Submitting to Two Authorities

Introduction: The Tension of Two Kingdoms

Throughout history, followers of God have wrestled with the tension between temporal civic governance and ultimate allegiance to the Kingdom of God. This dilemma is not a modern development born of contemporary political polarization; it lies at the very heart of the New Testament narrative. When the Roman Empire established its dominion across the Mediterranean world, it brought remarkable infrastructure, legal order, and the famed Pax Romana. Yet this peace was secured through military subjugation and funded by rigorous, compulsory taxation. For the Jewish people living under imperial occupation, submitting to pagan rule was not merely a financial burden—it was a profound theological crisis.

In the ancient world, taxation served as both an economic engine and a stark reminder of foreign subjugation. While customs duties, land taxes, and income levies affected commerce, none was more despised than the annual poll tax—or head tax—levied on every adult. This census-based tax was deeply controversial because it required payment using coinage that bore the likeness and blasphemous divine claims of the Roman emperor.

Luke 2:1 (NASB)

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth.

Resistance to this imperial levy had previously provoked violent uprisings and zealot rebellions, leaving behind a legacy of profound political and spiritual unrest.

Acts 5:37 (NASB)

’After this man, Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away [some] people after him; he too perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.

Against this volatile backdrop, the religious authorities of Jesus’ day sought to force Him into an inescapable political and theological dilemma.

The Ambush: An Unholy Alliance

In the final days before His crucifixion, Jesus taught openly on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, delivering challenging parables that exposed the spiritual bankruptcy of the religious establishment. Recognizing that their authority was being dismantled, the religious leaders devised a plot to publicly discredit and arrest Him. To execute their trap, two historically antagonistic factions formed a strategic alliance: the Pharisees and the Herodians.

Under normal circumstances, these groups shared little common ground. The Pharisees were religious purists and strict legalists who resented Roman dominance, while the Herodians were political pragmatists who maintained power by collaborating with Rome and supporting the Herodian dynasty. United solely by their shared hostility toward Christ, the Pharisees dispatched their disciples alongside the Herodians to ambush Jesus with a seemingly impossible question.

Matthew 22:15-17 (NASB)

Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, ’Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. ‘Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?’

The question was deliberately structured as a binary trap. If Jesus answered that paying the poll tax was lawful according to God’s law, the Jewish populace would view Him as a traitor to the covenant people and a sympathizer with pagan oppressors. If He declared the tax unlawful, the Herodians would instantly report Him to the Roman governor as an insurrectionist inciting rebellion against the empire. Humanly speaking, there was no safe path through their engineered dilemma.

The Coin and the Image: Subverting the Binary

Discerning their underlying malice, Jesus immediately exposed their hypocrisy. Rather than accepting the false dichotomy presented to Him, He demanded to see the coin used for paying the poll tax. When they produced a Roman denarius, He posed a penetrating question regarding the coin’s visual identity.

Matthew 22:18-20 (NASB)

But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, ’Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? ‘Show Me the coin [used] for the poll-tax.’ And they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’

The denarius, typically minted during the reign of Emperor Tiberius, featured the emperor’s portrait on one side with the inscription declaring him the son of the divine Augustus, and on the reverse, depicted him enthroned as high priest. To pious Jews, carrying such an image bordered on a direct violation of the Decalogue, which strictly forbade the creation of graven images.

Exodus 20:4 (NASB)

’You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.

By producing the coin from their own pockets within the temple precincts, Jesus’ interrogators inadvertently demonstrated that they were already actively participating in the Roman economy and benefiting from imperial infrastructure. Jesus then delivered a masterstroke of theological precision.

Matthew 22:21 (NASB)

They said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.’

Jesus’ response radically dismantled the trap. By commanding them to “render”—literally, to pay back what is already owed—Jesus acknowledged that because Caesar’s image and inscription were stamped on the coin, the currency belonged within the temporal jurisdiction of the state. However, Jesus did not stop there. By adding the second clause, He established the supreme boundary of all earthly authority: give to God that which bears the image of God. If the coin belongs to Caesar because it bears Caesar’s likeness, then the human soul belongs exclusively to God because human beings are created in the divine image.

Submission as an Expression of Worship

Rather than viewing civic duty and divine obedience as mutually exclusive loyalties, Jesus established a nuanced theological framework. Submission to civil government is not inherently an act of compromise with paganism; properly understood, it is an expression of submission to the sovereign God who ordains all earthly structures of order.

The Apostle Paul expounds upon this foundational principle in his epistle to the Romans, articulating the theological necessity of civil governance.

Romans 13:1-2 (NASB)

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.

Paul explains that civil authorities, even within secular regimes, operate functionally as servants of God appointed to preserve societal order, restrain wickedness, and promote civil flourishing. Consequently, fulfilling civic duties—including the payment of taxes, adherence to law, and extending proper respect—is required of the believer not merely out of fear of temporal punishment, but as a matter of Christian conscience.

Romans 13:6-7 (NASB)

For because of this you also pay taxes, for [rulers] are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax [is due]; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.

Remarkably, both Paul and the Apostle Peter wrote their foundational instructions on submission during the reigns of hostile imperial regimes, including that of Emperor Nero. Despite governing under a corrupt, pagan empire that would eventually execute both apostles, the New Testament writers consistently maintained that civil order remains an instrument of God’s common grace.

Titus 3:1-2 (NASB)

Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

1 Peter 2:13-15 (NASB)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

Christianity was never intended to operate as a subversive political insurgency aimed at overthrowing temporal governments by force. It is a spiritual revolution of the human heart through the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Believers honor God not through belligerent rebellion against civil order, but by living peaceable, honorable lives that silence the accusations of critics.

The Boundaries of Temporal Authority

While scripture commands broad submission to governing authorities, that submission is never absolute. Because civil authority is derived from God, it is inherently limited by God. When a governing power exceeds its God-given jurisdiction by demanding what belongs exclusively to God, the believer’s ultimate allegiance must remain with the Creator.

This boundary is clearly illustrated in the early church when the Sanhedrin commanded the apostles to cease proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Acts 5:29 (NASB)

But Peter and the apostles answered, ’We must obey God rather than men.

Civil disobedience becomes a theological necessity only when temporal authorities actively mandate sin or prohibit the proclamation and practice of the gospel. In such instances, the church must stand resolute, choosing obedience to the divine King regardless of the temporal cost.

However, believers must exercise profound discernment to avoid confusing administrative public health measures, civic regulations, or cultural inconveniences with targeted religious persecution. Temporary civic restrictions designed to protect public welfare and preserve human life do not constitute an assault on the gospel. The church does not resist governing authorities over matters of civic policy or personal inconvenience; it reserves civil disobedience strictly for moments where temporal edicts demand treason against God.

The Church Dispersed and the Call to Prayer

Crises throughout history have consistently revealed a vital theological reality: the church is not a physical building or a temporal gathering, but the living body of Christ redeemed by His blood. While public assemblies may be temporarily interrupted by persecution, pestilence, or civic emergencies, the true mission of the church remains entirely uninterrupted. Historically, times of societal distress and scattering have served as catalysts for the rapid advancement of the gospel as believers embody Christ’s love through sacrificial charity, mercy, and service to vulnerable communities.

In times of cultural tension and political instability, the primary biblical response commanded of the Christian is not anger, political outrage, or subversive rhetoric, but persistent intercession.

1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NASB)

First of all, then, I urge that entreaties [and] prayers, petitions [and] thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

Praying for civic leaders—regardless of their political affiliations or personal character—acknowledges that God remains completely sovereign over human rulers. Believers can confidently navigate uncertain political environments knowing that earthly leaders are instruments within the providential hand of God.

Conclusion: Living Between the Two Authorities

Jesus’ profound response to the Pharisees and Herodians continues to guide the church through the complexities of life in a fallen world. Believers are called to reject false binaries that pit responsible citizenship against genuine faith. By fulfilling civic obligations, paying taxes, obeying just laws, and seeking the peace of the earthly communities in which they reside, Christians render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Yet the Christian’s heart, worship, and ultimate allegiance remain forever reserved for God alone. Bearing the divine image and redeemed by the cross, the believer’s entire life is an offering to the King of Kings. In every cultural moment, the church advances not through temporal political dominance, but through faithful submission to God, persistent prayer for earthly authorities, and the uncompromising proclamation of the eternal gospel.