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THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER VOLUME 7, NUMBER 6, FEBRUARY 11, 2007 “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR’S” It is that time of year again – tax time. As I begin to gather all my information together and psych myself up for the six or seven hours it generally takes me to figure out my tax obligation, my mind inevitably drifts to Matthew 22:15-22 (the parallel passages are Mark 12:13-17 and Luke 20:20-26). Here is Matthew’s account, “Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money. So they brought Him a denarius. And he said to them, Whose image and inscription is this? They said to Him, Caesar’s. And He said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.” This event took place on the final Tuesday of the Lord’s life. He would be crucified on Friday of the same week. Already on this day the Lord had His authority questioned by the chief priests and elders of the people. He had presented three powerful parables that served to rebuke the Jewish leaders for failing to accept the message of Jesus and turn to God in humble obedience. Now some of the Pharisees have plotted concerning how they might ensnare Jesus in His talk, force Him to say something they could use against Him. They sent some of their disciples to engage in this exercise of hypocrisy and that was bad enough. What is even more disturbing was their inclusion of the Herodians in their plot. The Herodians and the Pharisees were natural enemies within the Jewish community. They were absolutely on opposite sides of practically all things religious and Jewish. The Herodians actually supported the Herod family, hence the name, which family ruled through the favor of Rome. That obviously made them in favor of paying tribute to Caesar. The Pharisees, on the other hand, viewed the paying of tribute to a foreign power as a national tragedy. They did not advocate open rebellion against Rome because of it, but they definitely were not in favor of it. But they were both willing to lay aside their differences because of their common hatred of Jesus. If these disciples were younger men, learning at the feet of the Pharisees, isn’t it sad that they had already learned their dishonest and devious ways? Notice how they tried to soften Jesus with their words of praise. What they said was true, but their motives for saying it screamed out their blatant hypocrisy. They said that Jesus was (a) a true man – and he was. (b) That he taught the way of God in truth – and He did. (c) That He had no fear of any person – and He did not. (d) That He was not going to be swayed by the person to whom He was speaking – and He wouldn’t be. Their approach reminds me of Proverbs 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” The question was, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” Consider the dilemma in which they had placed Jesus. The Jews were required by law to pay a large sum of money each year to the Roman government as acknowledgement of their being in subjection to them. It has been estimated to have been approximately 600 talents. A talent was worth somewhere between $960-1180. This money was spent upon the maintenance of the province itself – roads, harbors, government buildings, etc., and any left over was sent to Rome. About 20 years before this time Judas of Galilee had stirred up the people in a revolt against Rome that included refusal to pay this tribute. The revolt was viciously crushed, but the masses of the Jews were bitterly opposed to this tribute. So, if Jesus said they were to pay, the Pharisees felt that He would alienate Himself from the common people who were listening and that would make putting Him to death much easier. If Jesus said that they should not pay the tribute, the Herodians were there to hear and that would have placed Jesus in open rebellion against the policy of Rome. Knowing full well their trap, and rebuking them for their wickedness, Jesus asked to be shown the tribute money. Receiving a denarius, He simply asked, “Whose image and inscription is this? Told that it was Caesar’s, Jesus said, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” What an incredible answer! The question involved “giving” or “paying” tribute or taxes. Jesus’ reply was “pay” it, using a different word then was used by the questioners. Jesus said “apodidomi,” meaning to pay for value received. They did receive benefits from the Roman government and that part of His answer satisfied the Herodians. At the same time, Rome permitted them the freedom to exercise their religion, so they were free to give to God the things that belong to God. Once again the Lord’s enemies had failed miserably in their attempt to ensnare Him. Luke tells us, “But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.” He tells us, “And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.” I would sure like to think that when these men compared the wisdom of Jesus with those teachers whose disciples they were, they followed Jesus; but there is no indication of that.
Greg Litmer
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