Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: responsibility, obligation, commitment, obedience, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, respect, deference, reverence, homage, job, task, chore, assignment, commission, mission, function, charge, part, place, role, concern, requirement, tax, levy, tariff, excise, toll, fee, imposition, impost, exaction, tithe, payment, rate

Showing 1 to 25 of 221 results

1. Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Luke 19:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... to make the best sense of what is actually found in the Greek text (so Fitzmyer, pp. 1220–22). In v. 9 Jesus pronounces that Zacchaeus is a true son of Abraham. The reason that he is such is because his actions of fairness (recall the Baptist’s advice to tax collectors in 3:12–13) point to a sincere heart, one that is ready to respond to the invitation to enter the kingdom of God. Because he is a son of Abraham, as is evidenced by his welcoming of Jesus, salvation has come to his house (even though it ...

2. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 18:9-14

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... mornings (9 a.m.) and afternoons (3 p.m.) were reserved for public prayer (Fitzmyer, p. 1186). Pharisee: See note on 5:17 above. tax collector: See note on 3:12 and 19:2. 18:11 The Pharisee stood up: Fitzmyer (p. 1186) suggests that the Pharisee stood up ... their eyes to heaven out of shame for their sins.” God, have mercy on me, a sinner: Unlike the Pharisee (vv. 11–12), the tax collector offers God no list of virtues (nor a list of excuses); he has done nothing to impress God, but can only admit his ...

3. The Temple Tax

Matthew 17:24-27

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the sea to satisfy the gods and when he is served fish for dinner gets it back. Others take it in a figurative sense. What Jesus actually means is that Peter should return to fishing for a day and by selling the fish be able to pay the tax. The “miracle” is held to be contrary to the moral principle that God does not do for us what we can do for ourselves. It is also thought to violate Jesus’ own decision not to use miraculous power for his own benefit. Although we may acknowledge the distinctiveness ...

4. Paying Taxes to Caesar

Matthew 22:15-22

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... impossible. Filson is correct in saying that “what Jesus means is that they have an obligation to the government over them, but they have a greater obligation to God; it covers all of life; in the present situation it includes the obligation to pay the tax to the power that God permits to rule the Jews” (p. 235). Jesus’ answer “took them by surprise” (NEB), so they went away and left him alone. Their attempt to trap him had failed. Additional Notes 22:15 Beare calls attention to David Daube’s ...

5. Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mark 12:13-17

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... complaints to lead to the full revolt of the Jews against Rome in A.D. 66. The Jews who were violently opposed to the tax included a group known as Zealots, a group not mentioned by name in the NT (but see the note on 3:16) that became ... 22; 6:25. In his words is literally “in a saying” and means that they hoped to use some word of his against him. 12:14 Taxes to Caesar: The term taxes refers to the tribute paid to the emperor, which was based on a census like the one carried out in Judea in A.D. 6. This ...

6. The Temple Tax

Matthew 17:24-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... on all adult Jewish males annually, though there is debate on how rigidly this was followed in the first century. When questioned by the collectors of this tax whether his teacher pays it, Peter responds in the affirmative. Jesus then takes the situation as a teaching opportunity and uses the analogy of human kingship: while kings levy taxes, they do not tax their own offspring (17:25–26). In the same way, those who are children of the kingdom are exempt from taxation (17:27). Yet Jesus’s teaching ...

7. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Luke 18:9-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... fasting twice a week and tithing, he would be going beyond the requirement of the Old Testament law. On the other hand, the tax collector (see Luke 5:27–32) is deeply conscious of his own unworthiness. He stands far away, fearing even to raise his eyes ... he can ask for is mercy since he knows he is undeserving of God’s forgiveness. Jesus concludes by saying that the tax collector, rather than the Pharisee, was justified in God’s eyes. Here Luke is indicating that the Pauline doctrine of justification by ...

8. Paying Taxes to Caeser

Luke 20:20-26

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... to be too much for his opponents. Additional Notes 20:20–26 For additional NT teaching on the Christian’s relationship to civil government see Rom. 13:1–7 and 1 Pet. 2:13–17. These passages acknowledge civil authority as established by God, and therefore taxes are to be paid. 20:22 Caesar: That is, Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (see 3:1). Since the reign of Julius Caesar (assassinated in 44 B.C.) the Roman emperors called themselves “Caesar.” 20:24 a denarius: See the note on 7:41 above. Coins ...

9. Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Luke 19:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The episode with Zacchaeus (19:1–10) is notable because it contains many of the main themes of Luke’s Gospel. A chief tax collector (19:2) was probably the head of a group of tax collectors. The grumbling starts again when Jesus decides to lodge at another tax collector’s house (cf. Luke 5:27–32); however, Zacchaeus vindicates Jesus’s decision by demonstrating the reality of his repentance. Half of what he owns he will give to the poor, and he will make fourfold restitution to those who have been ...

10. Paying Taxes to Caeser

Luke 20:20-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... necessarily involved compromise of their religion. Moreover, the image of the emperor on the coin was thought to be a violation of the second commandment. The questioners were probably hoping either that Jesus would disavow paying taxes and incur trouble with Pilate or that he would advocate complete submission to the Roman government and alienate Jewish patriots. By calling for a denarius (20:24), Jesus shows that even pious Jews possessed coins with Caesar’s image, clearly showing their submission to ...

11. Paying Taxes to Caesar

Matthew 22:15-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 20). When they reply, “Caesar’s,” Jesus gives an answer that defies the no-win situation they think they have created. “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (22:21). Jesus appears to concede payment of the census tax (requiring a denarius per person) to Rome, while intimating God’s ownership of all things (a bedrock of Jewish theology; cf. Ps. 24:1). By a rather ambiguous answer, Jesus subverts the reach of the emperor—a reach that would claim to extend to all of ...

12. Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mark 12:13-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... dynasty. Their coalition with the Pharisees, with whom they shared little in common, was surely based more on a common enemy in Jesus than on common values (see Mark 3:6). “Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” (12:14), they ask. The imperial poll tax here referred to the required payment of a denarius (the average daily wage), stamped with the impression of Tiberius Caesar (Roman emperor AD 14–37). The question of the Pharisees and Herodians is designed to ensnare Jesus however ...

13. God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... the ruling authorities. And Paul no doubt knew that the city of Rome was becoming impatient with the emperor and the senate because of the strain of taxation, so the apostle encourages Christians not to join the chorus of complaining, but rather to pay their taxes. Romans 13:1–7 unfolds in this way: 1. The divine establishment of government (13:1–5) a. The divine authority of government (13:1–2) b. The responsibility of government (13:3–4) i. Promote good behavior (13:3–4a) ii. Punish bad behavior ...

14. Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... . The Pharisee's "prayer" is more like a litany of self-praise. He only acknowledges or "thanks" God for the fact that he is "not like other people." He cites a list of obvious sinners "thieves, rogues, adulterers," and even includes his neighbor-in-prayer "this tax collector (v.11). Besides stipulating what he is not, this Pharisee goes on to list what he is - one so observant of the minutiae of the law that he fasts twice a week (once was generally considered all that was strictly required) and pays the ...

15. Luke 18: 9-14

Luke 18:9-14

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a possibility. His “prayer” was nothing more than a congratulatory note to himself, a self-addressed, stamped felicitation to himself. His “justification” was a product of his own mind, and so was not endorsed by the God he appears to serve. The tax collector, the one who seemed so far beyond the bounds of an accepted membership in God’s kingdom, is the one who is declared “justified.” His justification comes not from his socially perceived persona but from his heartfelt prayer. In that prayer ...

16. Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... by Zacchaeus in verse 8. Some scholars view verse 8 as Zacchaeus' confession of repentance and his pledge of reparation for the past sins he has committed. This assumes, of course, that Zacchaeus, like the crowd, understands himself as a sinner. His occupation as tax collector has placed him outside the boundaries of his Torah community, and he must make amends. In Ezekiel 18:21-22, the Jewish way to salvation is through the twofold path of repentance and reparation. Having pledged to give half of all he ...

17. The Calling of Levi

Mark 2:13-17

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... show Jesus associating closely with people deemed unacceptable by the religious purists of his day. In the one case, a tax collector, an employee of the Roman-installed-and-supported government of Herod Antipas, is invited to become a personal disciple ... Jesus kept a home in Capernaum, at least for a while, and some scholars believe that Mark understood this dinner with the tax collectors and outcasts as taking place at Jesus’ residence. If indeed Jesus acted as host of the meal, it would have dramatized ...

18. Submission to the Authorities

Romans 13:1-7

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... would be mistaken for an Egyptian terrorist (Acts 21:38; see also Acts 5:37). Within this politically charged atmosphere, both Jesus and Paul took a remarkably conciliatory attitude toward Rome and instructed their followers likewise. When asked, “[Is] it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus replied, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (Matt. 22:15–22). Paul was proud of his Roman citizenship and may have considered Roman rule the power which “holds back” the ...

19. Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26

Matthew 9:9-13

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... .10 does not precisely stipulate in whose house the ensuing dinner was being served, it seems likely that his meal occurred at Matthew’s own home (see Luke 5:29). Who else would invite a house full of “tax collectors and sinners” to dinner but a tax collector himself! Jesus joins this mix of friends and colleagues, Jews whose professions and personal lives ostracized them from the Pharisaic ideal of religious correctness, without any apparent concerns. Jesus and his disciples sit down with this rabble ...

20. The Calling of Matthew

Matthew 9:9-13

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... led from Damascus to the sea. Some writers, perhaps because of Mark 2:13–14, put his place of business near the sea, in which case he would collect duty on goods shipped in from the territory under the jurisdiction of Philip. Although tax gatherers were not necessarily ceremonially unclean, their involvement with pagan currency and their reputation for dishonesty caused law-abiding Jews to keep their distance. In both Mark (2:14) and Luke (5:27) Matthew is named Levi, although this latter name occurs in ...

21. Jesus Eats with Sinners and Heals the Sick

Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:14-17, Matthew 9:18-26, Matthew 9:27-34

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... salvation to sinners (1:21). This is a powerful message to preach in our churches. But it likely will have little impact unless coupled with a corporate way of life that embraces those considered to be outsiders. If Jesus was known as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (11:19), should not the church be typecast the same way? 2. Jesus as healer and miracle worker comes from God and is worthy of our trust. These are not new themes; instead, they continue the motifs begun already in chapter 8: Jesus ...

22. Jesus Calling and Accepting the Outcasts

Mark 2:13-17

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... candidates (James and John were “sons of thunder”; see on 3:17 below), but as Paul says, “I will boast of the things that show my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30), because God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). 2:15 many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him. Levi has a banquet (probably not a precursor to the “messianic banquet” of Rev. 19:6–10, as some say) in his home (Luke 5:29) to introduce Jesus to his friends. As was common in Palestine in the first century ...

23. Feasting and Fasting

Luke 5:33-39, Luke 5:27-32

Teach the Text

R.T. France

... have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The contrast between the self-satisfied righteous and the repentant sinner is typical of Luke; see the parables of the two sons (15:11–32) and of the Pharisee and the tax collector (18:9–14). Only Luke includes the phrase “to repentance,” an important caveat: Jesus offers spiritual salvation, not mere acceptance for those who have failed morally. 5:33 They said to him. The questioners are left unidentified. The third-person reference ...

24. The Calling of Levi

Luke 5:27-32

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... Luke emphasizes Levi’s total commitment to Jesus. Indeed, the great banquet that follows underscores further that in Levi’s mind a complete break with the past has been made. He invites many of his friends; among them, of course, would be a large crowd of tax collectors and others. It is likely that he wishes to introduce Jesus to his guests and to make known to all his decision to follow the man from Nazareth. The call of Levi and the giving of the banquet furnish the occasion for the critical question ...

25. Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... making a statement that would either brand him as a political threat to Rome’s authority or as a faithless Jew. Before he answers Jesus calls for a “visual aid.” Apparently Jesus himself does not have the required coin to pay the poll tax. Jews were allowed by Rome to coin their own “shekel,” a copper coin to use in their everyday exchanges which had no idolatrous engravings upon it. Yet when Jesus calls upon his observant Pharisaic questioners to produce the offensively inscribed Roman denarius ...

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