Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22 The tax trap

Recall that in Matthew 21:23 Jesus is challenged for the first time after his arrival in Jerusalem, when the leaders ask him by what authority he is doing what he is doing.  After he establishes that they are not being genuine with him, he tells 3 parables that all drive home the point that the leaders (and everyone else) face a choice: to accept Jesus, because he is indeed from the Father, or to reject him.  Now, Matthew turns to a series of additional challenges that are thrown at Jesus.

This time, Jesus is approached by Pharisees and Herodians.  The Pharisees we have seen before.  The Herodians are supporters of Herod, the tetrarch (ruler, but under the Roman emperor) of Galilee (in the north, where Jesus came from) and Perea (the land east of the Jordan River across from Judea and Samaria).  These 2 groups made odd bedfellows:

• The Pharisees were strict followers of every detail of the Law.  They hated the taxes they had to pay to Caesar.

• The Herodians were political collaborators who had received power from Rome and tried not to do anything that would upset Rome, so they supported the paying of the tax.  They benefited from the status quo and some Herodians were probably among the tax collectors.

That these two groups would join together to ask this question shows how desperate they were to get rid of Jesus. They didn’t even agree about the question they were asking, but both groups recognized that it was political dynamite.

What do they ask Jesus?

What is the danger for Jesus if he tries to answer the question?

If Jesus says no, it is not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, they can have him arrested immediately and turned over to the Romans.  If Jesus says yes, it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, he will disappoint the deeply faithful Pharisees and anger the more zealous Jews who oppose Roman oppression.

Jesus asks them to show him the coin used to pay the tax – a denarius, which was roughly equivalent to a day’s wage.  He then asks a question, which is his frequent tactic for dealing with opposition.

What question does Jesus ask?

Why does it matter whose image is on the coin?

Kings and other rulers always issued coins with their image on it, and the coins they issued were considered to belong to the king.

The denarius in Jesus’s time had the emperor Tiberius’s image and an inscription that read: Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus.  Julius Caesar died in 44 BC approximately 40 years before Jesus was born.  After a period of uncertainty while they sorted things out, his successor, Augustus (Octavian), ruled as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC to AD 14.  Julius Caesar was sometimes treated as a god during his lifetime and was formally deified after his death.  Augustus was worshipped as a god during his lifetime and was formally declared to be a god after his death.  The denarius asserted Augustus’s divinity.

When they acknowledge in verse 21 that Caesar’s image is on the coin, what is Jesus’s response?

The best translation of what Jesus says is to “give back” to Caesar the things of Caesar – i.e., it’s already his, it has his name and picture on it, so give it back to him – “and” to God the things of God.

What does it mean to give back to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar?

Did this answer their question about paying taxes?

What does it mean to give back to God the things that belong to God?

What are the things that belong to God?

Everything.

If all things really belong to God, what does this say to us about how we should live our lives?

What does this tell you about your salary or other income?  Does it really belong to you?

It’s not my salary.  It’s not my bank account.  It’s not my inheritance.  It all belongs to God.  I am a steward of it on God’s behalf.

What does this tell you about tithing?  Are you free to do whatever you want with your money as long as you give 10% to God?

What would it look like to live the kind of life where we recognize and act on the understanding that everything we have belongs to God?

If we took this seriously, would we ever spend anything more than the bare minimum on ourselves?  Would we take vacations, by fancy coffees, etc.?  Is there room for occasional luxuries in a life that recognizes that everything belongs to God?

If we don’t take this seriously, if instead we think it all belongs to us, what’s wrong with that?  What do we miss out on?

Is there anything you think you should be doing differently, based on what Jesus teaches here?

Now, let’s look a bit more at what it means to give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

Jesus draws a contrast between Caesar and God.  What does Jesus’s answer tell us about emperors, kings, and all authorities?

It tells us that they are not gods and are not to be treated as though they were.  But more than that, it tells us that they have limited authority.  Having governments and leaders with political authority is necessary, but they are limited and finite.

Since everything belongs to God, but only some things belong to Caesar, what does Jesus’s answer tell political leaders about what they should do with the taxes they collect?

They, too, are answerable to God and must give back to God what is God’s.  This means they must use taxes in ways that honor God – for example, by serving the common good.

What do you think this story tells us about whether we should pay our taxes even though we may not agree with everything the government does with our taxes?

What do we owe to our governments?

How can we both honor God and obey the laws of our leaders?

Most of the time, we can be citizens of our own country without violating our obligations as citizens of the kingdom of God.  If Christians ever reach the difficult conclusion that they can’t in good conscience meet their earthly citizenship responsibilities because of their duty to God, what should they do?

There is an additional subtle point that can be seen here.  Jesus is telling them to give that which is stamped with Caesar’s image back to Caesar.  But we are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), so we are called to give our very selves back to God.  What would it look like in your life to give yourself back to God?

Take a step back and consider this:

Verse 22 tells us that the Pharisees and Herodians went away “amazed.”  Were they amazed because he had wiggled out of their clutches by his crafty answer?  Were they amazed by the wisdom of his answer?  Were they amazed by the depths of the commitment he is asking of us?

As we have seen repeatedly in Matthew, Jesus is trying to help us see life in entirely new ways.  How is the idea that we should give everything to God a revolutionary idea?

Can we apply the same principle to other aspects of our life besides “things”?  Does the same principle apply to our time, our work effort, etc.?

The implication is that we can live a life that is so united with God that we are living entirely for God.  How can we learn to think about everything we do as being part of a life that, even though it might see ordinary, is actually an extraordinary life lived entirely for God?

What is your next step in this marvelous journey toward being fully united with Christ?