They sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him to ensnare him in his speech. 14 They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” 15 Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” 16 They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.
The Jews were under subjection to Rome and were required to pay a poll tax to Caesar in Roman coinage. The Pharisees and the Herodians submitted to Roman authority and grudgingly paid the poll tax. The Zealots were a minority Jewish sect who were fanatical about nationalism. They believed in worshipping Yahweh alone and rejected foreign domination and paying taxes to a foreign ruler because that would be blasphemy against Yahweh. They were the equivalent of modern-day political terrorists. They frequently raided and assassinated foreigners and Jewish collaborators. They were disliked by other Jews[1].
The Pharisees and Herodians flattered Jesus and asked him about paying the poll tax in an effort to trap him. The Herodians got their political power from the Roman Empire. The Pharisees were against Roman occupation and resented paying the tax because, like the Zealots, they believed that Yahweh was the only ruler of Israel. They were aware of Jesus’ messianic claims, and popular Jewish belief held that the Messiah would be a conquering hero who would overthrow foreign domination. Since he claimed to be the Messiah, they expected him to say that the poll tax should not be paid. He would then be accused of being a revolutionary like the Zealots and they would turn him over to the Roman Governor (Lk. 20:20). If Jesus said the tax should be paid, he would appear to be in collaboration with the Romans and the Jews would turn against him.
The Denarius had the image of the emperor Tiberius on it, so Jesus’ answer, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,” was direct and accurate. Paying the obligatory tribute to Caesar did not affect their duty to God. Jesus challenged the Jews to be obligated to God in at least the same way they were obligated to Caesar.
Almighty God, grant us a spirit of wisdom that we may seek you in truth of heart and not be enticed by the folly of this world. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
[1] McKenzie, John. Dictionary
of the Bible. Reprint Edition, Collier Books, 1965
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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