Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 1
Kai calls Jesus’ “Render to Caesar… and to God…” answer a “radical exception” in history because it assumes a separation of kingdoms; what does that imply about what God is like and what kind of loyalty God intends to claim over human loyalties?
Another way to ask: If Jesus separates what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God, what does that say about what God is like and how much loyalty God wants from us compared to any other loyalty?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, God intends a kind of loyalty that is not fused with any earthly government, and that ultimately overrides patriotism and national loyalty. God claims what is God’s in a way that sets God’s Kingdom apart from Caesar’s kingdom.
- Kai calls Jesus’ response “one radical exception” because it assumes “a separation of kingdoms.”
- He says people today think it’s “such a simple answer… because we are used to a separation of kingdoms,” but “all through history… that has not been true.”
- “Government and religion has always gone hand in hand,” which Jesus’ answer interrupts.
- Kai says “one of the defining points of true Christianity is a separation of… loyalty and patriotism to the Kingdom of God that is overriding the earthly kingdom.”
- The implication is that God is not one more national god supporting empire, but the Lord who claims a higher allegiance.