Matthew 22
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
Alfred Nicol has written a fascinating and troubling and humorous and insightful little poem. It reads like a ditty, but there is depth here. Listen:
Give to Caesar what is his,
namely, everything there is.
I see a lot of eyebrows raised.
Let’s check the books. You’ll be amazed.
An x. An o. A hug and kiss.
Render unto Caesar this.
Render unto Caesar that.
His the dog, his the cat.
Render up your reading time.
Render, too, your reverie.
Render up the uphill climb,
render what you hope to be.
If God is dead, does Caesar get
the flip side of the coin? You bet!
Render up. You’ll never win.
The croupier will rake it in.
Caesar’s arms are open wide;
your whole estate will fit inside.[1]
Again, this sounds whimsical almost, but there in the second half is a little couplet upon which the whole poem rests:
If God is dead, does Caesar get
the flip side of the coin? You bet!
Ah! There it is! A conditional statement: “If God is dead…” And this is the key. If God is dead than Caesar does indeed get it all (i.e., “the flip side of the coin,” “render…unto God what is God’s”).
But if God is not dead then the whole thing falls apart, right? In the face of a living God, Caesar does not get it all, or even the most important things, or, in the face of eternity, really anything at all!
Jesus showed us that God is not dead. As such, Jesus’ handling of the question of taxes, of what exactly we should render to Caesar, needs to be heard and heeded, and that carefully! Let us consider this amazing and famous episode in the life of Jesus.
Jesus knows the heart behind the words.
Let us first say a word about the power of Christ before we turn to His specific teaching. In our text, we see the Pharisees and Herodians attempt to trap Jesus, to put Him in a lose-lose situation.
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16a-d And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians…
First, this coalition was surprising. James Montgomery Boice notes that the Herodians “were more accepting of the foreign power” of Rome than the Pharisees and that their joining the Pharisees in this attempt to trap Jesus constitutes “an unholy alliance.” What was the trap?
They thought that if Jesus said it was right to pay taxes, they could discredit him with the people who hated Rome and for whom these taxes were a much resented burden. He would lose an enormous amount of popular support and could be dismissed as a collaborator. He might even be refused as the Messiah because one of the functions of the Messiah was to drive out any occupying power and establish the Davidic kingdom. On the other hand, if Jesus said they should resist Rome by refusing to pay taxes, then his enemies could denounce him to the authorities as a dangerous insurrectionist.[2]
Here we see the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” at work. The Herodians and Pharisees set aside their differences and collaborate, so great was their shared disdain for Jesus. Then they employ one of the oldest tricks in the book: flattery.
16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?
All is respectful seen from the outside. Note the respectful term “teacher.” Note, too, the escalating praises:
- We know you are true.
- We know you teach the way of God truthfully.
- We know you do not care about anyone’s opinion.
- We know you are not swayed by appearances.
Then they ask the question. But this preface of flattery is as deliberate as it is thick. They really pour it on, do they not? Flattery is a powerful weapon for manipulators and no doubt they had used it effectively before. An anonymous church father, speaking of the approach of the Pharisees and Herodians, writes:
This is the first power of hypocrites, to stimulate praise. They praise those whom they want to destroy. Their art is to incline human hearts toward simplicity of a kind of confession through the delight of praise. They take small steps.[3]
It is not that they are wrong in what they say. No, all that they said was right. It is that their hearts and intentions in saying these things was wicked. “The Pharisees’ and Herodians’ words are true,” writes Craig Blomberg, “but designed as flattery…”[4]
It is hard to overestimate the power of flattery. Svidrigailov says the following to Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment:
It’s the well-known resource—flattery. Nothing in the world is harder than speaking the truth and nothing easier than flattery. If there’s the hundredth part of a false note in speaking the truth, it leads to a discord, and that leads to trouble. But if all, to the last note, is false in flattery, it is just as agreeable, and is heard not without satisfaction. It may be a coarse satisfaction, but still a satisfaction. And however coarse the flattery, at least half will be sure to seem true. That’s so for all stages of development and classes of society. A vestal virgin might be seduced by flattery.[5]
That is well said. Flattery might could seduce a vestal virgin, but the Son of God was unswayed. He saw right through it even as He sees through it today. How today might we commit this same error, indeed, this same sin? Consider our songs of worship. Have you ever stood among the saints of God and sung songs of praise to Christ when your heart was far from Him? Perhaps you did not wish to trap and then accuse Him. Perhaps you were not trying to do away with Him, as were the Pharisees and Herodians. Even so, what would you call the offering of praise that you do not really mean? Surely this is a kind of flattery.
But time and again in the gospels we see that Jesus saw the heart behind the words.
“But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts?’” Matthew 9:4
“An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Jesus, knowing the reasoning of their hearts, took a child and put him by his side.” Luke 9:46–47
These malefactors should have heeded their own words about Jesus: He is indeed not swayed by appearances…including theirs! He cannot be manipulated by empty words.
Jesus possesses the courage that comes with integrity.
Unlike the Pharisees and Herodians, there was a steely resolve under the words of Jesus. The courage of Jesus stands in stark contrast to the duplicity of His questioners. They inquire about whether or not taxes should be paid. This, as we have seen, was their great trap. Now, Jesus responds:
19 “Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
It will be helpful to understand the likely characteristics of the specific coin in question. Craig Keener explains.
Locally minted copper coins omitted the emperor’s portrait due to Jerusalem’s sensitivities, but because only the imperial mint could legally produce silver and gold coins, Palestine had many foreign coins in circulation. The silver denarius of Tiberius, including a portrait of his head, minted especially at Lyon, circulated there in this period and is probably in view here…The coin related directly to pagan Roman religion and the imperial cult in the East: one side bore Caesar’s image and the words “Tiberius Caesar, son of the Divine Augustus,” while the other side referred to the high priest of Roman religion…Like it or not, Jews had to use this coin; it was the one required for the poll tax in all provinces.[6]
The Pharisees and Herodians think they have Jesus in a pickle. They do not. They could not have foreseen His response. These were men who trafficked in words, who had developed the ability, as Vance Havner once memorably put it, “of almost saying something.” Not so, Jesus. His words were simple, clear, courageous, and backed by integrity.
The crafty always have to play with words. Not so the man or woman of integrity. In one sense, this entire episode is a case study in what happens when the verbose and preening politics collides with a person who knows who He is.
There is indeed a simplicity to this: give to Caesar what is his and to God what is His. And, of course, this is absolutely right. As we will see the implications of this are profound and provocative. But Jesus sidesteps the trap, not through obfuscation or political posturing or empty wordsmithing. Rather, He sidesteps it because the trap itself was one of empty rhetoric backed by ill-intent whereas He was a person of courage.
I simply point this out because it needs to be pointed out today: The church in America needs to recover Jesus’ example of simple, direct, courageous speech. Jesus established the foundation for this approach in Matthew 5, in the Sermon on the Mount.
37 Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.
Among the many virtues the church must recover, clear, bold, true speech—and the courage requisite to use it—is near the top.
Jesus knows the difference between the kingdoms.
The implications of Jesus’ words are, again, profound and profoundly important! Notice the radical contrast in the kingdoms inherent in Jesus’ response.
19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
At least part of the people’s “marveling” (v.22) arises from the fact that Jesus’ words contain a none-too-subtle element of subversiveness. After all, Rome suffered no competition. Thus, the very idea of that second part—“and to God the things that are God’s”—was dangerous talk! What is more, if indeed the coin that was raised read “Tiberius Caesar, son of the Divine Augustus,” then this was even more provocative! For Jesus’ juxtaposing of “Caesar” and “God” was clearly saying this: Caesar is not God!
Did the audience flinch in nervous fear? Did they look around instinctively to see if any Roman soldiers were nearby? Did they feel a thrill of danger…and of hope? Surely many of them did. Surely many understood that this was dangerous talk, and wonderful talk! Some seethed. Others marveled. Others perhaps hid these things in their hearts to ponder them.
Yes, Jesus was pressing the differences between the kingdoms. That is undeniable. John Calvin observed of Jesus’ famous response, “But Christ, accommodating his discourse to the common people, reckoned it enough to draw a distinction between the spiritual kingdom of God, on the one hand, and political order and the condition of the present life, on the other.”[7] That is so!
Yet, Jesus was also pressing the differences between the kings! One was earthly, not divine, and therefore temporary. Give him his due: his petty taxes and his your civic duties. Fine and good. But the other King! Well, He is divine, and His throne is forever, and His rule will have no end!
And what will you give this King? Christina Rossetti answers that question well:
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.[8]
Yes, the King of kings gets everything! Imperial Rome is now a pile of rocks and a tourist destination. But the Kingdom of God is alive and well!
Caesar can have our coins.
Jesus gets our everything!
[1] https://www.firstthings.com/article/2017/03/addendum
[2] Boice, James Montgomery. The Gospel of Matthew. Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2001), p.474.
[3] Simonetti, Manlio, ed. Matthew 14–28. Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. Gen. Ed. Thomas C. Oden. New Testament, Vol. Ib (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p.149.
[4] Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew. The New American Commentary. Vol. 22 (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), p.330.
[5] Dostoevsky, Fyodor. Crime and Punishment. (New York: The Modern Library, 1994), p.546–47.
[6] Keener, Craig. Matthew. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series. Vol. 1 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), p.326.
[7] Lee, Jason K., and William M. Marsh, eds. Matthew. Reformation Commentary on Scripture. Gen. Ed. Timothy George. New Testament, Vol. I (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2021), p.289.
[8] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53216/in-the-bleak-midwinter