36] If you're a benediction, go with these words from Jesus.
[01:18:41] In the knowledge that you are not of this world, May you have the courage to go and be in this world.
[01:18:49] Amen. Go in peace.