TAX - MATTHEW 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 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. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said,"You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?19Show me the coin used for paying the tax."They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them,"Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
21 "Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them,"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. NIV
In the Apostle Matthew's record of the scheme from the Pharisees to entangle Jesus we find out that Jesus can not be trapped. In verse 15 it is stated that they, "laid plans to trap him in his words". This means that they had been thinking about this for a long time. We notice that when two enemies have a common threat they will join together to defeat Him, thus the Pharisees conspired with the Herodians to bring Jesus down to the grave. Since the Herodians represented the government officials it would be ideal to use the government to do their dirty work. Generally, the Jews did not believe in paying taxes to any uncircumcised gentile. The Jews thought it unreasonable for them to have to pay taxes in their own home land. However, the Romans thought it was profitable to collect taxes (tribute) from all people under their rule. Since this argument has lasted for years they where not expecting a new solution to the question. What they were hoping for was the traditional solutions which divided you up into one of two groups. If you believed that paying taxes to the Romans was right you were known as disloyal and ungodly by the measurement of the Pharisees. They thought that you could not be for the Romans and the Jews at the same time. This was the wrong assumption to make concerning Jesus because Jesus and our Father God love all people equally. The Lord is not for one people and against the other people but He loves all equally. The second group, which included the Pharisees believed that by not agreeing to support the collection of taxes you were more devoted to God and the cause of the Jewish people. Logically this option would favor the wealthy because they would have to pay less taxes which translates into keeping more of their money. Since both sides could be appreciated and understood the division between the two sides was well defined and dug in very deep. The Lord Jesus did not consider both positions like many before Him and then take a side. He chooses rather to speak the truth in love which is always the best approach to any conflict of men. The human reasoning of the Pharisees supposed that if Jesus spoke to not pay taxes the Herodians would take Him away for sedition. The human reasoning of the Pharisees also supposed that if Jesus spoke to pay taxes the Jewish people as a whole would reject Him for disloyalty to them. The funny thing about this situation was that in verse 16 the same people that tried to trap Jesus 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". If they really understood what they said it would be easy to realize that Jesus was not trying to please the Jewish people He simply came to set them free. The Lord did not come to lift-up the kingdom of Rome, He came to establish His own Kingdom in the Name of God. Since Jesus spoke only the truth His answer basically said that the small amount of money that is spent down here for the government upon the earth is miniscule when compared to what you owe God in the Kingdom of Heaven. Notice that Jesus never answered their question directly the way they asked it. They asked in verse 17, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" They were looking for a "Yes" or "No" answer. However, Jesus being the wisdom of God answered their question with His own question by asking, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" Jesus was looking at a denarius (a penny, a pence) a common silver coin of that day valued today at around $32 dollars American money. During the time of Jesus it was considered a day’s wages. When confronted with an absolute question it demanded an absolute answer that could not be misinterpreted. The only answer is, "Caesar's". This set the Pharisees, Herodians and all the people present (both Jews and Gentiles) to understand the heart of God. When Jesus made the divine transforming statement, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." he was basically telling the world that His problem was not with mankind but rather sin. Jesus, the Jew, had no prejudice against the Romans, which let all the people know Jesus has no prejudice against anyone. The Lord was showing the people a different way to think, thus viewing all mankind as beloved of God which gave men the insight to understand God in a different Light. When man knows that God is for him not against him it gives him the spark of hope to try to know his maker better. This New Way is The Way of the Cross, where there is no respecters of persons but rather it is the place where the justified respect the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus died so that God's Personal Love could be shared with people personally. He paid the price of sin for the Jew and Gentile alike, at the same place and during the same time. Therefore, as far as God is concerned He is ready for all men to come to Him but each man must be willing to give unto God their own self. It was not just a brilliant answer from Jesus about the paying of taxes to Caesar but His answer also re-enforced the concept that they could please God and men at the same time. When all the people heard the wisdom of Jesus that perfectly represented both God and man, they were amazed. As Christians we don't have to be amazed when we see unity between government and God we only need to know God loves us and all people alike. Since our government is made up of people God loves each representative of our government deeply and personally. So faithfully pay your taxes due with your money and faithfully serve your Father God and Lord Jesus Christ with all your heart. Amen!
In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster