GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 12:17
Loyalty
Over two and a half centuries ago, our forefathers resolved to establish a new nation as a republic. Many of the people who worked on writing the Constitution were educated in schools requiring the study of Latin, since roughly 60% of English vocabulary is derived from Latin. Those who framed this government, then, knew that the word “republic” derives from the Latin phrase “res publica,” meaning “public thing” or “public affairs,”—a term referring to a form of government in which political power rests with the people or their representatives.
There are many ways people organize themselves—dictatorships, autocracies, or monarchies. These early leaders established the United States as a republic—one that belongs to the people. A delegate reported that, as Benjamin Franklin was leaving the Constitutional Convention, a woman asked him what kind of government the delegates had created. He replied, “A republic—if you can keep it.”
Mark reported that a delegation of Pharisees and Herodians approached Jesus as he taught in the temple court in Jerusalem and tried to entrap him by asking whether they should pay the poll tax to Caesar. If he answered affirmatively, he could be accused of heresy; if he answered negatively, he could be accused of treason—both charges carried the death penalty. Recognizing their plot, however, Jesus asked to see a coin—a denarius—and inquired whose image and inscription were on it. The delegates replied that it was Caesar’s. “But Jesus said to them, ‘Give the things of Caesar to Caesar, and give the things of God to God.’ And they were utterly amazed.” (Mark 12:17)
Jesus’ answer to the schemers contains two important categories. First, there are the “things of Caesar.” By extension, Jesus referred to the government—which in the United States belongs to the people, a republic. In Jesus’ answer, people owe allegiance to the government—which is ordained by God. No person can accept the benefits that the state gives and then opt out of his responsibilities. But there is a limit, for Jesus also said to “give the things of God to God.” Man has God’s image upon him, since God created man in his own image (Genesis 1:26-27), and therefore he belongs to God.
One may conclude that, as long as the state remains within its proper boundaries and makes proper demands, the individual must give it his loyalty and service; yet finally, both state and man belong to God. If there is a conflict, a believer’s first loyalty is to God. In ordinary circumstances, a person’s commitment to God should make him a better citizen.
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