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Mar 13, 2022

Decentering Politics

Decentering Politics

Passage: Mark 12:13-17

Speaker: Andrew Kerhoulas

Series: Follow: Learning from Mark about Jesus’ Most Misunderstood Command

Keywords: marvel, god’s authority, civic authority

In another episode where Jesus faces opposition from the sanhedrin, Jesus’ authority is put on full display. They lay a trap with a trick question about taxes, but Jesus refuses to be finagled. Instead, his brilliant answer leaves them marveling. What could Jesus’ famous utterance mean for his followers except “All that I am I owe to Thee?”

Readings & Scripture

PREPARATION: Psalm 47:1-2, 5-6, NRSV 
LEADER: Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy.       
ALL: For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome, a great king over all the earth.
LEADER: God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.            
ALL: Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH: The Apostle’s Creed
ALL: I believe in God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and buried.

He descended to the dead. The third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit. The holy catholic Church. The communion of saints.
The forgiveness of sins. The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

CENTRAL TEXT: Mark 12:13-17
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.

BENEDICTION: based on 2 Corinthians 13:13
LEADER: May the grace of Christ, which daily renews us,
and the love of God, which enables us to love all,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, which unites us in one body,
make us eager to obey the will of God until we meet again, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

ALL: Amen. Let us go forth to serve the world as those who love our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

LEADER: The peace of the Lord be with you all.

ALL: And also with you.

RELATED SCRIPTURES:

  • Exodus 1:17, 21
  • Jeremiah 29:1-7
  • Matthew 22:15-22
  • Luke 20:19-26
  • John 10:17–18
  • Romans 13:1-7
  • 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
  • Philippians 3:20

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. Who tried to ensnare Jesus? Why were they–normally, bitter enemies–conspiring together?
  2. What was the trap that Jesus avoided? What did his answer demonstrate and what effect did it have on his listeners?
  3. How do you typically relate to people who are different from you – especially those who hold to a different political commitment? 
  4. If you’re a follower of Jesus, in what specific ways have you struggled with your “dual citizenship”? 
  5. How does Jesus empower us to avoid the trap of centering politics rather than God? How does he keep us from conflating our faith and politics? 

Illustrations:

InView Media Album

QUOTES: 

  • Whatever civil obligations Jesus followers might have, they must be understood within the context of their responsibilities to God, for their duty to God claims their whole selves. David T. Ball 
  • When Jesus asks the question, “whose image is this? And whose inscription?” biblically informed people will remember that all human beings have been made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). Moreover, his people have the “inscription” of God’s law written on them (cf. Exodus 13:9; Proverbs 7:3; Isaiah 44:5; Jeremiah 31:33). If we give back to God what has his image on it, we must all give ourselves to him. Far from privatizing God’s claim, that is, the claim of religion, Jesus’ famous utterance means that God always trumps Caesar. We may be obligated to pay taxes to Cesar, but we owe everything, our very being, to God. D.A Carson
  • I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation . . . It is frustrating to have discovered a new author and not be able to tell anyone how good he is . . . to hear a good joke and find no one to share it with. C. S. Lewis

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