(Josiah Hall)
Matthew 22:15–22 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
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In Matthew 21:23–27, the chief priests and elders challenge Jesus’ authority. Matthew then pivots to three parables that illustrate a reversal of expectations. In each parable, there is a figure whom one would expect to obey or respond positively to an invitation, but instead they disobey, rebel, or reject the invitation. These parables set the stage for another sequence of challenges to Jesus’ authority by those whom one would have expected to recognize the messiah, namely the Pharisees and then the Sadducees (see tomorrow’s passage).
In today’s passage, some Pharisees team up with Herodians, a group whom we know little about other than that they supported the rule of Herod in Galilee. These unlikely bedfellows come to Jesus with flattery and seek to trap him with a question about taxes. The tax in question was the poll tax, a tax levied on Roman provinces which served to transfer wealth from the provinces to Rome and to reinforce Roman domination and control. Consequently, paying these taxes would have reminded every Jew that they remained subservient to Rome and that God had not yet kept his promises to free them from oppression and vindicate his people.
By asking Jesus if it was permitted to pay the tax to the Romans, the Pharisees are asking Jesus if he recognizes the Roman authority as legitimate. To advocate paying the tax would acknowledge Roman authority over God’s people: how could one who claimed to be the Jewish messiah acknowledge Roman authority? Yet the trap has two sides, for the Herodians, as loyal subjects of Herod who was the client king installed by Rome, would have been quick to pounce on any hint of disloyalty or rebellion against Roman rule. The trap is well-laid.
Jesus’ response likewise has two sides. First, Jesus states that Caesar’s coins belong to him, for they bear his image. Thus anyone who uses those coins has already acknowledged Caesar’s authority. Yet, Jesus does not leave matters there. Rather, he states that what belongs to God must be reckoned to God. Jesus’ Jewish audience, like us, would have been familiar with the creation account in Genesis stating that humans were made in God’s image. If the items marked by Caesar’s image are owed to Caesar, then the items marked by God’s image, namely every person, are owed to God.
For an audience that was resentful of Roman domination and longing for deliverance, Jesus’ remarks have profound implications. Caesar himself is not the ultimate authority; rather, he himself owes his life and being to God. While in his first coming Jesus did not overthrow Caesar’s empire, when he returns, all earthly authorities will bow the knee before him and have to give account for how they have used the things marked by God’s image.
Jesus’ statements here likewise encourage us to recognize that when we participate in earthly systems of trade and commerce, we are accepting the authority of the governments who establish and regulate those systems. At the same time, our greater allegiance is always owed to God. Because our involvement in economic systems always involves interactions with humans, marked by God’s image, we need to remember that we are accountable to God for how we treat those made in his image.
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An audio version of each devotion will be posted on our church podcast “Life Together at CRPC,” which is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.