Sunday 22 October 2023
The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost
Jesus is now in Jerusalem, not far from the cross. He has gained a core of followers, women and men who have followed him from Galilee. He has made a name for himself. He has begun to stir up trouble, both with the religious and the political authorities. And in his last days, his opponents are trying to set a trap for him, trying to cause a slip-up that will bring about his death at the hands of the Roman authorities.
At this point in the story, a coalition of Jesus’ opponents come to him to try to trap him. In this group there are both Pharisees and Herodians. Likely, you’ve heard of the Pharisees before. They always seem to be opposed to Jesus. Matthew, in particular, of all of the gospel writers, really has a beef with the Pharisees. In actual fact, the Pharisees weren’t that big of a deal during the time of Jesus’ ministry. They were just one of many movements within Judaism. But by the time that the gospels were being written, they had emerged as one of the strongest forces in Judaism, and they were in fierce conflict with the emerging Christian movement. It makes sense, then, that the gospel writers would have a particular motivation to attack the Pharisees, not because they had been such a problem for Jesus, but because they were such a problem for the early church. In any case, the Pharisees were a sort of populist movement that argued that Jews did not need the temple rituals in order to be real Jews; instead, they could practice a version of temple spirituality right in their own homes. Instead of practicing religion at the sacrificial altar, Pharisees argued that it could be practice right at the family dinner table. Rules that governed the cleansing of temple implements were instead applied to cookware and dinnerware in the home. This became an especially appealing idea once the Jerusalem temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, just about a decade before the Gospel of Matthew was likely written.
The Herodians, were a rather different group than the Pharisees. They were supporters of the dynasty of Herod the Great, the King of the Jews. Herod wasn’t actually a Judean, he was from a group called the Idumeans, who had been converted to Judaism a few generations before. He was made the client king of the Roman administration and was king at the time Jesus was born. However, after he died, during Jesus’ childhood, the Romans took over direct administration of Judea, but left the northern province of Galilee in the hands of Herod’s son, Herod Antipas. The Herodians, then supported Herod Antipas, which meant that they also supported the Romans. Perhaps they also hoped that Herod would be given control of Judea and Jerusalem, like his father had once had.
So, these Pharisees and Herodians are very unlikely bedfellows. However, they had one thing in common: they both wanted to see Jesus gone. And that similarity alone was enough to motivate them to come up with a question that would surely stump this revolutionary rabbi from Galilee.
They approach Jesus with feint praise. They butter him up, saying what a great teacher he is, and how he never shows partiality. After this attempt to get him off his guard, they finally address him with their question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” They’re not asking about the Roman law, of course. Under Roman law, it would obviously be lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. They’re asking about the religious law. Is it ethical for a good Jew to pay taxes to Caesar.
It was actually a pretty good question for tripping up Jesus. If he answered that it was not lawful to pay the tax, then he would instantly be in trouble with the Romans. To say that the tax was illegal was treason. Romans executed people for far less than that. If Jesus said that the tax was illegal, then he would be out of their hair for good.
But, if Jesus answered that it was legal to pay the tax, he would be in just as much trouble. Most Judeans were highly resentful of Roman rule. They saw it as a foreign occupation. It was part of the reason that they were looking for a messiah. They were looking for someone who would free them from the oppressive Roman rule. Of course they wouldn’t think it was right to pay the tax. Why would they pay taxes to the very government that was oppressing them, that was keeping them from being free? If Jesus said that the tax was legal, then he would alienate the Judean people. He would lose all of his support, and once again, his opponents would win. Without the support of the people, he was no threat to them.
Jesus is facing a no-win situation. He will either alienate the people, or he will run afoul of the Roman government. Either way, his opponents would win.
Jesus, though, recognizes the trap right away. And he has a strategy to answer his interrogators. He asks them to give him one of the coins that is used to pay the tax. They give him a denarius.
So now it’s time for the numismatic portion of today’s message. Numismatics is, of course, the study of coins. . .
[[A typical Roman denarius from the time is often called the Tribute Penny. On the front is a picture of the head of the second emperor of Rome, Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus. The words on the front of the coin say, in an abbreviated form, Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti Filius Augustus. It means Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus. In other words, the coin declares that the emperor is the son of a god. Jesus isn’t the only one who gets called the Son of God. It was one of the official titles of the emperor.
The back of the coin has a picture of Livia, the emperor’s mother, portrayed as Pax, the Roman goddess of peace. In case you were paying attention, that means that the coin says Tiberius’s father was a god and Tiberius’ mother is a goddess. The words on the back side of the coin say, Pontifex Maximus. Roughly translated, it means high priest. So according to this coin, Tiberius has absolute authority. He is the Augustus, the undisputed ruler of the empire. He is the son of a god. His mother is a goddess. Besides that, he’s also the high priest. All political power and all religious power are under his complete control and authority.
Now think about that for a minute. Jesus asks his opponents to give him one of the coins used to pay the tax, and they produce one right away. They have asked him a question about whether or not it is religiously appropriate to pay taxes to Caesar, and yet they have no trouble producing the coin that baldly declares that Caesar is their king, their high priest, and their god. No wonder Jesus calls them hypocrites. They’re trying to make him look impious, but they quickly show themselves to be the ones who are in Rome’s pocket.]]
So, after shaming his opponents, he asks them the simple question, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” Whose head? It’s Caesar’s. What’s the title? High Priest, Son of God. Are you seeing the significance here?
And Jesus tells them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” It’s Caesar’s coin anyway, isn’t it? He’s the one who minted it. He’s got his own head on it. Why not give it back to him?
It’s a great answer. He doesn’t offend the Romans by declaring that the tax is illegal. But he also avoids offending the Judean nationalists by pointing out that the tax is payed with a foreign Roman coin. What’s more, he shames his opponents by revealing that, though they may claim to be for the independence movement, they are completely aligned with the Roman occupation. A masterful response to this trap of a question. He could have walked away victorious at that moment.
But he doesn’t. Jesus isn’t finished. He continues his response. He says, “Give to God the things that belong to God.” Now, we know what belongs to Caesar. You can send those Roman propaganda coins right back to the Roman treasury where they came from. But what are the things that belong to God?
One possibility is that Jesus is talking about the temple offering. Rome wasn’t the only taxing entity in town. The Romans levied a tax that had to be paid in Roman coins. The Jewish temple was supported with an offering, but it was paid in shekels, special temple money. It was specifically because the idolatrous imagery on the Roman coins that offerings where made using a different kind of money. So Jesus is saying that people should pay their taxes, but they should also support the religious institution.
And this true for us as well. Jesus calls us to pay our taxes, for the benefit of our nation, but also to tithe to the church, to support God’s work in the world. Even Jesus’s opponents take for granted that people should tithe. They know the importance supporting God’s work, and so does Jesus.
But I think he is saying more here. Maybe Jesus is talking about more than money. Maybe there’s something more that Jesus thinks we owe to God.
And we might get an idea of the things Jesus is talking about if we turn back to chapters 5 through 7 in the Gospel of Matthew, those three solid chapters of red-letter text. Maybe Jesus is talking about the blessedness of peacemakers and of those who are merciful. Maybe Jesus is talking about being a light to the world. Maybe Jesus is talking about forgiving the ones who have wronged us, about loving our enemies. Maybe Jesus is talking about giving to the poor. Maybe he is talking about leaving tomorrow’s worries for tomorrow. Maybe he is talking about not judging others, about leaving the judging up to God. Maybe Jesus is talking about doing unto others as we would have them do unto us. Maybe Jesus is talking about bearing fruit worthy of our faith. Maybe Jesus is talking about not just hearing the word of God, but also doing it. Maybe those are the things that Jesus is talking about when he says to give unto God the things that are God’s. Maybe we owe God not just our tithes, but also our piety, also our prayers, also our acts of justice and our work for peace. After all, money comes from the government. But peace, justice, hope, faith, forgiveness, truth — all of those things come from God. So why shouldn’t we give back to God the things that come from God?
Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, Jesus says. But give to God what belongs to God.