What is God's

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

In the world, not of the world

The Jews were living in a world that was not their own. This wasn’t just an idea for them, it was a daily reality. The belief system around them was pagan, immoral and even violent. To be a devout Jew and live in a major Roman city was a daily challenge. Graven images were not allowed, yet they were everywhere you look. Traditions were important to the Jews, but the Romans insisted on having the final say on the selection of key leaders. Finally, the Jews worshiped the one true God. But the Romans worshiped a whole pantheon of false deities, designed to increase their influence and image. Everywhere you turned, there was a potential violation of a major commandment.

Various groups took various paths. Some compromised almost entirely. They were directly guided and given positions of honor that were supposed to be by birth or other means. Some rejected the Romans entirely. They chose the bath of constant resistance. They did not participate in public life. They would not pay the tax. Some of these even plotted violent revolution. Most Pharisees avoided military options, but they did resist Roman morality completely. The also sought to teach others how to live a holy life in the Roman world.

The were sort of like the Evangelicals of their day. Most of them righteous people. Desiring to know God and trying to influence the culture for the better. But at the top, some of their leaders desired more status and standing. They wanted the ear of Roman authorities. So these compromised a bit. They took positions that were controlled by Rome. They toned down their message a bit. They quietly paid the tax. They became quite political. They became big supporters of the status quo, because now they had something to protect.

One thing they knew for sure. Jesus was trouble. He was teaching the holiness message, but in a more compelling way. He wasn’t blocked by desiring to please everyone or worrying about displeasing the authorities. His message exposed what was compromised about theirs. And people were buying into it big time.

Two things made it even harder. On the legitimate side of what it meant to be a Pharisee: there was tradition. Jesus wasn’t trained in their schools. So there was a legitimate concern in there somewhere. But that was easy to check: read the scriptures. Pray. People like Nicodemus and the Apostle Paul found the truth. There was a path to address their concerns and figure out that Jesus was from God.

But the real problem was a darker one. They didn’t want him to be the Messiah. It was messing up all their plans. This is why it’s so important to take time to pray and seek God and let God’s will become clear. Once you just start giving in to your desires or your fears and asking God to bless what you can come up with, you start to drift off course. And once you’ve headed down that path you start needing there to be no disruptions. Jesus was a major disruption. Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus was the Messiah.

The Pharisees could have rejoiced. God was answering their prayers and finally beginning to act. The Messiah was right in front of them. Kind of like when we know the right thing to do but we don’t want to do it. I wish we could just point the finger at the Pharisees and go merrily on our way. But we have to look at our own hearts first. If we don’t, we could end up playing the wrong role in the story of our lives. We want to be the good guy, the heroine. But the good guy does the right thing even though its hard. That’s what makes it a great story. What do you do to put God first in your life that costs you something? If you’re in certain social situations is Jesus still your homeboy, or do you put on your Bud Light T-Shirt instead?

The Pharisees get together with the Herodians. That’s like Donald Trump calling up Barak Obama and saying let’s get rid of this radical Pope. The older Pharisees had long ago compromised and instructed people to pay the poll tax. But some younger Pharisees were asking the question again. So most likely it was the young Pharisees who were sent on this errand with Herodians as spies and support. It’s simple: ask the question to make Jesus look stupid. He can’t win. If he says we shouldn’t pay the tax the Herodians will be there and will tell King Herod who will let the Romans know and Jesus will be dead by the end of the week if not the end of the day. If he says we should pay it, the people will walk away. It’s a perfect plan.

Why do people plot like this? How can you get from “I want to live a holy life and honor God above all things” to “I’ll do anything to keep my job” or “I hate this guy and I’ll do anything to destroy him”. Really? I don’t know exactly how you get there. But I know it starts with secretly keeping your options open. I know it begins with saying: just this one little compromise. I need the money. I need to look good in front of these friends. This girl. This guy. As soon as you turn down the Holy Spirit channel to turn up the worldly opportunities channel, you start letting signals in you never intended. Like a computer virus it starts taking up room on the hard drive of your mind and heart.

Soon there’s not much room for the good stuff. You decide it’s just not worth the effort to get yourself back into the right state of mind. You give in to the dark side. Now all bets are off and you are capable of the worst possible things...

These scoundrels (they’re not scoundrels because they're Jews or Pharisees or Herodians). They’re scoundrels because they no longer listen to their conscience. These individuals decided they had more to gain from listening to the jerks they work for than the God who made them. I suppose they were so far gone they were almost giggling with delight as they asked him.

Matthew 22:16–17 NIV

They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”

Flattery doesn’t get you very far with Jesus. Mistake number one.

Matthew 22:18 NRSV

But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites?

Ouch! Again, it’s easy to point our finger at these losers and say, “How could you?” But do we never do this kind of thing? Do we never try to put the pressure on God. Look, God I need this promotion. Or, look, it’s only for a while. We may twist the wording of our prayers just a bit to where God looks like a bad guy if he doesn’t do what we want or give us permission to do what we want.

But Jesus rarely falls for it. He did fall for it with these guys and he won’t fall for it in your prayer life, either.

Matthew 22:19 NRSV

Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.

If you’re scoring along at home, you realize the game is already over. They reached into their pocket and pulled out a denarius. Here’s what one looked like.

IMAGE OF COIN ON THE SCREEN

These coins were invented for one purpose: the payment of the tax. The fact that these questioners had one in their pockets demonstrated all too clearly where their loyalties lay. They don’t even realize it. Sin makes you stupid. That’s how blind you get when it becomes a lifestyle.

Jesus hones in on his target now. He knows he’s walking a thin line. But since he created lines he knows how to walk them.

Matthew 22:20 NIV

and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

Jesus puts the question back to them. It’s annoying when people do this, isn’t it? It forced them to come to terms with the reality of their lives.

Caesar’s, they said. And oh. When was the last time they really looked at one of these coins? Had they ever bothered to even read what it said?

This coin says: Emperor Gordianus, Pious Son of Augustus

It’s a bit more humble than the coin Jesus was holding. It’s from about 200 years later when Rome was not so proud. Perhaps they had learned some of these lessons a little too late.

Here’s what we know about the coin that was handed to Jesus:

The coin related directly to pagan Roman religion and to the imperial cult in the east: the side bearing his image also included a superscription, namely, “TI. CAESAR DIVI AVG.F.AVGVSTVS”—“Tiberius Caesar, son of the Divine Augustus”

Keener, C. S. (2009). The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (p. 525). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Did it really say that? Did it really say Tiberius was the son of God on earth?

Matthew 22:21 NIV

“Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

They had chosen their messiah. A worldy one tied to worldly power that would soon pass away. It was plain to them. Now it was plain for all the people listening to see. That’s why this story was handed down...

They realized Jesus was the true Son of God. Nothing should compete with God for first place in our lives. Caesar is not going to solve the problem of sin and injustice. They were speechless. They were afraid. Jesus drops the mic and walks away. BOOM!

So where does that thunder fall in your life today? Have you sold out to everything but Jesus? Or have you left everything to follow him? Give back to Caesar what belongs to him. But worship God above all. Put God first financially. Put God first in all things. It’s very simply. What is God’s? Everying. Give it all up to Him.