Render unto Caesar?
For many centuries, the Hebrew nation did not have a king. God’s intention had always been for that nation to be an exemplary one—thriving as a theocracy tenderly guided by the Creator’s loving, benevolent direction.
The Lord declared: “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” (Deuteronomy 4:5–8).
Obedience to the Almighty would have ensured their prosperity even in this world. When later, in the time of Jesus Christ, the nation announced to Pontius Pilate their clear refusal to recognize Christ as their King, this was simply a repetition of a historical event from Old Testament times. In essence, the Christ of the Old Testament was rejected as King of the nation just as He was in the New.
In the time of Samuel the prophet, priest, and judge, “All the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations. But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:4–7).
Samuel felt hurt by the determination of the people, thinking that he himself had been rejected—when in fact the Lord Jesus Christ was the One being rejected. The people were demanding a king; they were asking for a “Caesar,” preferring a man above the real King of the Jews.
So, God gave them a king, “Caesar.” This first Jewish king was named Saul. Basically, Saul (along with many of the kings that followed him) was of a very similar character to that of Nero or Caligula or some of the maniacal Caesars that the Roman Empire was to produce centuries later.
There, under the power of that cold, despotic soul, the people of Israel suffered tremendously.
Under the reign of Saul, the people became very divided on socio-political matters. They distrusted each other. The best way to describe life in Israel under Saul’s reign was misery, suffering, and intrigue.
A striking similarity was likewise to be seen in the Jewish nation at the time of Jesus Christ.
The same kind of dysfunctional relationship, the same intrigue, the same fear, and the same social disunity. Society was divided on political and religious matters—and these divisions have been fed upon, speculated upon, and abused by religious people.
In Christ’s day, manipulative techniques were used by the priests and politicians to try to incriminate Him on false grounds of treason against the Roman Empire.
Although the Jewish people traditionally hated Rome with a passion, they hated Jesus even more—so they did not hesitate to carry out their plotting in the most political and supposedly religious manner.
Barabbas had been charged on three accounts—treason, instigation to rebellion, and murder—and the Roman government had put him in jail. His case was likely due to be addressed by the authorities, and in the end, his sentence would be the death penalty.
The existence of Jesus Christ, proclaimed as One born to be King of the Jews, had been terrifying news for Herod and Caiaphas. They feared that such a thing would place their position of power—which was, in fact their god—into jeopardy.
In their minds, for Jesus to be born as a king would automatically imply an invitation for Herod to resign his governorship office immediately. An innocent inquiry had been addressed by the Eastern magi:
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1, 2).
This simple question raised a high level of inflamed jealousy, a quiet sort of panic: “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3).
When this question was addressed, the entire city of Jerusalem was asleep, a nation that was sleeping, using the prophecy as their pillow. Sadly, they failed miserably to understand the time of the Messiah.
They were not ready for such a surprise. This nation had to be evangelized by strangers, often called “pagan” magi, but these pagans had a more receptive spirit to the word of God than the sons of the kingdom. They were privileged to be royal blood, the spiritual “blue blood,” but the choices they made led them to the point of Christ’s prophecy:
“Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 8:11).
Today’s society is experiencing a similar pattern of belief, and the religion of Christianity is transforming itself into a dangerous routine and formalism. It’s very hard to understand why we never learn from the mistakes of others. It’s very hard for us to understand why we somehow seem to repeat the same scenario in every generation. The apathy that is enveloping the world today is in danger of leading us to the fatal decision of crucifying Christ in His followers.
The words, “Where is He that was born king of the Jews?” resounds in our ears today. He is in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary, of course, yet I believe the best way to envision the answer is: On the cross of Calvary.
The most brilliant, highly educated society in the world and in Scripture—those who were the royal blood the sons of the Kingdom—have rejected their own Creator.
“Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” are the words that have changed the entire course of humanity. “Crucify Him, crucify Him, crucify Him!” were the words that showed how far their world went in divorcing itself from God.
The King of the Jews was hanging on the cross for the very ones that were screaming and cursing at Him.
Today, now—our generation—is the generation in which God will fix the destiny of the world forever. Jesus is coming soon. The King of the Jews will be seen coming in the clouds of heaven. This time He will not be seen on the cross of Calvary—but only by those that crucified Him.
So, don’t be in a rush to take up stones against those that love Jesus. Don’t rush to cry with a loud voice, “Crucify them, crucify them” because such words will come back one day. Those words will hit home—and that’s why we need to pray that the Lord will give us a compassionate spirit and an understanding and patient attitude towards the things we don’t understand.