Matth. 22, 15-22.
Then the Pharisees went and held a council, as they caught him in his speech; and they sent unto him their disciples, with Herodi's servants, saying: Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God aright, and askest after no man: for thou regardest not the reputation of men. Therefore tell us, what do you think? Is it right to give interest to Caesar, or not? When Jesus perceived their wickedness, he said, "You hypocrites, why do you tempt me? Give me the interest coin. And they offered him a penny. And he said unto them: What is the image and the superscription? And they said unto him, The emperor. Then said he unto them, Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. When they heard this, they were astonished and left him and went away.
*) Held in the house, 1333.
962 L. 3, i7o-^72. on the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity. W. xiii, 2234-2238. 963
The reason for today's gospel is that the Jews had such a promise in the Law of Moses: if they kept God's commandment, they would be their own kingdom, have a king from among their people, and not be subject to any foreign king. They kept this promise and always hoped that there would be no trouble for them. When the Romans came and became powerful, even though they had to do a lot, the Jews were very upset and caused a lot of misery and hardship in the country, hoping that they would get rid of them. But they were beaten and so humiliated that they were not allowed to oppose the Romans from then on.
(2) From this it is seen what is the wickedness of us all. The Jews had kept this in mind, that they should have a kingdom of their own; but that they should keep God's commandment, and do nothing contrary to his will and word, they would not touch that, and yet they would have it. The kingdom, they said, is ours, it is promised to us; therefore we will have it. It is as if a wicked maid said to her wife, "You promised me my wages, so give them to me and I will do whatever I want. No, that does not apply, but it is said: If you want to have the wages from me, then you must work and do what I tell you to do. It was the same with the Jews: they were disobedient to God and stiff-necked, so that they asked nothing of His commandments, and yet they wanted to be free.
003 Wherefore there was a great question among them, Whether they should be under the power of the Roman emperor, who was a heathen, because they had such a clear promise, that they should have their own king. Therefore they went about catching the Lord in his speech, taking Herod's servants with them, and asked him whether they owed the Emperor the interest or not. Now he speaks yes or no, they think, he cannot escape them. If the Lord says yes, they think he will stir up all the people against him, and they will call him a blasphemer and a liar who teaches against God and Moses. For there was a promise that they should be a free people of their own, and not be a stranger.
or serve pagan masters. But if he says no to this, he has forfeited his neck once again. They are only very sure of this, because the Romans did not like this. They wanted to put him in this dilemma; if he said yes or no, he would be caught and forfeit his life. This is how evil and poisonous the enemies of our dear Lord Christ are.
4 But what happens, how do they fare? So that the Lord turns the spear, that they may think to stab him, and smites them with their own sword. Let me see the coin," he says. When they give him the coin at his request, he asks, "Do you know what the image and superscription are? This means to deal with the matter in a simple way. The Pharisees do not think anything bad yet, but they say that it is the emperor's image and superscription. But when the Lord had heard this from them, he was content, and said, "Do you say that this is the image and superscription of Caesar? Yes, we say so. Well then, if you have the emperor's goods and coin, give him what is his. For the fact that they had confessed that they needed his coin was already known as much as if they had accepted the emperor as their lord. Therefore the Lord is right to conclude from their own words that he will not take from Caesar what is his.
5 This is the cause of today's Gospel, a real masterpiece, because the Pharisees wanted to betray and sell the Lord Jesus, and yet such a plan comes out against themselves afterwards. They wanted to catch him in his words, and catch themselves. For he must neither say yes nor no to such a question; they themselves remind him with their answer what he should answer, and give him the sword in his hand, so that he should strangle them, just as when one murders himself with his sword.
(6) From this history we should note two things. The first is that we learn to recognize our naughtiness from the example of the Jews. For we all, no one excepted, are of such a mind that we like to complain when we feel what is hurting us; we also think that we are being wronged. And it is true that it is sometimes wrong for us to reckon with people, that we do not deserve it for them, that they deal so unfaithfully with us.
964 L. 3,i72-i7s. On the twenty-third Sunday after Trinity; W. xin, 2238-2240. 965
We will think. There we go, unable to see anything but our right and our adversaries' wrong; then we cry out and complain, just like the Jews here about the Romans, that they ruled against God and right over them, who were God's people. And indeed, as I said, the Romans had no right to overreach the Jews and make them their subjects. For the Romans were Gentiles who did not have God's word and the right worship, as the Jews did. This hurt the Jews very much; they therefore thought that they had grasped their rights sharply and had a good grasp of them. But they lacked, just as we also lack in such a case. For though thy neighbor wrong thee, thou shalt not reckon upon it; but go thither, thinking, How if I have sinned so greatly before our Lord God, that I should long since have deserved that he should take from me not only my right, but also life and limb? This is the one thing we are to learn.
(7) Now it is no less, the Jews were very wicked that they should be subject to a heathen emperor; they thought: We are God's people, the Gentiles know nothing of God, and live in all idolatry and shame: how then do we come to serve them, and they to be our lords? But those who were godly and pious lifted up their hands to God and asked for mercy, but they did not ask for anything in return, for they knew that they had earned it with their sins. Cause, the teaching and preaching that went public was no good (as we see in the Gospel); so the government was no good either. Avarice, usury, fornication, pride, lust and other sins went with heaps. What should our Lord God do about it? Should he protect them, since they asked nothing of him and his word? Should he keep them by their rights, since they did not lift a finger for his sake and to serve him? Yes, he should not do that. For since they would not keep his law, he had good reason not to keep their law either. God did not promise them the kingdom of the flesh as if it were to remain forever;
But God had tied a shillelagh around the dog's neck and promised them the kingdom if they were pious and obedient and kept His commandments. They let such thoughts go, asked nothing of God's commandments, and still wanted to have their rule unchallenged, God granting that they were godly or godless. Like a servant who wants his wages, he deserves them or not. Yes, they should be ordered to do so. Thus it is said: Do what you ought, and you will be repaid what you deserve. If a peasant does not want to be pious and obedient, nor does he want to pay his interest, he will not be wronged if the lord of the manor takes away both his property and his right and gives it to another who is pious and does what he owes to his lordship.
(8) Therefore let us learn to temper our complaint and make a similar reckoning, not only to see what right we have against others, but also what wrong we have against God; and then, in all humility and patience, lift up our hands to God and say, "It is true that I am wronged, I have not deserved it for this person; but I must also look behind and above myself to see how I am faring with God. There I find a long record that proves me to be ten times worse, and I have sinned against God ten times, yes, a thousand times more than my neighbor has sinned against me. Therefore it behooves me to bend the crook, and say, O Lord, forgive; I also will forgive.
(9) For it would be wrong for us to stand so stiffly on our right, since we have done so much wrong against God. It is true that he who can maintain his right by proper ways and means does not do wrong. For judgment and justice are ordained by God Himself, to be sought and used. But where we cannot establish justice, let every man beware lest he complain much, or become impatient; but turn round, and say: I ought to be right, and they that offend me wrong; but I must confess that I have well deserved such wrong in the sight of God. Then we would not do as the Jews did: they gave with their life and being a wicked
They thought that since God had lost His right with them, they wanted to keep their right from the people. Just as if the wicked peasants wanted to have protection from their authorities, and yet wanted to be free of interest and give nothing to anyone. But God has finely rewarded such courage by putting the sword into the hands of the authorities. If they do not want to give it with good, they can be taken by the head and forced.
(10) Such an opinion does not apply to the poor priests; they have no power to force those who do not want to give them what they owe. Therefore, such wicked citizens and peasants let themselves think that they are well justified in giving them nothing at all, or even nothing good, but the worst. But how does it work in the end? If the priest cannot punish nor obtain his right, God sees into it, he sends pestilence among people and cattle; he sends thieves or mercenaries, who take what you have; he decrees that through thunderstorms wine, grain, fruit, turnips, herbs in the field perish etc. When this happens, the saying goes: "Dear citizen, dear farmer, do not complain that injustice has been done to you. You let yourself think that you are being wronged, but before God it is very right for you. You have long since earned this, indeed, much trouble for him. Therefore, do not complain that you are wronged, but complain about your sins and unrepentant life, about your avarice, pride, security, contempt for God's word and the like; for such sins make your right out of all wrong.
(11) So the Lord also wants to remind the Jews here, because they lost their kingdom and were conquered by the Romans, that they should not cry about it, but think behind themselves about the score, and remember that they did not give God what they owed him; therefore they should take it for good. But the Jews would not do it; they wanted to have their kingdom back by right. Then our Lord God says no to it; then the emperor at Rome shall be good for me, and he shall force you, if you do not want to give yourselves under the deserved punishment, that you must do it. For the empire
The Jews were not promised anything else, except that they should be devout; otherwise they would lose the kingdom and the law one with the other.
We must do the same with the Turk today. It seems unjust to us, because he is worse than a pagan, that he should have such a great victory against us Christians. But let us not see who the Turk is, but who we are against God; then it will be found that we are not wronged. Why do the papists stand so stiffly over idolatry, and persecute the Word? Why do we who have the gospel not amend ourselves, and yet do not live as Christians should? This is the one thing we are to learn today.
The other is that a distinction should be made between the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of our Lord Christ, and that our Lord God does not condemn the worldly kingdom here, but confirms it with house, court, food, marriage and all the statuses that an emperor must have. For Christ to say, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's," is as much as to say, "If thou be a citizen, a peasant, a nobleman, a prince, a man, a woman, a manservant, a maidservant, keep the same, and destroy not Caesar's kingdom. You servant, serve your master. You child, follow your father and your mother. I will not break these estates; for they are the emperor's estates, which he cannot do without, and they do not hinder my kingdom, which is not a world empire.
14 This is so that whoever wants to be a Christian will not withdraw from worldly obedience and want to be free, or change his profession and undertake something new, as the monks did, who thought that if they remained in worldly status and office, they could not be saved. No, says Christ, such shall not be; I do not want to tear the empire apart with my preaching. Therefore remain in your position and give what you have to give to Caesar; God will not prevent you from doing so, for he has his own special obedience.
(15) Therefore you should also give to God what is God's, that is, believe in Jesus Christ, hear the holy gospel and accept it,
and keep yourself in the fear of God and His commandments. Be merciful, kind, patient. This you shall offer to God: in this he will be satisfied. But as far as your body, property, status and profession are concerned, let the emperor have a hand in it. Thus, God and the emperor can remain close to each other, since the Jews would have liked to tear it away from each other, indeed, neither God nor the emperor wanted to give their own.
16 But here one should diligently note: Just as God does not want to disrupt or tear apart the emperor's regiment (for nothing hinders you in your faith and before God, you may have a worldly office and profession as you wish; if you wish, you may well remain a Christian in it): so the emperor should also leave our Lord God's regiment unbroken and whole, and not hinder the people from giving God what they owe to God. But what is the same is reported above, namely, we owe it to God to believe in Christ, to hear His word gladly, and to live our lives according to it, and not to do anything against it; we cannot do more to God on earth.
17 The emperor or secular authorities shall not prevent the subjects from such service. But if the secular authorities do so, the subjects should not obey them, but rather suffer what they think they should suffer. Therefore, it is a grave and great sin for worldly authorities to keep their obedience in such a way that God cannot be obeyed. As when they forbid the right doctrine and punish their subjects for it, when they receive the sacrament completely, as Christ has ordered, they force the people to the idolatrous nature, with masses, indulgences, invocation of saints and other things. In such and other ways they step out of their office and want to hinder God's obedience. For God demands of us, above all things, that we hear His word and follow it. But where the authorities want to prevent this, the subjects should know that they do not owe them obedience. For it is written: "One should obey God more than men.
And here the Lord does not only mean to give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, but also to give to God that which is God's.
(18) If, for the sake of such obedience to God and His word, worldly authorities should be angry with their subjects, sting them and kill them, or even take their lives because of it, this must be allowed to happen, and they must keep to the consolation: The emperor or temporal authority is our lord - that is true; but not alone, but we have beside him a lord who is greater, namely, our Lord God in heaven. Now if one of these two lords must be angered, so that one must disobey either God or the emperor, it is better to anger the emperor with disobedience than to anger God. If you disobey God and want to please the emperor or the worldly authorities, God is a Lord who can and will punish the disobedience you show Him with hellish fire and eternal death. No man should ever gladly take this misery upon himself, and a thousand times rather anger the emperor, who, even if he is evil, nevertheless cannot punish disobedience more severely than only with a temporal punishment. But I do not call the emperor here this or that person, but in general all authorities. For so Christ also calls them here, when he says: "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's."
19. After this, look also at the reward. If you are obedient to God and obey His command, eternal reward, heaven and eternal life will follow such obedience. On the other hand, for the unrighteous sinful obedience that you render to your authorities against God's command, you will only be rewarded for a time, and will have to repay him (as previously reported) for eternity. The poor Christians should hold on to such consolation, who now and then sit under such authorities, who do not let them come to God's word, and who want to force and compel them to the Pabst's idolatry and false worship. For God does not want to be joked with. He wants you to give to Caesar what is his, but in such a way that you also give to God what is God's. And this we do justly. For from the emperor
and worldly authority we have nothing more than food, eating and drinking, clothing, protection, peace, and what else belongs to this transitory life. But from God we have body and life, then the hope of eternal life. Should we then hand over such God, whom we shall enjoy for eternity, for the sake of men, serve men and disobey Him? That is not what God wants, let it be the same for us, as is His divine will.
(20) But the temporal authorities had better remember their office. If Christ had said, "Give to Caesar all that he wills or that you have," he could justly demand such things, or take them from his own. But here it is clearly said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's." That is, he has what is named and determined, which is his and in which he should be content. But if he wants to go further and also take what is God's, then you should know that you do not owe it. Therefore, even if you love the salvation of your souls, you must not give it to him. For just as the emperor has no power to demand such things, so it is forbidden and commanded by God Himself that the subjects should not give them to the emperor.
(21) Therefore it is a terrible pity, which will undoubtedly bring all misfortune to Germany, that worldly princes, and especially the bishops, who (as they now consider themselves) are no more than worldly princes, keep house so miserably with their poor people. For they are not satisfied with obedience, that their subjects will sit down with them with body and goods and serve them; but they also want their subjects to believe and to do in matters of faith what pleases them and is publicly against God and his word. Therefore they forbid them the right pure doctrine, they do not want to let them go to the places for preaching, where God's word is acted rightly. About this they forbid the books, that one should not read it either. They appoint false, lying preachers, who preach the old rubbish, from which one does not hear a word, since a conscience could grasp a right consolation and improve itself from it. And that is even worse,
In all their sermons, such criers do nothing but blaspheme the holy gospel and revile it most horribly.
(22) If such people can bring about that the terrible idolatrous sacrifice of the Mass remains, that saints are invoked and honored, that pilgrimages are made, indulgences are purchased, and that through confession, fasting, feasting, and other such works, forgiveness of sins is hoped for, they think that they have done it very well. In particular, however, they are very unwilling to use the reverend sacrament, since the command of Christ and of the first church is so clear and explicit that it should be taken in its entirety, and not only in one form (as they call it).
(23) All this, and other such things, which princes and bishops now practice with their subjects, they want to maintain by saying that one should obey secular authorities. Just as if it were written here: Pray to the emperor for everything, and to God for nothing. For to follow the emperor in matters of God, and not the word of God, means to place the emperor above God, to take everything from God and to give everything to the emperor. But it shall not be. Not only does God want to grant the emperor the obedience of his subjects, but he commands it most diligently, and is so serious about it that there has never been any rebellion or disobedience against temporal authorities; the subjects have always been severely punished, as we have also seen with the rebellious peasants.
But God also wants his obedience. He wants to make body and goods, house and court subject to the emperor, so that only his heart remains and he may rule in the heart through his word and spirit. But if he is not to receive this, and the emperor wants to have power over the heart as well as over the body and goods, and to rule over them, so that everyone should believe and do what he wants in the affairs of God, and not what God has taught and commanded in his word: then nothing good will finally follow. For God wants His kingdom undisturbed and His service unhindered. But he who submits to it will run headlong and run himself off. As it has always happened with the greatest monarchs and kings everywhere; as soon as they have everything and
972 AS, 182-184. on the twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity. W. XIII, 2248.2262. 973
God did not want to leave anything, nevertheless God kept His own, and they, the tyrants, lost everything and went to ruin.
(25) Thus we see how the Lord has embraced the emperor's power here and delicately restrained him so that he may remain with his own and not encroach upon God's kingdom and power. "To Caesar," he says, "give what is Caesar's." As if he wanted to say: What belongs to God and is not the emperor's, do not give it to him at all; otherwise you would disobey me and obey the emperor too much; he may reward you for a while, but I will punish my disobedience with eternal fire. Therefore let the emperor remain with his own, or if he does not want to remain with his own, beware that you do not give him what is mine. For these two kingdoms are to remain distinct, not mingled together, so that what is God's may remain, and what is the emperor's may remain for the emperor.
(26) Even in temporal matters, as far as the body, money and goods are concerned, a measure should be kept. For there shall always be a difference between temporal authority and a tyrannical regime. A tyrant takes from his subjects as long as he finds something. The Lord does not want to grant this to the authorities here; but because he commands the subjects: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's", he also wants to give the authorities or the emperor to understand that they should neither demand nor take more than what is theirs. So make a difference between that.
that is thine, and that which thou shalt give of thine own unto the authorities. For the regiments are not instituted to make vain beggars, and no man shall keep nothing. Therefore one gives to the authority lap, interest or annuity, that the subjects may remain with their own, seek their food, bring themselves and their own with honor and increase their own.
27 If, however, there is an emergency that requires something to be done to preserve the common peace against the enemies, then no one should refuse, but should gladly go to the authorities with body and soul and assist them as long as they can. But outside of such common distress, the authorities should not rule tyrannically, should not impose too much on the subjects, but should let them remain with the ordinary and unpleasant burdens. Otherwise, they will take what is not theirs and cause God's wrath against them, who uses rebellion, foreign enemies and other ways to punish tyrants.
That is enough of this gospel. May God grant His grace to our authorities and to us, so that we may give to God in both parts what we owe to Him. So the other will be fine, that we will also give to the emperor and he will take what is his. So we will spend our time here in a fine, peaceful life pleasing to God, and through faith in Christ we will be eternally saved. May our dear Lord God grant us this through Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit, amen.