Did Jesus Promote Socialism? - Taxes

*Updated 12/2019*

Well, here we are. Concluding a lengthy study of the topic of Jesus and socialism. Did Jesus promote socialism? We took three weeks seeing what Jesus taught about the poor (Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3). We took one week looking at the sick (Part 4). This week, we’ll conclude by seeing what Jesus taught on paying taxes.

Taxes

“And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (NASB, Mark 12:16-17)

In Mark 12:13-17, the religious leaders are questioning Jesus about paying taxes. Like today, there were harsh penalties for not paying taxes. They questioned Jesus, “Should you pay taxes to the government?” They thought they had the perfect question to trap Jesus. He knew how to respond. “Look at the coin. Who’s picture is on it?” “Caesar’s”, they replied. “Then pay your taxes. The tax money was used for infrastructure, but also pagan temples and the funding of the patronage system for the upper-class. The Jews were benefactors of the Roman government. They had a working social order, a stable economy (though tied with high taxes), and the pax romana. The money they carried belonged to Rome and it was used for Roman services. There was no inconsistency between political duty and their religious affiliation.

“When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?” He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them, go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find a shekel. Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.” (NASB, Matthew 17:24- 27).

This passage Peter finds a coin in a fish’s mouth. He uses the coin to pay a tax. In Jesus’ day, all Jewish males were mandated to pay a temple tax. Jesus was God and God owns all things. So Jesus was exempt from paying this tax. But Jesus did not want to offend them and disregard the custom. They were not aware of the deity of Jesus. Though they did not have the money, God provided it in an unlikely way.

Beyond this, early in Peter’s ministry, he taught we as believers have limits as to how far our submission should to go human authority. As Christians our first priority is to obey God over man (Acts 5:29). Man’s laws are subservient to God’s laws. If the human law instructs man to sin and violate God’s laws (worship another god, lie, murder, be an accessory to murder), we are to obey God no matter the cost.

If the rule of the land is immoral, man has full right to influence governmental law. In a democratic society, we have such an opportunity. But never forget, legislating morality will fix the greater problem: man’s sinful heart. It is only a heart change that can address the greater issue.

Final Thoughts

So, did Jesus promote socialism? Did He promote the governmental redistribution of wealth? No, he was not a socialist. As we can see from the His teaching and action, He cared deeply for the poor, the needy, the crippled, the sick, and even the dead! He taught in parable and lecture that we should tend to the needs of the poor. Feed those who cannot buy food. Clothe those who cannot buy clothes. Spend time with those who have no one to rely on. Hold fast to God and not on our own resources.

What about us? What should we do as Christians? We should imitate Christ. We should live out His teaching of dying to self with our time and resources. We should serve with humility. A life subject to Christ is one of generous and joyous giving. Proper stewardship will sometimes call for giving up the excess resources of time, money and talents. But this does not mean we are to sell all our possessions and join a commune. We should rely on God to meet our needs. When He blesses us, it is okay to prepare for the future and buy discretionary items. But when outward need arises, we should not be so attached to ourselves our possessions.

Who is our brother? Who should we help? Anyone we encounter. First, we should be devotedly aware of and act within our Christian community. When a Christian has a financial shortfall, we should help them. If they have physical impairments, we assist them as needed.

When we hear of a non-believer in need, we should look for a way to help. Does help always mean money? No. It could be helping with medical bills or buying groceries when there is a monetary shortfall. But sometimes it could be job training, babysitting, yard work or any other type of need. There are so many opportunities to show Christ’s love and compassion.

I want to share two examples of Christ’s teaching in practice. When my youngest son, Landon was battling tumors and going through chemotherapy, we realized the immense financial need for the parents of patients at Children’s Hospital. We engaged our community of believers to help those people. During the month of November in 2009, the Lord provided over $4,700 to pay for their medical bills.

Shane Claiborne in his book Jesus for President shares that twenty years ago a small congregation experienced a major event. The pastor had an accident. He didn’t have any health insurance. The church attendees and members raised money to help pay his medical bills. The pastor said “If you can do that for me, we can do that for each other.” They started a fund to pay for the medical needs of the congregation.”

In closing, I want to end with a quote from author and pastor Warren Wiersbe. “One act of ministry, motivated by Christian compassion, not only pleases the Lord and helps the needy-it also blesses the one ministering…the old familiar poem is true:

‘Only one life,

‘Twill soon be past;

Only what’s done for Christ

Will Last.”