MATTHEW 22: 15-22 NIV
JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
Over the past weekend, what with the Kavanaugh hearings, I think we’ve all learned a bit about trying to answer questions designed as a trap. As Jesus teaches in the Temple, he’s approached by Pharisees and Herodians who are well-prepared to present him a lose/lose question.
The Pharisees were the “true believers,” the ones who were really on fire for the Lord (not like those lukewarm Presbyterians!). The Herodians were a political party of devout Jews associated with the “king” of Israel and his authority. In short, Jesus is surrounded by lawyers in a very public place. Jews and Gentiles are in the audience, all waiting for Jesus to say things they would like to hear. The questions come to Jesus thick with unctuous rhetoric:
“Teacher,we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are.”
The flattery may have disarmed the zealots in the crowd from thinking of the Pharisees or Herodians as the bad guys. They seem respectful and sincere until their question comes:
“So Jesus, do you still beat your wife?”
That’s not an exact quote, but we get the effect. Jesus calls them out and exposes their hypocrisy.
The actual question—Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?—is a calculated one. From the time of the first census, the Jews were taxed by their Roman occupiers. This tax could run as high as 30%. If they failed to pay their taxes, their land could be seized. It’s no wonder the Jews despised the Romans and longed for a Messiah who would overthrow Rome and enact political and economic reforms. It’s also no wonder why they hated tax collectors—Jews who profited from the losses of the people.
Aside from the 30% taxes, Jews were expected to pay a tithe to the Temple. For many ordinary Jews, the burden of both was enough to break them or force them to make difficult choices. If they didn’t pay their taxes, they lost the land passed down to them by their parents and grandparents, but if they failed to tithe, then they lost their relationship and standing with the Temple and were cut off as Jews. It is these—the Jews who lost ties with the Temple—who were called “sinners” in the gospels. They may have loved God and served God, but in withholding their tithe, they were disowned by Temple authorities.
In answering the question, Jesus asks to see one of the Roman coins. Whoever it was that produced it revealed a hypocrisy, for the coin—a denarius—holds the engraved image of Caesar upon it. Furthermore, as Caesar claimed to be God, the coin constitutes an idol by every definition, and here was a devout Jew carrying one within the Temple grounds!
Those who sought to trap Jesus had asked a simply yes-or-no question. If Jesus had answered, “Yes, it’s right to pay taxes,” then the common folk and zealots would have been angered, for in doing so Jesus would have condoned the people’s oppression and implicitly denied the legitimacy of Israel’s self-rule. If he answered, “No, it’s not right to support our oppressor,” then the radicals in the crowd would have been overjoyed, but the Gentiles would have seized him for sedition. It was a lose/lose question.
Jesus’ answer is brilliant. He says, in effect, “If Caesar’s name and image are upon the coin, then they clearly belong to Caesar and he is rightful to claim it.”
Any listeners hoping that Jesus would initiate a tax revolt would have been deeply disappointed.
Jesus doesn’t end it there, but adds the cryptic: “and give to God what belongs to God.” The Temple tithe also needed to be paid.
During the second Temple period—including the time when Jesus was there—expected all payment in the form of Temple-approved shekels (half-shekel from late 60s pictured below). As taxes belong to Caesar, tithes belong to God. Jesus says, “Pay both.” Many common folk would have said, “but it’s impossible!” We privately hear the same thing today whenever we suggest that tithing is a worthy practice for Christians. Here’s the thing: if Jesus expects it, he will empower it as well. That we have to take on trust.
TITHES, GIFTS, ETC.
Tithing means giving 10% off the top. The first biblical instance comes in Genesis 14:18-20:
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Next, we hear Jacob after his experience with the stairway to heaven in Genesis 28:20-22:
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
Once the people were established, tithing became the norm. The Levites were the first recipients as we read in Numbers 18: 21-24:
To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting…. It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the people of Israel they shall have no inheritance. For the tithe of the people of Israel I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.
We hear it again in Leviticus 27: 30-32:
“‘A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord. Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. Every tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord.
To withhold one’s tithe was seen as a way of stealing from God, as we read in Malachi 3:8-9:
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.
But tithing came with a reassurance as well—that God would bless back the one who tithed. According to Malachi 3: 10, God invites us to test him in this:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
NEW TESTAMENT TITHING AND GIVING
In the New Testament, we hear Jesus in support of the practice of tithing, even in the midst of an admonishment:
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Luke 11:42
Christians have practiced tithing from the beginning of the Church to the present day. It doesn’t matter how much you make; tithing affects us all the same. We can’t begin too soon, nor should we wait until we can afford it, because the amount will always go up as our salary does.
Listen to the world’s wealthiest man, John D. Rockefeller(worth $350 billion by today’s standards, which is more than twice the net worth of Jeff Bezos, presently at about $ 136 billion), who was a practicing Baptist and inveterate tither:
Most of us feel that if we lean into a full ten percent giving, the rest of our life will grind to a standstill. We’re saying the opposite is the true case—the reality. It was well-put by Billy Graham:
I’ll remind you that we are invited to test God in this! Even so, most will not dare to tithe. Here are the facts:
TITHING FACTS
According to Pew and Gallup research, a mere five percent of Christians in America practice tithing.80% give roughly 2% of their income. The five percent who tithe affects the overall average such that Christians give 2.5 % per capita. During the Great Depression Christians gave at a 3.3% per capita rate.
And now, for the bigger reveal: the New Testament encourages giving at levels well above the tithe! As early as John the Baptist’s ministry we hear:
“Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” [Luke 3:11]
That’s clearly 50%. Jesus expects more:
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others.All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” LK 21:1-4
Jesus wants 100%, not a mere tithe.
The early Church was characterized by a boundless generosity, which is still a desirable virtue. We read in Acts 2: 44-45:
And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
And again in Acts 4: 34-35:
There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
In my semester-and-a-half as a socialist in college, these verses were my support. While the early Church did not continue in these practices, nor do I feel that they represent the basis of a workable economy, I hear their call to abandon all attachments to the love of money, wealth, and possessions. We, like the early Church, ought to emulate that healthy attitude which can and does say: “It’s only money,” or “It’s just stuff.” A clear word is spoken by Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:7 when he says:
"Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver"
So we’re crystal clear here:
- 1.Tithing in not required
- 2.Tithing is an excellent practice.
- 3.Tithing is an excellent discipline.
- 4.Tithing is a witness to the world.
- 5.Tithing is a worthy standard still.
GIFTS & OFFERINGS
We always refer to “Tithes, Gifts, and Offerings” at First Pres, and as we covered tithes, let’s consider gifts and offerings.
Gifts can be thought of as our particular giving to the poor. In the Old Testament we have strong support for giving to the poor, widows, and orphans.
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God. —Leviticus 23:22
This is popularly referred to as “the corners of your fields” and amounts to about 3% of our income. This is echoed in Deuteronomy 14: 19-22:
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Granted, all who give to the church today are already giving care to the poor, but we still can spare more for those who are down on their luck.
Other “gifts” might include other opportunities, as you feel moved, to support the work of God in the world.
I’ve known businessmen who offered special gifts to the Lord when they were blessed beyond expectations in a given year.
Sometimes we become aware of special mission opportunities that we had not budgeted for but feel the need to support. This is true of natural disasters and new mission project initiatives.
There are many reasons for such gifts, but chief among them all is that God moves our hearts t that same spirit and attitude of generosity that drove the early church in its sharing.
PERSONAL GIVING
Offerings can be thought of as those very personal ways of giving to the Lord as a result of your relationship with him. Perhaps you need to offer a special gift of thanks, or you feel moved to special praise of his name. I’ve known devout Christians who have offered gifts as personal sacrifices in response to personal matters of restitution or making amends—perhaps with someone in mind for whom direct contact is impossible. Such offerings can be a way of turning a problem over to God in entirety.
I once knew a man who had been dishonest in business but could not make direct amends any more. He had been conscience-stricken for decades, but found peace as he prayerfully turned over his offerings to God.
I know a woman who inwardly battled her deceased father for years after he was gone. After years of agonizing soul-searching, she felt completed after a special—and very personal—offering helped her find closure for her heart.
GENEROSITY RULES
The end of all this is simple stewardship—doing well with what God has given us in the time we are here. There are no rules for giving. If there were, they would be a flawed observance because in the end of things, our aim has nothing to do with money or stuff and and everything to do with the shape of our heart and soul.
It is impossible to love Christ and to love the stuff of this world at the same time. Our spiritual development is a matter of growing more and more Christlike in our detachment from the wiles of this world’s riches—all while growing more completely compassionate and interested (that is, invested) in the good welfare of others. That we should become more completely generous is non-negotiable, for we love and serve a Lord whose generosity is both reckless and wild with its grace.
As well, we all grow by investing ourselves more completely in faithfulness. We should indeed trust more and more completely that God will attend us, providing for us as we go. We must at some level renounce the “securities” we see with our own eyes in order to immerse ourselves in the providence of God.
We’ll close with Paul’s words from 2 Corinthians 8:6-7:
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. †