Matthew 22:15-21 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians.
“Teacher,” they said, “we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.”
They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s” (NIV).
Ironically the passage discussed in my last piece involved Greeks and this passage involves a Roman emperor. The Roman Empire, a history subject I was weak on, has been contemplated by me this week since I have been reading a book about it by Dr. Thomas Burns, footnoted below. The author is a longtime scholar and expert on the subject. Though quite cold towards Christianity, from his expertise I have gained some Bible context.
I learned from Dr. Burns why Roman taxation incited anger from a number of people of conquered countries. “Taxes were not uniformly imposed. Until late in the second century, citizens paid less, and those in Italy paid hardly at all.” (1) Also, their cruelty against newly conquered countries is shown as they often enslaved many people from their new territory. (2) And their all-encompassing label of people from other countries as “barbarians” is dehumanizing in my opinion.
Also, the emperor at the time of the ministry of Christ was Caesar Tiberius, and emperor worship was already established. Dr. Burns mentioned emperor worship taking place within the military. (3)
Thus we have the background for this passage. The Pharisees and Herodians thought they could trap Jesus, because if He said they did not need to pay taxes to Caesar, He would have been committing a crime against the ruling Empire, and the Herodians would have probably been quick to report that. And if Jesus merely said they should pay taxes to Caesar, He would seem to be betraying His fellow Jewish people who were ruled and suppressed by a foreign country which even practiced blasphemous emperor worship. The Pharisees would have probably been quick to spread that around.
Yet Jesus went to work to reveal the true God. Brilliantly using a coin to aid His point, Jesus in one sentence denied the deity of Caesar, and divided the issue of money verses true love. Money could be given to Caesar. Love, to the ultimate extent of worship, is to be given to God.
Israelites knew the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5 NIV). And this command continues for all since Jesus taught it as is recorded in Matthew 22:37-38. (And the teachings of Jesus are for everyone – Matthew 28:20.) First and foremost, the call of a believer in Jesus is to love God to the degree of worship. We are to love people also, as Jesus went on to teach in Matthew 22:39. Jesus was not teaching they could forgo loving the human being Tiberius. Jesus was saying worship is due to God, a true love which is proper for God, and God only!
Obey what Jesus states here, and devote your entire heart to our Holy God, the One who first loved us.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Thomas S. Burns, Rome and the Barbarians,
100 B.C. - A.D. 400
100 B.C. - A.D. 400
(Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,
2003), 31.
(2) Thomas S. Burns, Rome and the Barbarians,
100 B.C. - A.D. 400
100 B.C. - A.D. 400
(Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,
2003), 105.
(3) Thomas S. Burns, Rome and the Barbarians,
100 B.C. - A.D. 400
100 B.C. - A.D. 400
(Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press,
2003), 154.
