The Pharisees and Herodians hatched a clever plot to trap Jesus. The Pharisees pretty much went along with paying the Roman taxes, although against doing so, because under Roman rule, they were also able to inflict a temple tax, which is equivalent to approximately a laborer’s wage for for two days. By keeping the peace with Rome, they paid their tax but also received monies from the temple tax. The Herodians showed public support for the paying of the tax because they supported the house of Herod and his dynasty. Herod Antipas, the tetrarch or prince of Judea and son of the deceased Herod the Great, would only stay in power as long as he abided by the authority of Rome. Which meant making sure his subjects paid the tax and he kept the peace.
There was another sect within Judaism that identified themselves as nationalists or zealots. They were more openly opposed to the Roman tax, to the oppression by Rome, the presence of Roman leadership, and the military in their land. They also were not opposed to striking out from time to time agains the Roman leadership and would be brutally pushed back in doing so.
If Jesus sided with paying the tax to Rome he would upset the nationalist zealots, as well as most Jews who were not gaining any benefit in having to pay temple or the Roman tax. If Jesus sided with not paying the taxes, the Herodians would be able to present a case that Jesus was defying Rome. This devious alliance between the Pharisee and Herodians who otherwise were opposed seemed to be foolproof.
The disciples of the Pharisees were sent with Herodian representatives to ensnare Jesus and so begin to divide and conquer his support base. The only problem was that they were used to playing two-dimensional chess and they were on their way to meet a master at three-dimensional chess. Jesus immediately saw through their flattery and called them out for what they were – hypocrites! Jesus then deftly answered their challenge with, “repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God” (Mt 22:21).
The coin used to pay the tax was a denarius, and it bore the inscription of the Roman emperor, Tiberius, on one side: Caesar Augustus Tiberius, son of the Divine Augustus and on the other was ascribed, high priest. In point of fact, the coin did belong to Tiberius. The coin bore his image, likeness, and inscription of deity status. It was also deeply offensive to the Jewish faithful, for only the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was God and there was to be no God before him. Jesus not only evaded their verbal trap but, as he often did, also utilized the situation as a teaching moment for those present with him and for us today.
We are citizens of states and countries, while at the same time citizens of heaven. We are to give to the government that which is for the greater good of the society to provide for appropriate services and the protection of our fellow citizens, especially in being sure to take care of the poorest and most vulnerable among us. We are also to pay to God that which belongs to God, ultimately our very life.
The prophets and Jesus presented a consistent message that God is to be first before all else, that he is to be the priority over everything. Also, that God wants all of us, not just that we worship one day a week. We are to align ourselves with his will and have the courage to follow him. Jesus was no hypocrite. What he required from his followers, he did himself. Jesus showed this in his encounter with Pontius Pilate. Jesus did not call down the angelic host to wipe out the soldiers that came to apprehend him at Gethsemane, nor did he do so with Pilate and his army in the Praetorium.
Instead Jesus said: “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above” (Jn 19:11). God allowed the judgment of Pilate to stand, his death, the death of an innocent man. Jesus followed his Father’s will to his death, and death on a cross, to bring about a greater good, the salvation of our souls. Jesus rendered to Caesar what belonged to Caesar, submitting to the unjust judgment, and to God what belonged to God, his very being and life.
May we pray daily for the discernment to know and the courage to follow the will of God as did Jesus and the saints, such that we too can be engaged citizens in our society while remaining faithful to our God. We are to be shaped and formed not by the society, culture, and political climate. We are to be shaped and transformed by the Gospel of Jesus the Christ. “So our highest obligation in life – and one that is imposed on every man, woman, and child, regardless of nationality and citizenship – is to give ourselves back to our Maker” (Mitch and Sri, 286).
———-——————————————
Photo: A good way to assess if we are giving to God what belongs to God, is to assess how much of our time, talent and treasure we give to him and how much to other pursuits. Over time, the hope is that we see that we are giving more of each to God.
Mitch, Curtis and Edward Sri. The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2010.
