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“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words
. . . ‘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?’ Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said,
‘You hypocrites! . . . 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’” (Matthew 22:21).
They
were utterly fed up with Jesus. He
had rattled them to the core. They
wanted desperately to entrap him in his own words. Surely there was some way of baiting him. Surely they could trick him into saying
something blatantly wrong. Surely
they could corner him with a question for which there was no good answer.
They assign the
delicate task to a carefully chosen group.
These men have done their homework and come prepared. First they butter him up with flattery.
“Teacher, we know you are man of integrity” they say, “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.” Notice,
they stress his courage and honesty, hoping he’ll rise to this reputation
and speak frankly (and recklessly).
Now it’s time for the question:
“Tell us then, what is your opinion?
Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
It’s
a loaded question. There’s history
behind the question . . . bitter history.
Caesar is the Roman Emperor whose empire has swallowed up also this
part of the ancient world. Here’s
the trap. If Jesus says, “No, don’t
pay taxes” he’s a traitor to Caesar. That can get you crucified. If he says, “Yes, you must pay taxes”
then Jesus would be seen as loyal to Caesar, even though Caesar considered himself
a god, even though Caesar’s troops were brutally oppressing the Jewish
people and defiling the land with their presence, even though Caesar’s tax
collectors were holding Israel’s feet to the fire. Jesus would be seen as collaborating with
the Romans, a partisan, a loyalist, a co-conspirator. He would lose credibility and popular
support.
Jesus
knows their intent. “You hypocrites!” he says. “Show me the coin used for paying
the tax. They brought him a Roman
denarius.
Each
Roman emperor minted his own coinage.
The emperor ruling at the time was Caesar Tiberius. By now he had been in office for about 18
years so his coinage dominated the circulation. This means, we probably know what kind of
coin they were all looking at. For a
few hundred dollars you can own one yourself. It’s a silver coin, with a side profile
of the head of Tiberius. Around the
outside edge is the inscription:
“Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” On the back were the words, “Pontifex Maximus” (meaning High
Priest). Even if they had been
trying, it would have been hard to make a small coin any more blasphemous
to the Jews. This is the coin circulating around the entire Roman Empire,
also now in Israel,
much to their chagrin. Yet this coin
was also one of the advantages they enjoyed under the emperor’s rule. It was like today’s version of the
Euro. It made traveling and trade so
much easier.
Jesus
throws them a soft-ball. “Whose
image is on the coin?” he asks. “Caesar’s”
they reply, guardedly. Jesus,
looking from one to another, says “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to
God what is God’s.”
It’s
the perfect answer for the perfect trap.
They can’t charge him as a traitor to Caesar, and they can’t charge
him as a traitor to God. His answer
also lays down the principles that influence Christians today with our
relationship to the state.
When
one nation conquers another, one of the first things they do is issue new
coinage. It’s a powerful message
that the old government is defunct and the new government is running the
show. This denarius in Jesus’ hand,
with Caesar’s image on it is a sign that, like it or not, Israel is now a province of the Roman Empire. That
settles it. They owe him whatever
taxes he demands. “Give to Caesar
what is Caesar’s.”
But
Jesus also tells them, “Give to God what is God’s.” Well, what is God’s? “Everything belongs
to God” we readily answer. That’s an
easy one. Everything we have belongs
ultimately to him. Sometimes, however, I think we use that answer as a
cop-out. By that, I mean if we
readily admit that everything already belongs to God, and then we never
bother to do the dirty business of figuring out what percentage we are going
to return to God. If everything
belongs to God, then nothing does.
God has made us
stewards of all that is his, and has made it abundantly clear that his plan
for giving is that it be regular and proportionate. First, we are to give regularly. We don’t give just when we feel like it,
or just when our heartstrings have been plucked by some dramatic and
sentimental appeal. We give
regardless of our mood. Regularity
takes a lot of the pain out of giving. You make one decision, and then carry it
out systematically and regularly.
Regularity also saves us from self-deception. If we give nothing for a time, and then
for a heart string appeal we give a hundred dollars, we deceive ourselves into
thinking that we’re generous. But if
that’s divided into a few dollars a week, not many of us can claim that as
generous.
God’s plan is for
regular giving. God’s plan is also
for proportionate giving. We give in
proportion as we have received. When
we do this, suddenly giving ceases to be a transaction between you and the
church treasurer and becomes a transaction between you and God. Don’t give to. Give from. That is, don’t give to a budget or
need. Give a portion of the
blessings you’ve received from God. In
that way we serve like a funnel.
Listen to Paul teach
stewardship to the church in Corinth. “Now about the collection . . . do what I told the Galatian
churches to do. On the first day of
every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with
his income” (1 Cor. 16:1-2). That’s regular (first day of every week)
and proportionate giving (in keeping with his income). Paul wasn’t saying anything new. From Deuteronomy 16, “Give a freewill
offering in proportion to the blessings God has given you” (v. 10). That’s giving to God what is God’s.
Have you ever
figured out what percentage of your income you’re giving back to God? You may be surprised. The year end giving report may look
impressive, especially when you consider what you could have purchased with
it. However, when you think of it
not in terms of hundreds or thousands of dollars, but in terms of a
percentage point, that percentage is not so impressive. Go ahead and ask yourself, “Is this the
kind of stewardship God intended for me?” Biblical stewardship is about regular and
proportionate giving. It’s giving
from gratitude not obligation. It’s giving from, not to.
Those
who were trying to entrap Jesus were themselves entrapped by the truth of
His Word. “So they left him and went
away.” The image and inscription on
the denarius was incontestable evidence.
They were subjects of Caesar.
They were also subjects of God.
As such, they needed to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God
what is God’s.
The denarius was made
with Caesar’s image. You were made
in God’s image. Caesar’s inscription
was stamped onto the denarius. Through
Baptism, God’s inscription was stamped onto you. Remember?
“Receive the sign of the cross both upon your forehead and heart to
mark you as one redeemed by Christ.”
You are marked not with the Roman eagle. You are marked with the cross.
In the Old
Testament reading today, we hear the beautiful promise, “I am the LORD; I
have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you”
(Is. 42:6). In your baptism, God has
done that for you! He has taken you
be the hand and has kept you, regardless of what you’ve done or failed to
do. He has kept you, and will
continue to hold you by the hand, regardless of what you give or don’t. He will never let go of you, but will
keep you into eternity. Baptism is
not a short-lived promise we make to God.
It is an everlasting covenant he makes to us. In Baptism, you’ve received an indelible
mark, the inscription of his name . . . incontestable evidence that you belong
wholly to him. Thanks be to God. Amen.
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