What Belongs to God?

                 What Belongs to God?

A Sermon on Matthew 22:15–22  |  Stewardship 2027

THE GOSPEL READING  ·  MATTHEW 22:15–22

The Pharisees went and plotted to entrap Jesus in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

I want to talk to you this morning the way I would talk with you in Bible study on Wednesday evenings at seven o’clock. What belongs to God?

The heavens and the earth belong to God. The animals and the natural world belong to God. Our wealth and resources belong to God. Humanity belongs to God. The church belongs to God. And even the things we do not understand belong to God.

Deuteronomy says, “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.” Leviticus says, “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.” First Chronicles declares, “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things.” Job says, “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” And Psalm 24 declares, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”

All of this belongs to God. And yet the one thing God does not have to create is the thing we worry about most: money. We worry about having it. We worry about losing it. We worry about whether there will be enough of it. We worry about what it can buy, what it cannot buy, and what somebody else has that we do not have.

Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” In context, Jesus is not speaking only about financial generosity. He is teaching us about a spirit of mercy, forgiveness, and openness toward others. Those who live generously, reflecting God’s generosity, discover that generosity begins to shape every part of their lives.

Chuck Swindoll reminds us that money can buy medicine, but not health. Money can buy a house, but not a home. Money can buy companionship, but not friendship. Money can buy entertainment, but not happiness. Money can buy food, but not an appetite. Money can buy a bed, but not sleep. Money can buy a crucifix, but not a Savior. Money can buy the good life, but not eternal life.

The things money can purchase are tangible and temporary. But the things that matter most are matters of the heart: health, home, friendship, happiness, appetite, sleep, salvation, and eternal life. So what is the true meaning of our text? To answer that question, we must first look at the trap.

The people who questioned Jesus already knew something about God’s authority. They knew the language of Scripture. They knew the religious answers. But knowing something and believing it are not always the same thing. So the question becomes: What do we know, and what do we believe?

Their question about the tax may have come from a real place. They were oppressed. They were occupied. They were burdened by the Roman government. They had legitimate economic concerns. But this was not an honest question. It was a trap. If Jesus said, “Yes, pay the tax,” they could accuse him of supporting Rome and ignoring the suffering of his own people. If Jesus said, “No, do not pay the tax,” they could accuse him of rebellion against the emperor. They wanted to force Jesus into a political argument.

But Jesus refuses to let their trap define the conversation. He asks them for a coin. They bring him a denarius. Then Jesus asks, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answer, “The emperor’s.” And Jesus says, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Jesus answers their question, but he also exposes the shallowness of the question. They are talking about a coin. Jesus is talking about allegiance. They are talking about taxes. Jesus is talking about identity. They are talking about what belongs to Caesar. Jesus is asking what belongs to God. That is the first movement of the text: Jesus refuses to let a question about money become a substitute for a question about faithfulness. And that leads us to stewardship.

This text speaks directly to us during stewardship season. Yes, you may make a pledge to support the church financially in 2027. Yes, the church needs money. We need to maintain this building. We need to pay our bills. We need to support ministry. We need to plan responsibly for the future. But I do not want us to become so concerned about the financial condition of the church that we neglect the spiritual condition of the people who are the church.

Tell me when you have ever had a year without a deficit. Tell me why we worry about so many things, but neglect the things that matter most. Jesus asks, “What will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” What would it profit this church to meet the budget, maintain the building, and fill every seat if we lose our souls? What would it profit us to preserve the institution if we forget the people for whom the institution exists?

That is the same concern we see in the story of Martha and Mary. Luke tells us that Martha welcomed Jesus into her home. Her sister Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me.” Jesus answered, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus does not condemn Martha for serving. He does not say that preparation is unimportant. He does not say that meals do not matter. He challenges her distraction. She is so busy doing something for Jesus that she has stopped listening to Jesus. And church, that can happen to us.

We can become so busy maintaining the church that we forget to be the church. We can hold meeting after meeting and never talk about Bible study. We can discuss the budget and never discuss how to provide clothing for someone in need. We can plan programs and never organize a food drive. We can talk about attendance and never ask whether our children are learning to read. We can worry about the building and never ask how the seniors who cannot get to church are doing. We can be busy with the work of the church and still neglect the work of Christ.

We can have everything in order and still have our priorities out of order. We can be financially responsible and spiritually indifferent. We can spend so much time caring for the institution that we forget to care for the souls for whom the institution exists.

Harold Senkbeil, in Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor’s Heart, argues that the primary vocation of a pastor is not simply managing programs, leading organizations, or functioning as a religious professional. The pastor is called to be a shepherd and a physician of souls, bringing people into the healing presence of Christ through the Word, prayer, and the sacraments. Faithful ministry begins with pastoral identity rather than technique. It requires listening carefully, discerning the spiritual needs of people, and applying the gospel to the realities of guilt, shame, suffering, temptation, and growth in holiness. The central message is simple: genuine ministry is the lifelong, personal, and relational care of people’s spiritual lives, rooted in the presence and grace of Christ rather than in managerial success.

And this calling is not limited to the pastor. All of us are called to embody Christ in the world. We are called to become light in the darkness. We are called to become bread for the hungry. We are called to become a cool drink of water at high noon in a dusty town. We are called to make the love of Christ visible.

The church needs responsible stewardship, but stewardship must serve the mission of Christ. The building, the budget, and the programs are means; they are not the final purpose. That brings us to the deeper question Jesus places before us.

Jesus does more than preach. He challenges them. He gives them something to think about. He demonstrates that there is more to life than money. If the coin belongs to Caesar because it bears Caesar’s image, then what belongs to God because it bears God’s image? You do.

Your life belongs to God. Your neighbor belongs to God. The child who needs someone to teach them to read bears the image of God. The elderly person sitting at home, waiting for somebody to call, bears the image of God. The person who comes through our doors carrying grief, disappointment, shame, or loneliness bears the image of God. The person we do not understand bears the image of God. The person who cannot give anything financially may still have a life of immeasurable worth before God.

And that means our responsibility as the church cannot be measured simply by how much money we collect, how many meetings we hold, or whether the numbers on the balance sheet agree. Now, do not misunderstand me. We need money. We need responsible stewardship. We need people to make pledges. We need to maintain this building and support the ministry of this congregation. But the purpose of maintaining the building is to make room for the people God has called us to serve. Otherwise, we could do this by Zoom.

What good is it to have solar panels if we never become the light of the world? What good is it to heat the sanctuary if we leave somebody standing out in the cold? What good is it to balance the budget if we have forgotten the brokenhearted? You see, that is the tension.

Jesus does not tell us that money does not matter. He tells us that money must not become more important than God. He does not tell us that taxes do not matter. He refuses to let taxes become more important than the human soul. And that is what stewardship means. Stewardship is not simply what we give to the church. Stewardship is what we allow God to do through the lives we have given to God.

The same Christ who asks us to give is the Christ who first gave himself for us. He gave himself for our healing. He gave himself for our forgiveness. He gave himself for our salvation. And through his death and resurrection, he reminds us that our lives are worth more than anything Caesar could ever put on a coin.

So yes, bring your pledge. But bring your compassion. Bring your generosity. Bring your willingness to forgive. Bring your willingness to serve. Bring your concern for somebody other than yourself. And above all, bring your heart.

Because when they heard Jesus’ answer, the Bible says they were amazed. But then they walked away. My prayer this morning is that we do more than walk away amazed. I pray that we walk away changed. I pray that we begin to see the image of God in every person we encounter. I pray that we begin to measure the success of this church not only by what we have accumulated, but by the lives we have touched, the suffering we have relieved, the hope we have restored, and the love of Christ we have made visible.

For Caesar may have his coin. But God wants what bears God’s image. And church, that is you. That is me. That is all of us. Only you can answer the question: Are you willing to give God what already belongs to God? And the church of God says, Amen.

WHAT BELONGS TO GOD?  ·  MATTHEW 22:15–22