Another week brings another message. This week's Gospel is quite different from the accounts of the previous several weeks. I will not be talking about the covenant fora change.
In this week's Gospel account we see one of the many attempts of the Pharisees to trap Jesus. The Pharisees hated Jesus. He constantly pointed them out and criticized them for their hypocrisy. If one man was able to defy them, what would stop the rest of the people from doing the same? To stop Christ's ministry, the Pharisees tried to catch him saying something controversial, something that would force the Romans to act.
The Pharisees went off
and plotted how they might entrap Jesus in speech.
They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
And you are not concerned with anyone's opinion,
for you do not regard a person's status.
Tell us, then, what is your opinion:
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"
Knowing their malice, Jesus said,
"Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?
Show me the coin that pays the census tax."
Then they handed him the Roman coin.
He said to them, "Whose image is this and whose inscription?"
They replied, "Caesar's."
At that he said to them,
"Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."
The Pharisees did not get what they want. They asked a Yes or No question, but Jesus gave them something completely unexpected. Let us look more closely at what he says. "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." This is said in response to the image on the coin. Since Caesar's image is on the coin, it is rightfully his. Nations require funds in order to function and taxes are a completely licit way of collecting funds. Jesus' response is highly logical. Man has no right to keep what is Caesar's away from him, for it is by his grace that they have the coins in the first place. That is only part of the point that Christ was making. Now we must look at the second half of Christ's response. In order to clarify it's meaning, let us look back to Genesis 1.
Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and all the creatures that crawl on the earth.
God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
Once again we see the word image. Just as the coin is in the image of Caesar, so man is in the image of God. Man is created in the God's image and therefore rightfully belongs to God. Who are we to keep ourselves from Him. Jesus was once again calling out the Pharisees. They did not repay God with their lives. They were too concerned with power, control and legalism that they lost sight of what there purpose on this earth. Man's purpose is to come back to God and give him everything. This is an admonishment to us as well. How often do we lives over earthly things be it wealth, pleasure or anything else of that nature. Too much is the answer. Let us instead turn back to God and give him our all. Let us serve him with all that we have. Let us live in complete love and adoration of him.
Hey, Ryan,
ReplyDeleteHow do you reconcile "Repay to Caesar..." with the several instances in which Jesus criticizes tax collectors? Were (and are) the tax collectors bad guys or were/are they "just doing their jobs?" What do you think?
I believe that every time Christ specifically mentions tax collectors, he is usually attacking the Pharisees. It is true that many tax collectors of that time were corrupt. Many were extortionists. They would take more than what Caesar decreed and kept the extra for themselves. But when Jesus speaks about them, he puts the Pharisees on the same level and sometimes beneath them.
DeleteLet us also remember that Christ came for everyone, including the tax collectors. This Gospel came from Matthew, who was a tax collector. Let us also remember Zacchaeus, the tax collector who repented of his ways and gave to the poor. Again, Jesus came to seek and save the lost. While he may of criticized some actions of the tax collectors, he still loved them and wanted them to repent. Jesus, however, never criticized the principle of taxation.
Can you cite any examples of Jesus saying that tax collectors "would take more than Caesar decreed and keep the extra?" I'm not questioning that they did, but I'm wondering where that practice is mentioned.
DeleteWhen speaking of tax collectors, the best example is the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19. He stands before the Lord and promises half of his possessions to poor. He also swears to pay back anyone he had defrauded, which would imply that he took extra money from the people.
DeleteI'm not sure that one crooked tax collector indicts the whole group. Also, what about the examples of Jesus lumping tax collectors and Gentiles together? How do you feel about those passages?
DeleteThe reason why Jesus lumps tax collectors with the gentiles is because that is what the Jews already did. The Jews hated tax collectors because they worked for the Romans. They viewed tax collectors as traitors to their race. When Jesus is doing this he is merely using an example that the Jews would understand.
DeleteWe know that Jesus didn't feel the same way about tax collectors and gentiles. We see that through his ministry. remember the tax collector in temple on his knees in prayer. Remember the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus came to change the way that everyone thought. The Kingdom is for all who come to it.