Caesar's Authority; Luke 20:20-26

Delivered during the Sunday Morning Worship Service, 3/9/25. Jesus' confrontation with the religious leaders in the Temple continues as a new delegation is sent to test Him concerning the authority of Caesar. The subject at hand was a "poll tax" that was mandated by the Romans but deeply hated by the Jews. Hoping to catch Jesus in the middle of a politically-charged and highly emotional issue, they asked Him whether it was lawful for God's chosen people to pay such a tax to a pagan overlord. Jesus asks for a coin as an object lesson and then famously responded to "render to Caesar the things that are Caesars". We will analyze both the question and the answer paying close attention to Luke's ongoing discussion of authority. We will pay particular attention to what it means when Jesus adds "and render to God the things that are God's". We will study the difference between "delegated authority", "arrogated authority" and "abrogated authority" to successfully navigate the sometimes confusing relationship between the church and the state, and thereby determine exactly what is "Caesar's authority"?