Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?
Matthew 22:15-22
Paying taxes has never been a pleasant duty as a citizen of any city or county or state or nation. Wars have been fought over taxes and nations have crumbled under the weight of heavy taxation. Solomon greatly burdened Israel with taxes to fund his building projects. His son lost ten of the twelve tribes of Israel foolishly threatening to tax them even more than his father. When he sent Adoram out to collect taxes, this unfortunate tax collector was stoned to death.
In Jesus’ day paying taxes to Caesar became a hotly debated issue. How can God’s people, the Jews, give taxes to the heathen leaders of Rome? The question over paying these taxes was posed by the Pharisees to Jesus.
■ Fault Finding Pharisees
After Jesus gives them three scathing parables leveled right at their corrupt and hypocritical hearts, “the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk” (22:15). They wished to trap Him like a little bird gets entangled in a snare. Jesus had warned them of their impending judgment. They wish to bring their judgment upon Him. If they could catch Him in a blasphemy, they would have a capital offense leading to capital punishment.
■ Friendly Foes with the Pharisees
Since the Pharisees were not having any success to discredit Jesus by themselves, they started enlisting the aid of their political and religious enemies. This time “they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians”. Not much is known about the Herodians. However, they were in support of the Herods. And the Herodian dynasty was supported by Rome. Submission to Rome’s occupation and taxation supported their cause. The Pharisees would have further rejected the Herods, because they were not Jews but Idumeans from Israel’s ancient enemy the Edomites.
The Herodians were needed as potent informants against Jesus. If Jesus came out in public against paying Roman poll tax, He could be charged with sedition. The Romans would therefore have cause to punish Jesus with death.
■ Flattering Pharisees
When the Pharisees approach Jesus, they try to lower His guard with five points of flattery. 1) First, they address Him as “Teacher.” However, they were not there in the capacity as disciples ready to learn. 2) Next, they say “we know that You are true.” This is in support of Jesus’ character. Yet they attacked His personal integrity many times in the past even claiming Jesus was in league with the Devil. 3) The third point of flattery points to Jesus’ doctrinal integrity: “and teach the way of God in truth.” If they really believed Jesus was teaching God’s Will, then why did they oppose His teachings and not accept Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. 4) The fourth false praise points out that Jesus was not one to be swayed by popular opinion or respect of persons. They said, “nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men” 5) Finally, they flatter Him by asking Him in public to answer a question of great importance. When they asked Him, “Tell us, therefore, what do You think?”, they were asking His opinion as if it really mattered.
■ Formidable Fix by the Pharisees
Their question: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” The Pharisees were against being taxed by a pagan nation, whose ruler was worshiped as a god. They would have seen the support of taxation of God’s people as treason and morally corrupt. The Herodians on the other hand would have supported sending taxes to Rome. After all, Roman occupation did support many benefits for Palestine, such as, the Pax Romana or Roman Peace, the building and maintaining of a reliable road system, aqueducts to supply water, etc.
This is an attempt to catch Jesus between the horns of dilemma. If He favored the paying of the poll tax to the Romans, He would be discredited as the Messiah before the people. After all, supposedly the Messiah was to come raise an army and overthrow the Roman occupants of the Jewish lands and set up the Davidic dynasty in Jerusalem. Jesus’ approval of the heavy tax burden which supported Rome would be in direct contrast with their expectations.
■ False Face Pharisees
Jesus was not to be blindsided by their flattery. He knew they were testing Him. The Son of God “had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:25). The Pharisees were putting on the false face of a Greek actor. They were playing the part of a mere student, but in fact they were seeking Jesus’ death, not His advice. As the servants said in the previous parable, “This is the heir; come, let us kill him” (Matthew 21:38).
■ Flipping the Feign upon the Pharisees
Jesus often used objects to illustrate His lessons. This time he asks for a “denarius.” This was the common coin and often used to pay the Roman poll tax. It was the daily wage paid to soldiers and day workers.
In answering their question about paying taxes, Jesus does not use the term “pay”. Instead, He uses the term “render” translated from the Greek word apodidomi which “means to pay or give back, implying a debt. It carries the idea of obligation and responsibility for something that is not optional” (Macarthur 321). By doing this He makes taxes a repayment of what belongs to Caesar. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”
Why did the coin belong to Caesar? According to Jesus it had the image and inscription of Caesar on it. The coin had the head of Tiberius and the inscription: “Tiberius Caesar, Son of the divine Augustus, Emperor.”
The second part of Jesus answer “and to God the things that are God’s” shows a limitation on the first part. Whereas Jesus recognizes the authority of Government, which is derived from God, He shows that God’s authority over man is dominant. In other words, Christians are to obey the laws of the land in so far has they do not come into direct conflict with the authority of God.
When the Sanhedrin commanded the apostles not to preach in Jesus’ name anymore, they said, “we ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:28,29). Today, all men are to obey the speed limits, pay their taxes, follow the rules, etc. To do otherwise is to dishonor the government and God and to disobey God by disobeying the government (see Rom. 13; 1 Peter 2:13–17; 1 Tim. 2:1ff.). Christians are in a unique position in that they have a dual citizenship. One can be a citizen of South Korea and have citizenship as a Christian in heaven (Phil. 3:20).
Like Tiberius’ image was on the coin which they owed back to Rome, God’s image in on His creation: man. Man is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26–27). Therefore, man owes all of himself to God. Total commitment to the Creator is a form of just repayment (see 22:37).
■ Frustrated Flight of the Pharisees
“When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way” (22:31). For the moment the Pharisees had failed and retreated from the attack with no rebuttal. Jesus had sprung their trap and caught them. They ended up with nothing on Jesus. In fact, they were seen as insurrectionist against Rome and disobedient to God.
God has made it very clear to New Testament Christians. They are to render the taxes due to the Government. Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. …Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing. Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor” (Romans 13:1,5-7).
– Daniel R. Vess