"Jesus did not respect the Pharisees or the Romans..."
Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto God, that which is God's.
Clearly Jesus teaches us to respect the civil law. However, He also calls us to do for the least of our brothers. Leaving aside your characterization of  "pious bunkum" there remains a curious paradox.
I think that I am better off erring on the side of doing for the least of my brothers.