A sermon delivered by the Rev. Dr. Patrick H. Wrisley.
Today we are nine days away from one of the most consequential and closely watched mid-term elections in recent memory. Today, I want to give you a voting guide for the upcoming elections. Millions and millions of dollars have been poured into political ads which most often fail to mention where the candidate stands on issues of importance but rather highlihts the utter incompetence of their opponents. It is during times such as this we preachers are often put on the spot.
“Preacher, don’t you go start preaching on political things!”
We get railed on for preaching on political topics as much as we do for talking about money from the pulpit. The trouble is that preaching is a political act. Our word for politics stems from the Greek word poliswhich means a city. It is in our cities that people relate with others and follow prescribed norms and laws in order to get along. Jesus’ teachings are all about how we are to relate and care for one another as that is the way we show our love and obedience to God. Let’s not forget that Jesus’ death at the hands of Roman capital punishment was not for any spiritual reason; Romans nailed him to a tree for sedition and claiming to be God’s Anointed. In the Roman mind, Caesar was the gods’ living anointed and therein lies the rub: You cannot have two Caesar’s occupying the same space.
Our Story in Matthew 22 flushes this out a bit. In story time, what we read about occurs days leading up to the Passover during what we call Holy Week. The religious leaders are trying to get Jesus to trip up and commit blasphemy with his words and actions. Turn to Matthew 22:15-22 which is our Gospel lesson today. Let me give some background to the characters.
First, there are the Herodians. These are the strident lackeys of King Herod; Herod was nothing more than a window-dressing king appointed by Caesar to rule over Judea. Herod the Jewish king was to enforce Roman rule and ensure Roman taxes were collected decently and in order. The common Jewish person in the first century detested the Roman ways and its empire, especially the taxes.
Second, you have the religious fundamentalists, the Pharisees and their students who spent their lives trying to live a life that honored the Torah and the Law of Moses. They really did not like Herod or Caesar and were fastidious in being good Jews. They kept score on your behavior.
Each of these groups had something at stake which struck up their unlikely relationship. The Herodians were all about Caesar and his empire. The Pharisees were all about honoring the Living God of Israel and God’s empire expressed through the nation of Israel.
And then here comes Jesus talking about being a Messiah who wants to set up a radically different type of Empire than either of those groups could comprehend. Not one built on violence and oppression like the Romans. Not one built on unattainable spiritual rules and Law like the religious fundamentalists. Jesus’ Empire is built on all those blessed-ares back in Matthew 5 and the following Sermon on the Mount. So, here is our Story for today.
Matthew 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21 They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.[1]
Professor of Historical Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Dr. Andrew Purves, says about our passage, “The theological question before us…is this: what is the nature of the right relation between obedience to the state and obedience to God?”
Does one claim on your obedience supersede the other? Yes, one does.
Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection inaugurated the establishment of God’s intended Empire that will be fully completed when Jesus comes again at the fulfillment of time. Throughout Matthew’s gospel, Jesus has been teaching and showing what this new Empire of God is to look like. It is a Kingdom that turns the kingdoms of Caesar and the Pharisees on their heads. It is not a Kingdom built on violence nor is it an Empire built on privilege and merit. It is a realm established on these core principles. I want you to marinate in them for the next week.
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15 No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.[2]
As Dr. Purves reminds us again: “The church exists as a revolutionary force within history. If Christianity remains the cult of the private, the community, or the institution, it sanctions civil religion and ratifies the religious sanctification of society as it is.”[3] In other words, if you and I – if the Church does and says nothing, if you and I – the Church, does not embody the Blessed-ares and try to establish Christ’s reign and empire right here and right now, we have failed in our proclamation of the Kingdom of God in our world. Our Christian faith is an imminent embodied experience of Jesus Christ in the here-and-now and not just when we die and go to heaven.
So, we have an election coming up. How are you going to vote? What coin are you looking at? New Testament professor Susan Grove Eastman, writes, “One may give Caesar his due, but only if it does not conflict with what is due to God, because what belongs to God, the creator and Lord of all, encompasses everything else.”[4]
Friends, if you want a voting guide to take into the voting booth with you, look no further than the Blessed-ares in Matthew 5 through 7. Let Jesus’ description of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like be your filter through which you can match the candidate who best embodies those Blessed-are values. Let’s not forget, for those of us who follow Christ, character matters. Now beloved, go; be the salt and light in the world.
© 2026 Patrick H. Wrisley. Sermon manuscripts are available for the personal spiritual edification of the reader and may not be reproduced or repurposed without permission from the author. All rights reserved.
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Mt 22:15–22.
[2] See Matthew 5:2 through Matthew 7 for a full description of Kingdom life.
[3] Andrew Purves, Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 4: Season after Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-Reign of Christ) (Feasting on the Word: Year A volume) by David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor. See https://a.co/0g2bFoLF.
[4] Susan Grove Eastman, Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 4: Season after Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-Reign of Christ) (Feasting on the Word: Year A volume) by David L. Bartlett, Barbara Brown Taylor.
