A Taxing Situation

Matthew 22:15-22

We all know the adage attributed to Benjamin Franklin: “Only two things are certain in life: death and taxes.” Taxation of the masses has been a sore point for a long time. Today's story, set some 2000 years ago, shows that even in Jesus' time, taxation was a hot-button topic. That certainly has not changed in our modern era. Our home state has one of the highest tax rates in the nation. So, of course, taxation is one of the main topics in the race for governor.

According to Oregon Capital Chronicle.com, at a rally in Portland, Oregon, last Tuesday, Republican gubernatorial nominee Christine Drazan made the case for her agenda to slash taxes, reduce regulations, and make state government more accountable to taxpayers, offering plans to address the state's cost of living.

Drazan’s proposals align with some of the key priorities identified by Gov. Tina Kotek’s prosperity council, which was charged last year with identifying policy recommendations for the governor to spur economic development in the state. For instance, the prosperity council recommended that Oregon replace and repeal its Climate Protection Program and cut the estate tax and corporate activity tax.  (Oregon Capital Chronicle.com)

I guess that people in Jerusalem in the first century spent a lot of time worrying about taxes too, but probably no time worrying about voting for a governor, since that right did not exist for the people. The people had been taxed since at least 1000 B.C. Temple taxes were used for the upkeep of the temple and the maintenance of the priesthood. Early Israelites were assessed taxes to fund government services, such as the army and public works. They were also taxed to pay the costs of government and foreign tribute. In Jesus' time, the Romans provided local government offices, markets, community baths, maintained roads, and many other public services. They provided these things all through taxation: property tax, purchase tax, customs duties, and even food duties. The Roman Censor in each area hired tax collectors to bring money in, but the system was corrupt. People were often forced to pay far more than the legal amount, as tax collectors made quite a bit on the side in addition to their regular wages.

The Jewish nation understood their God-given homeland to be occupied by a foreign power. The payment of taxes was a painful reminder of being under the occupation of a foreign power that worshiped false gods. These taxes could only be paid with a Roman denarius, which bore the image of the emperor Tiberius along with the inscription “Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti Filius Augustus,” that is, “Tiberius Caesar, majestic son of the majestic god, and high priest.”

For the People of God in the first century, having Caesar’s image on their coinage was a contentious issue- every time they used one of these coins, they felt they were paying tribute to this pagan religion and offending God.

What about the phrase that is on all of our U.S. currency? It is interesting to consider that question in light of this passage. The words, “In God we trust,” appear all over our currency. The capitalized form "IN GOD WE TRUST" first appeared on the two-cent piece in 1864 and initially only appeared on coins. The phrase was placed on U.S. coinage during the Civil War, when, in 1864, someone suggested to Salmon Chase, Secretary of the Treasury, that, amid a divided nation, this affirmation be made. In a country that appeared to be coming apart, this phrase reoriented people with a message of hope. Much wider adoption followed in the 1950s. The first postage stamps with the motto appeared in 1954. A law was passed in July 1955 by a joint resolution of the 84^th United States Congress, approved by practicing Presbyterian President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Within a year, this replaced the nation’s former motto- E Pluribus Unum- “out of many, one”- in part to battle the evil, godless communist threat at that time. Now on our dollar bills, “Out of many, one” is in much smaller print, caught in the eagle’s beak on the Great Seal of the United States.

The motto, “In God We Trust,” remains popular among the American public, as most polls indicate. Some groups and individuals in the United States, however, have objected to its use, contending that its religious reference violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. These groups believe there should be no deity depicted on our nation’s money and that the phrase should be removed from currency and public property, resulting in numerous lawsuits. First-century Jews would have liked to eliminate religious language from their coinage as well.

“In Caesar, we trust.” was a sore spot for the Jewish people, and so the Herodians and Pharisees decided to use money and taxes among the people to entangle Jesus. The Greek word for “entangle,” παγιδεύω (pagideuó), means “To ensnare.” This is the only place in the New Testament this word is used; it is a term used for hunting

Accompanying the disciples of the Pharisees on this hunting trip are some strange partners-the Herodians, as they represent two different perspectives.

The Herodians were a secular political party that supported the right of the successors of Herod the Great to rule. They were pro-Roman because Rome granted them some power to appoint the sons of Herod as puppet kings throughout the region.

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were a religious group who resented Roman occupation, but accepted it as a necessary evil, and they counseled submission to Rome as long as Rome did not interfere with the practice of their religion. In general, Herodians and Pharisees did not get along, unless a threat like Jesus came along.

And so these two groups went hunting and thought that, with this question, Jesus’s ministry would come crashing down around him. And so they asked him, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”  Jesus' response would be enlightening. If he claimed it was unlawful to pay taxes to Caesar, he would provoke the ire of the Herodians, supporters of King Herod and his dynasty who collaborated with the Romans. He would be guilty of speaking out against Rome and could be thrown into prison. If Jesus claimed it was lawful to pay taxes, he would provoke the ire of the Pharisees, who opposed paying taxes but saw them as a necessary evil. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, he would have given an unpopular answer to the crowds who had been overtaxed, and who had gathered to hear him speak. From a religious perspective, faithful Jews would not want to hear Jesus uphold this idea of paying tribute to a human being, especially one who claimed divine power. Nor would they have wanted to hear Jesus support a corrupt system, giving it his seal of approval. The Herodians and Pharisees painted Jesus into a corner and wanted to see him try to squirm his way out.

Jesus was not naive about their intentions and said to them: “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?”  Jesus knew Exodus 20:4, one of the commandments that forbade the making of graven images. Yet the Pharisees used a graven image to support the temple. They depended upon Roman coins that violated the dictates of their religion. Since they did business with Caesar’s coins, how could they dare to question Jesus about paying taxes?

Jesus’ response is hard to pin down. First, he asked them, “Whose image is on the coin?” “Caesars” was their reply. He said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, and to God the things that belong to God.”

There are several possible options for the meaning behind his response-

At first glance, it is possible that Jesus was being cleverly evasive. He did not answer the question directly but threw the issue back upon the crowds. They would have to decide for themselves where to draw the line between the emperor’s jurisdiction and God’s jurisdiction. For the Herodians, it didn’t matter what belonged to God, and perhaps with this answer, Jesus may’ve been saying it was ok to give money to the Roman system, which helped keep them in power. This answer also allowed the Pharisees to remain within their system of accommodating Rome while preserving their freedom of worship.

In looking a bit deeper into Jesus’ response, however, I think there is more than a tacit approval of the prevailing system. He asked, “Whose image is this, and whose title?” The coin bears Caesar's image and his title, “majestic son of the majestic god, and high priest. More on this in a moment. Jesus knew his Hebrew scriptures. Genesis 1:26 tells us, “for in the image of God have all human beings been made.” We, humans, bear the image of God and therefore belong to God. Ultimate belonging is to God.

In Jesus’ response, if we humans bear God's image, that means that wherever we live and operate, whether in the social, economic, or political realm, we belong to God. Our primary loyalties are not supposed to switch when we move from the religious realm to another. This means we have our allegiances with God before all other things.

When I lived and went to school in San Francisco, I often passed a church in the Sunset District that, for me, had a really disturbing display on its building. At the top of their sanctuary was a flagpole, and at the top of their flagpole was a huge American flag. Underneath the flag was a very small version of the Christian flag. Every time I passed that building, I thought to myself, “They’ve got it all wrong. The flags should be just the opposite. The Christian flag should’ve been the one on the top.” Don’t get me wrong. I love this country, and the freedom we have, and are fighting to maintain right now. Yet these words of Jesus powerfully remind us that our highest allegiance belongs to God, not to the nation in which we reside. That theological reality is in opposition to Christian Nationalism, which attempts to make national patriotism as important as, or even more important than, one’s allegiance to God.

Jesus also knew Psalm 24, which begins, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” (Psalm 24:1) This was a centerpiece of Jewish theology in Jesus' time, just as it is today- that all things belong to God.

So, back to “Caesar’s coin.” Those scriptures put a rather ironic twist on Jesus ' words about giving to Caesar what is Caesar's. In his theological tradition, nothing is Caesar’s. So, in reality, Jesus was telling the Herodians and Pharisees that nothing belonged to Caesar, and that all things belonged to God. I think even the crowds understood this to be Jesus’ answer, as they did not get angry with his response.