http://www.biblestudytools.com/matthew/passage/?q=matthew+22:15-22 (Matthew 22:15-22) With America’s Independence Day celebration just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to look at getting a grip on citizenship and how Christians are to relate to government and country. We’re going to talk about politics and religion today. With America’s Independence Day celebration just around the corner, I thought it would be appropriate to look at getting a grip on citizenship and how Christians are to relate to government and country. We’re going to talk about politics and religion today. These days politics and religion are hot topics. Maybe they always have been. It can be wise to avoid bringing these subjects up at social gatherings, because they can make for some very lively conversations. People have strong opinions about these things, and rooms can get heated fast. If you want to see real fireworks, ask about how politics and religion work together. Yet I think it is important to have an understanding of how a follower of Jesus lives out their life in relationship to government. What does God expect from us? What does He want? If you are a Christian, you know that those of us who know and trust Jesus are described in the New Testament as aliens, exiles, strangers on earth, citizens of heaven, and ambassadors for Christ. We have a dual citizenship working in our lives. So how does a citizen of God’s kingdom conduct himself as a citizen of the nation? Jesus has some great answers for us in Matthew 22. As you probably know, Jesus had very strong opposition to His earthly ministry. Religious authorities like the Pharisees and Sadducees didn’t know what to make of Him. They didn’t particularly like Him. They saw Him as trouble. Other groups, like the Herodians in the story today, were a type of quisling group who worked quietly in the background with the Roman government. They didn’t like Jesus either. He was popular with the people, which worried the authorities. So they were constantly trying to wreck His ministry by questioning Him and challenging His authority. They wanted to destroy Him. In today’s passage, we find these groups attempting to trick Jesus and make Him look bad. They challenge Him with a question about politics and religion. First of all, notice who it is that brings the question: the Herodians and the Pharisees who didn’t even like each other. They were on opposite ends of the spectrum from one another in terms of agreeing on anything, but they didn’t like Jesus even more. So they got together to knock Jesus off. They open their approach with some flattery, perhaps to catch Jesus off guard, before they went in for the kill with their question. They describe Him as one with integrity and moral courage, who knows and teaches the ways of God. It’s only sweet talk. But then comes the tough question to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the people or to get Him in trouble with the Roman government. “Jesus, is it lawful for us as God’s people to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Should we or shouldn’t we pay taxes? Here is where a little background would help. Paying that tax, which is one of three taxes, was a very sensitive issue of the day for the Jewish people. First of all, they hated Rome because Rome had taken over their land and was pushing them around. They were in subservience to Rome. That was bad enough, but then the Romans insisted on taxing them to keep the infrastructures going. And to make matters worse, the coinage used to pay this poll tax had an image of Caesar on it declaring his divinity and his being a great high priest. It was propaganda that was offensive and blasphemous to the Jewish people who followed the one true God and His command of not making images. So these opponents of Jesus, when they brought this question to Him, thought they had Him cornered. If He says to pay the tax, the haters of Rome, which is 99% of the Jewish population, would now view Him as...