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It was Tuesday before the crucifixion, a day of controversy. He and His Disciples came into Jerusalem early from Bethany where they had spent the night at the home of Mary and Martha. The first thing that had happened was a confrontation between Jesus and the Priests and Elders, then Jesus told the three parables relative to the unfaithfulness of Israel. Now the Pharisees attempt to entrap Him by asking Him about the "lawfulness" of paying taxes to Caesar. We will be using primarily the account of Matthew.
The Priests and Elders were men of authority and they questioned Him concerning His authority. These men here are Pharisees who dealt with matters of the Law and they attempted to entrap Him with a question in which there does not seem to be a "right" answer. People who speak openly and truthfully are at the mercy of those who would seek to entrap them. It is Satan's practice to use "misplaced words", "mistake words", "misunderstood words", and words that are innocently designed but perverted by others, to get people in trouble. There was two ways that the enemies of Jesus might get to Him. One, by the Law and two, by force. They had ruled out force because of His popularity with the people, so they sought to entangle Him in the Law. Thus they devised this question which they figured had no right answer, one that had been around for about 100 years.
Notice who they sent to ask Him the question. They sent their disciples and the Herodians. These disciples were students of the Pharisees, always eager to please their teachers but never-the-less, men sincerely seeking the truth, thus, the question might not have seemed like trickery to them. The Herodians, were collectors of the tribute to Caesar. King Herod was obliged, by his charter with Rome, to collect the tribute and the Herodians assisted him. There were two taxes imposed by Rome, one was the customs tax collected by the publicans and the other was the tribute collected by Herod.
Why didn't the Pharisees go and ask the question themselves? They knew, by now, that Jesus knew that they were trying to entrap Him so they sent others hoping to catch him off guard.
The Pharisees resisted both of these taxes. That is why they hated the publicans and had no love for the Herodians, which they were now using to further their own evil plans. Necessity makes for strange bedfellows.
Notice the attempt at masking the question, "Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully." There was no question about this. He was knowledgeable, skillful, consistent and truthful in all that He said regardless of the consequences. They also knew that He was not concerned about what men thought because He had no regard for the position of men even though He taught and demonstrated respect for authority, but it was also true that He did not tailor his message to the position of the listener. So they "buttered him up" before they hit Him with the question.
"Tell us then, what do you think, is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not?" We want your opinion about this. There are various opinions about this, let us have yours. "Lawful" implied two areas of question, religious law and civil law. The Jews had been under Roman law for almost 100 years by now. They had been subject to Roman taxes like any of the other countries under the jurisdiction of Rome. But they were the descendants of Abraham, they should not, by consent, be in bondage to any man. God had given them a Law, they should not set a stranger over them. Jeremiah had, in his time, tried to get them to submit to the King of Babylon, but they would not and their pride led to their ruin. Now, again, they were stumbling over the same condition.
How could Jesus answer this question? To say no to the tribute would place Him at the mercy of the Herodians and ultimately, of Rome. To say yes would deny the Law of Moses as the zealous Jews understood it. He must either condemn the Law or the Romans, so the Pharisees thought. But these people underestimated the Son of God. Matthew says, "He was aware of their malice, He perceived their wickedness." "Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?" That seems to be Jesus' favorite name for the leaders of Israel. By exposing their evil motive, perhaps He could have simply ignored the question, but He did not. He gave a full and just answer to a problem that had plagued them for years.
"Show me the tribute money." Rome had established a monitory system for the Middle East and Asia. It had worked to everyone's advantage including Israel. The coins bore the inscription of Caesar much as ours bear the inscription of one of our presidents. There was a rule in Jewish custom which said, "He is king of the country, whose coin is current in that country." When they showed Him the coin, He asked them whose picture was on it and they answered, Caesar. "Therefore, He said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God, the things that are God's."
The answer was well taken by all, He had not stirred up any controversy in this matter. All went away at ease with the answer. Rome's authority and claim was upheld and God's authority and claim was also upheld. There was, as always, a lesson for the Disciples and for us in this story. The Christian religion is no enemy to civil government. It is our duty, as subjects of a country, to render to that country what is due. Also we are liable to God and country. The two do not conflict. Simple truths never cease to astonish people. Matthew says that they marveled at His answer.
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