You’d have thought Jesus would have been more suspicious of earthly authority. He was the Son of God. He had ultimate authority over everything in the universe. Yet when it came down to talking about taxes (which he does in vv. 13-17), Jesus was adamant that we should honor the authority of the government and pay our taxes. He’s certainly not alone in Scripture. Both Paul and Peter tell us to obey the government authorities that God has placed above us. (Romans 13: 1-7; I Peter 2: 13-17)
It’s easy at times to criticize the government for its secularism. But do you notice that you never see the biblical writers doing that? And they were part of an empire that was unashamedly pagan and worshiped the emperor as a god. Instead we’re told to obey our government leaders. Does that mean that we don’t voice our concern of the government? Of course not. Does that mean we don’t attempt to influence the political system with godly principles? Of course not. Does it mean that we obey ungodly dictates by the government? Of course not. It does mean that we show respect for the human institutions that God has over top of us. We show respect for those authorities with our actions (by participating in the political process and obeying laws that don’t contradict the Bible) and with our words (by talking respectfully about political leaders and keeping the tone of our discontent civil).
