God and Caesar - Renewing Your Mind | Wave AI Podcast Notes

Summary

Renewing Your Mind: “God and Caesar” (Feb 15, 2026)
Podcast by Ligonier Ministries | Speaker: Dr. R.C. Sproul

Episode Overview

In this episode titled “God and Caesar,” Dr. R.C. Sproul examines the famous encounter between Jesus and the religious leaders over the issue of paying taxes to Caesar, as recorded in Mark 12:13-17. Sproul unpacks Jesus’ masterful response to a politically and spiritually loaded question, showing how Christ affirms both our civic and divine obligations—and challenges listeners to consider the true extent of God’s ownership over their lives.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Trap: The Alliance Against Jesus

Text: Mark 12:13-17 – Pharisees and Herodians sent to challenge Jesus.
The Sanhedrin—a governing body of Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes—delegates a group to interrogate Jesus.
Notably, the Pharisees and Herodians, usually bitter enemies, unite in their opposition to Him.

“The only thing that would provoke them to come together in a common cause was their mutual hatred of Jesus.” (05:13)
The Greek verb for “catch” here implies a violent, destructive intent, not just entrapment, but to “destroy him with violence.”
(06:27)

2. Question of Integrity and Hypocrisy

Jesus’ interrogators first attempt flattery:

“Teacher, we know that you are true and care about no one ... you do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.” (07:52)
Sproul emphasizes their false praise yet notes their words are unintentionally true about Christ’s uncompromising integrity.

“The person of integrity does not ever compromise principle for the sake of popularity.” (10:25)
Their real motive is not to learn, but to trap Jesus on the contentious issue of taxes.

3. The Dilemma: Taxes to Caesar

The question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” (12:11)
- If Jesus says “yes”, He alienates the people.
- If He says “no”, He can be accused of sedition.
Paying taxes to a pagan, occupying power was loathsome to most Jews, and the Pharisees considered it a moral issue.

4. Jesus’ Response: The Denarius and Divine Ownership

Jesus asks for a denarius (a Roman coin), pointing to Caesar’s image and inscription:

“Whose image and inscription is this?” … “Caesar’s.” (17:01)
Coins of Tiberius Caesar bore titles signifying divine status (“Son of the Divine Augustus,” “Pontifex Maximus”).

“Here the image on this coin displays the unspeakable arrogance of the Roman Caesars.” (19:50)
Jesus’ key statement:

“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (20:43)
Sproul unpacks this, explaining that while we honor earthly authorities, our ultimate allegiance belongs to God.

5. Biblical View of Church and State

Sproul brings in Romans 13: Paul commands Christians to pay taxes and submit to the governing authorities.
Distinction between the roles of church (sacraments) and state (power of the sword); each is under God’s sovereignty.

“The Bible knows something of a separation of church and state … But the Bible knows nothing of the separation of state from God.” (22:07)

6. Modern Application: Statism and Conscience

Sproul shares a conversation with Francis Schaeffer, who feared “statism”—the supremacy of the state over all spheres.

“[His] greatest concern is statism … where the state becomes supreme. It owns everything, it rules everything, and is never answerable in any way to the church. That was his greatest fear.” (23:09)
The current danger: The gradual surrender of the church’s moral voice in public life, and the increasing encroachment of the state into religious domains.

7. Ethical Challenge: Voting and Responsibility

Sproul raises an “ethical question” seldom discussed: When we use our vote to benefit at our neighbor’s expense through government power, are we, in effect, stealing?

“Anytime, beloved, that you can vote a tax on your neighbor that is not a tax on you, you’re stealing from your neighbor.” (25:01)
Christians must never ask government to take from others for their personal benefit.

“I must never ask the government to force my neighbor to give me something that belongs to him. Is that clear? I mean, is that simple?” (25:35)

8. Ultimate Question: Whose Image Do You Bear?

Drawing toward spiritual application:

“Whose image do you bear? Every person in this room has been stamped with an image by the supreme authority in heaven and earth. God Himself has placed his image on you, on me, and on every person.” (26:07)
Conclusion:

“Caesar can own that denarius, but he doesn’t own me. God owns me. … We should render to God the things that are His, which include our life, our liberty, our possessions, and our affection. It’s the duty of every Christian.” (27:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On the deadly intent of Jesus’ interrogators:

“They’re not just trying to play tag with Jesus and catch Him. They're trying to destroy him with violence.” (06:27)
On Jesus’ integrity:

“Public opinion will never cause Jesus to compromise. This is a tremendous tribute that the Pharisees and the Herodians are heaping upon Jesus before they sneak in their trick question.” (10:02)
On the message for Christians:

“God owns me. And God owns you. And in that ownership comes God’s supreme right to claim your life and everything in it for his own.” (27:05)

Timeline of Important Segments

00:00–01:20 | Introduction to the text and the conflict: The context, question, and challenge to Jesus.
06:27–10:30 | Analysis of the Pharisees’ and Herodians’ approach, language, and hypocrisy.
12:11–14:46 | The tricky question and its deep moral/political implications among first-century Jews.
17:01–20:43 | The denarius, Roman power, and Jesus’ iconic answer.
22:07–23:09 | Biblical principles of church and state; legitimate submission and God’s overriding sovereignty.
23:09–25:35 | The rise of statism and the importance of the church’s prophetic voice.
25:01–25:35 | On the ethics of voting and civil government.
26:07–End | Spiritual climax: The image of God, total allegiance, and Christian duty.

Conclusion

Dr. Sproul’s exposition of “Render to Caesar … and to God …” compels listeners to examine both their civic responsibilities and the deeper, ultimate reality: our whole being, stamped with God’s image, is owed to Him. By presenting legal, ethical, and spiritual challenges, Sproul encourages Christians to critically engage with issues of government, stewardship, and personal devotion—reminding us, “Caesar can own that denarius, but he doesn’t own me.”

For Further Study: Dr. Sproul’s full commentary on Mark is recommended for deeper exploration of these themes.

Transcript

A (0:00)

This is Caesar's coin. This is Caesar's tax. You pay your tax to Caesar, but you have even a higher responsibility that even Caesar has. You render to God the things that are God's.

B (0:24)

Today on Renewing youg God and Caesar, Jesus said that we have obligations to both. But is it right to pay taxes to an unrighteous government? It was a question the Jews argued over in Jesus Day, and they used it to try and trap him. We're starting a series today in the Gospel of Mark, and over the next few Sundays RC Sproul will consider some of the questions that were posed to Jesus, some questions to try and trap him. If you'd like to study more of Mark with Dr. Sproul, you can also request his Hardcover commentary when you donate before midnight tonight at renewingyourmind.org well, here's RC Sproul in Mark, Chapter 12 to show us the futility of their attempt to trap Jesus and the great and higher calling you and I have as Christians.

A (1:20)

The gospel according to St. Mark, chapter 12, verses 13 through 17 Then they sent to him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to catch him in his words. When they had come, they said to him, teacher, we know that you are true and care about no one, for you do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, why do you test me? Bring me a denarius that I may see it. And so they brought it. And he said to them, whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar's. And Jesus answered and said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him. At this point in chapter 12 we have the beginning of three narratives that involve attempts by three distinct groups among the Jews to trap Jesus, to put him on the horns of a dilemma that would bring him either into conflict with the people or in conflict to to the government. We read at the beginning of the text, and they sent to him the they obviously refers to the ruling body of the Jews, the Sanhedrin. Now the Sanhedrin was composed of people drawn from three major groups of the Jews, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the scribes. So we know that this group was sent by the ruling body of the Jews and the word that is translated by the English Word sent here is the same word that is used for the term apostle in the New Testament. And an apostle is not simply a messenger, but it is a messenger empowered with the authority to speak for the one who. Who sent him. That's why the apostles carry with their authority the authority of Jesus. In this case, the Sanhedrin is delegating this group that comes to Jesus to interrogate him with their own authority. And so they sent to him some of the Pharisees and Herodians. That should raise some eyebrows because. Because in addition to the three groups I've already delineated, there was that party among the Jews called the Herodians. And the Herodian party was that party of Jews who supported the ruling authority of the Hasmonean dynasty of the Herods. And if you know your biblical history, you know that the Herods were not pure Jews and that they were puppet kings under the authority of the Romans. And so in many corners among the Jews, they were completely despised. And there was no group that despised the Herodians more than the Pharisees. This is a strange alliance that would exist between the Pharisees and the Herodians. And the only thing that would provoke them to come together in a common cause was their mutual hatred of Jesus. And so now we see this unholy alliance between the Pharisees and the Herodians who are sent. And the purpose of that mission quote is to catch him in his words. Now, that word catch is really feeble and insipid by way of interpretation of the Greek. The Greek word that is used in the text here is, is what is known as a hoppox legomena. And we all know what a hoppox legomena is, don't we? A hoppox legomena is a word that appears in the New Testament only once. So it is a rare occurrence. Makes it difficult to grasp the full measure of its meaning if it's found so rarely in the context of scripture. But the force of the verb that is used here and only here in the New Testament is to be involved in an attempt to catch by way of violent pursuit. It would be something like this if you were on a hunt for a man eating tiger and you dug a huge pit in the countryside, and at the bottom of that pit you put sharply carved spikes on strong stakes so that if you could drive the tiger into the pit, it would be impaled on these spikes. That's the force of this word here. They're not just trying to play tag with Jesus and catch Him. They're trying to destroy him with violence. And so let's keep that in mind as the force of the text. Now, when they had come, they said to him, teacher, we know that you are true and care about no one. That's an awkward translation also for you do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. I recently had to write an article for Table Talk magazine where the theme of that upcoming issue is on integrity. And my article was on the meaning of the concept of integrity. And so I looked in various sources, including Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, and I mentioned that the primary meaning of the term integrity is to be uncompromising with respect to principles and ethics, not uncompromising in personal negotiations for property and sales and that sort of thing, but with respect to what is right. The person of integrity does not ever compromise principle for the sake of popularity. And so when they say that Jesus is a man who doesn't care for anybody, it doesn't mean that Jesus is hard in his heart and has no affection for people in this world. It means that Jesus will not be swayed from the truth because of his consideration of people with whom he may be unpopular. That public opinion will never cause Jesus to compromise. This is a tremendous tribute that the Pharisees and the Herodians are heaping upon Jesus before they sneak in their trick question. Of course, as the text shows, their acclaim of Jesus is uttered with total and complete hypocrisy. But in spite of themselves, they are speaking the truth about the character of Jesus. Teacher, we know that you are true. Oh, that they would have known that. If they would have known that he was true, they wouldn't have been bringing these trap questions to him. You do not regard the person of men, but you teach the way of God in truth. So they set the stage for the big question. We know that you're not going to answer according to public opinion here, Jesus, you're not going to give us an exercise in political correctness. You're going to speak the unveiled word of God. So then answer our question. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? By the way, this was one of the most controversial issues among the Jewish people of that day. Remember how any nation hates to be placed in subjection to a foreign conqueror? And then to have to pay taxes and tribute to the occupying country is all the more loathsome to the local population. Almost every Jew in Israel hated the thought of paying any tax whatsoever to Caesar, and so they didn't want to pay him. And many of them, in fact, didn't pay him. In fact, many from the Pharisees believed that there was a moral objection to paying taxes to Caesar and that if Jesus were really a godly man, he would not pay taxes to an ungodly, conquering government. And so they put the question before him. You see why, if he says it's okay to pay taxes to Caesar, then the people are going to rise up against Jesus. If he says publicly you shouldn't pay taxes to Caesar, where's the first place they're going to go? They're going to go to the Roman government and say, this man is out there propagating sedition, rebellion and advising people not to pay their taxes. So you see now the horns of the dilemma. Shall we pay or shall we not pay? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, why do you test me? Bring me a denarius that I may see it now. The denarius was probably the most common coin among the Jews. It was a small silver coin whose value was approximately the worth of an average person's day's pay in Israel. Wouldn't you love to have taxation under your government to be paid on the basis of one day's work? That would be fantastic. But in this case, obviously Jesus doesn't even have a denarius in his own pocket. And so he asks his interrogators and to produce a denarius. And they do that. And when they did, he said to them, whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, caesar's. Well, what's Caesar? At this time in Jewish history, the Caesar whose image appears on the denarius is Tiberius Caesar, who reigned after Augustus Caesar from the year 14 until the year 37. And his image is pressed upon the surface of the coin as well as an inscription that gives his name. Let me read for you for a moment the inscription that appeared on the Roman denarius of this period. Tiberius Caesar Divi augusti Filius Augustus, which, being translated, reads, tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus, remember that the emperor worship cult had already been initiated in Rome, and the Romans believed in the deification of their emperors. And in addition to these words extolling the fact that Tiberius Caesar is the son of the divine Caesar Augustus is added to the inscription on the coin, the title Pontifex Maximus, that is High priest. You see what has happened in the Roman Empire by now that the emperor, the Caesar was not only the supreme political ruler of the empire, but he was also the supreme religious leader of the Empire himself being deity, he would of course be the Pontifex Maximus, the highest of the high priest. One other word in this inscription that you should be alert to is is the title that we commonly hear with respect to the Caesars, beginning with Octavian. That is the title Augustus. The august one is the one of transcendent majesty. It was a term that the Jews would only use for God. And to call any creature August would be an act of idolatry in the lips of the Jewish people. So here the image on this coin displays the unspeakable arrogance of the Roman Caesars. And so Jesus says, whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, caesar. Well, since Caesar's image is on it and his name is on it, that indicates in Roman law his possession. He is the one who owns the coin. And so Jesus answers the trick question. This Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. So what is he saying? This is Caesar's coin. This is Caesar's tax. You pay your tax to Caesar, but you have even a higher responsibility that even Caesar has. You render to God the things that are God's. Now this point of the paying of taxes to Caesar is a point that is expanded in the New Testament, particularly in the Epistles. Look, for example at the 13th chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans, where the word of the Lord to the people of God is pay taxes to whom taxes are due. In the middle of the second century, the great apologist Justin Martyr argued in his open letter to the emperor Antoninus Pius that the Christians were scrupulous in their civil obedience and that they always paid their taxes. Paul also spells out in Romans 13 that the civil magistrate is a minister of of God and that God creates two institutions in this world, the Church and the state. They have separate responsibilities. They have separate missions to fulfill. It is not the responsibility of the Church to wage war. The power of the sword is never given to the Church, but it is given to the civil magistrate. As Paul teaches us in Romans 13, it is not the state's responsibility to administer the sacraments, it's the Church's responsibility to administer the sacraments. So we have different functions to perform. But notice this, that both church and state are under God and that God is sovereign in his rule over both. The Bible knows something of a separation of church and state insofar as as there are two different missions assigned to these institutions. But the Bible knows nothing of the separation of state from God and what happens in our day and age is that the phrase separation of church and state, which you know was never in the Constitution, is parroted almost every day to indicate that the independence of the state from God. Several years ago, I was in St. Louis. I was riding in a taxicab with Francis Schaeffer. We were having a discussion about issues that the church faced at this time in American history. And I said to him, what is your greatest concern for the future of America? He didn't hesitate. He said, my greatest concern is. Is state ism. That ism on the end of the word is a suffix that indicates a worldview where the state becomes supreme. It owns everything, it rules everything, and is never answerable in any way to the church. That's what statism is. That was his greatest fear. I believe that that fear has been almost completely realized in the last couple of decades in such a degree that the people in America are almost completely blind to it. They don't realize how much the church has surrendered to the state. Where the church is called to be the conscience of a nation. We have been prohibited from speaking in the public square. Also, I want you to notice that the concept of separation of state and church in America in our day is a one way street. The state feels no hesitancy to intrude into the matters of the church. If you want to argue for the free exercise of religion, do that the next time you go to a county meeting that determines whether your church can have a cross on it because it violates the height of signs and the cross is now considered a sign. And so in many places, the church is not allowed to display the central symbol of Christianity because the state won't permit it. That's the kind of thing you have to watch out for people, because it's not getting any better. It's getting worse and worse by the day. Now what I'd like to do is to raise an ethical question that I have never heard in my life preached from any Christian pulpit. When you go into the voting booth and you cast a ballot, think of the ethical implications you have when you cast your ballot. Let me make it simple. If I go to your house and go into your garage and steal your lawnmower and the police catch me, I can be charged for committing a crime. On the other hand, if I hire somebody else to go into your garage and steal your lawnmower, I can still be charged with a crime because I've hired somebody to violate your personal property rights. However, if I use my vote to get the government to go into your garage and take your lawnmower and give it to me. I've just exercised my right as a free American. And this happens every day with the politicization of our economic system. Anytime, beloved, that you can vote a tax on your neighbor that is not a tax on you. You're stealing from your neighbor. And so I must never ask the government to force my neighbor to give me something that belongs to Him. Is that clear? I mean, is that simple? So when Jesus answered these people in this way, he said, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God. Now let me ask you this in final conclusion. Whose image do you bear? Every person in this room has been stamped with an image by the supreme authority in heaven and earth. God Himself has placed his image on you, on me, and on every person. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, but unto God the things that are God's. Caesar can own that denarius, but he doesn't own me. God owns me. And God owns you. And in that ownership comes God's supreme right to claim your life and everything in it for his own. So that in all things, beloved, we should render to God the things that are his, which include our life, our liberty, our possessions, and our affection. It's the duty of every Christian.