Dual Citizenship

Matthew 22:15-22

Introduction

I have been pastoring for approximately twenty-five years and have seen a lot of things over that time. But I can say that the COVID-19 pandemic was by far the greatest challenge and in many ways can be seen as a turning point for the church.

It was a challenge in many ways as we had to pivot in the way we do ministry. Even something as simple as a Sunday morning worship service had to be rethought. It was a steep learning curve as students of theology had to also become students of public health and students of technology. In many ways, I think the pandemic was a positive experience in that it forced us to change and it forced to realize that we could change. We learned new skills and we continue to apply those lessons today, even after the pandemic has died down.

But there is one aspect of the pandemic that has not gone away and it was not a positive experience. For many Christians, the biggest issue with the pandemic was not that we had to respond to this virus, it was that the government got involved. The idea that the government would mandate masks and physical distancing was seen as unwarranted interference. Far more serious than that was the closing of places of worship and banning physical gatherings for worship. Some churches were willing to close, some did it grudgingly, and others refused to comply. Some of those who refused to close their buildings saw those who did close, not just as Christians who made a wrong decision, but as people who had betrayed God out of fear of the government. I still see calls from some pastors for those who closed their churches to publicly repent of their previous sin. 

And while we are some time since those events and we do not anticipate forced closures again in the near future, that experience did something to the church. It divided the church into those who saw the government as perhaps flawed but having our best interests in mind and those who saw the government as the enemy. It divided the church into those who see cooperation with the government as part of being a good citizen and those who see cooperation with the government as a betrayal of our faith.

While I regret the hurt that come from those in conflict on these issues, it is actually a topic that is worth discussing. The question is this: Are we citizens of heaven or citizens of Canada (or whatever our nation is)? Are we Christians who happen to live in Canada or Canadians who happen to be Christian or something else? That is what we are going to look at.

Whose Face?

Jesus had gotten on the bad side of some of the religious leaders. Conflict among rabbis was not a new thing, in fact theological debate was their specialty. But Jesus was a special problem. Instead of just arguing over a passage or a doctrine among fellow teachers, Jesus was bringing his teaching to the people and they were responding favourably. It would not be enough to just win a debate with Jesus, they were going to have to discredit Jesus in front of the people. And they had just the plan. First they would butter Jesus up with lavish complements. Jesus did not follow it but at least they were looking reasonable and respectful in front of the people. Then they had to present the perfect question. Today, we would probably agree that the most controversial topics are religion and politics. While politics looked different back then, the Jewish people’s relationship to the Roman Empire, especially in terms of taxes, was a hot topic. Now no one enjoys paying taxes, but this very distasteful to the Jews. One reason was that the taxes were not going to their own government but to Rome, But there was another problem. This particular tax had to be paid in coin, a kind of coin used across the Empire. The problem for the Jews was that this coin had Caesar’s face on it, and the Jews were forbidden to use images of any created thing, but especially of one who called himself lord and god. The Jews had a special exemption to allow them to use faceless coins for their day to day purchases but they still had to use Caesar coin to pay their tax. This made paying taxes to Rome doubly distasteful. 

The plan they had was rather clever. They would ask Jesus if it was right to pay taxes to Rome or not. Do you see the beauty of this trap? If Jesus endorsed the paying of Roman taxes with that hated coin, he would look bad in front of the people and lose his popular support. But if Jesus said they should not pay taxes to Rome, an anonymous report to the local Roman officials would be all that was needed to make Jesus disappear. This was a no-win scenario. There was no way that Jesus could get out of this. Or was there?

Jesus asked for the coin in question. Since no one would be carrying these around in their pocket, one had to be sent for. When the coin was brought forth, Jesus asked whose image was on the coin. It was Caesar’s. Then, argued Jesus, you should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and should give to God what belongs to God. You can pay your taxes without endorsing everything that the government does, because what is most important is that we do the things that God wants. 

Have you ever heard of a mic drop. It is when someone says something so powerful that it instantly ends the debate and they drop the microphone. If Jesus had a microphone, he would have dropped it right there.

What Kind of Citizen?

How does this work out for us? Our context is somewhat different in that we are not living in an occupied territory, nor do we have an apprehension about a coin. But the heart of this debate is still very much relevant. It all comes down to one question: What kind of citizen are we?

Paul tells us: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20) Well, that seems to settle it. We are citizens of heaven and our loyalty is to God alone. We can stop paying taxes and we are Canadian only in the sense of our place of residence. Or is that true? Interestingly, this same Paul who claims we are citizens of heaven also a number of time plays the Roman citizenship card. Paul was a Roman citizen, a status that gave him certain rights, and he sometimes called for those rights to be respected. 

Jesus said “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus would agree with Paul that we are citizens of heaven but that does not mean that our responsibilities for our other citizenship end. This is the point: We can have dual citizenship. This is not an equal citizenship, as our ultimate loyalty is to God, but we are to give our human government their due. Paul says this explicitly in Romans 13:1-7. Persecutors of the church in the early centuries accused Christians of being disloyal to the Empire and we have letters from church leaders to the Emperors explaining why being a Christian should make people better citizens and not worse.

Let’s go back to the elephant in the room, the shutting down of churches during the pandemic. Some would say that was an example of when our two citizenships come into conflict. It is one thing to submit to paying taxes but another to submit to the closing of churches. It depends on the context. Why did the government initiate lockdowns? Was it to limit to preaching of the gospel? Because if they did, it backfired as online services actually expanded the reach of the church. And if that was their motivation, why also shut down restaurants, hair salons, and so on? But if the government’s motivation was the safety of the public, whether or not this tactic was successful, it is appropriate to cooperate. Following the safety guidelines is a part of our giving to the Emperor what is the Emperor’s. Now some will say that times have changed and Paul in his teaching could not have anticipated what we face in modern times. That is correct, we have it so much easier. Western democracies, even at their worst, do not compare with the tyranny of the Roman Empire. If you do not like how the pandemic is handled, vote for the other party. If you didn’t like what the Roman Emperor did, too bad.

Conclusion

Our hearts belong to God. The earliest Christian creed was Jesus is Lord. That is where our ultimate loyalty lies. But as much as our citizenship is in heaven, we have dual citizenship with our earthly nation. There is room for us to give unto God and to give unto Caesar. Can this come into conflict? Yes, it can and there are Christians in other nations who face this dilemma regularly. I have yet to face pressure from our government that has demanded that I do something against my loyalty to God. That does not mean it will never happen but it has not happened yet. 

I am a citizen of heaven and I am a citizen of Canada. For the most part, that dual citizenship does not create a conflict. If I fulfill my role as a citizen of heaven the way I should, then I will actually be a better citizen of Canada. If the government requires something radical of me in the future, such as a response to a worldwide pandemic, and if it does not contradict my loyalty to God, I will comply.