They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose portrait is this?  Whose inscription?”  

“Caesar’s,” they replied.  Then he said to them, “Give 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. - Matthew 22:20-22

It is interesting that Jesus asks about the coin’s “image” (or “portrait” in some versions) and “inscription.”  It reminds us of the phrase God used when He created man, in His own “image and likeness.”  (Genesis 1:27).  Caesar’s image and likeness was on the coin; God’s image and likeness is on each of us.  We owe taxes to the government officials, who issue money with their images; but we should give God our very selves, surrendering our lives to him, because He made us in HIS image and likeness.  We belong to him.  Nevertheless, religious people like those in this passage tend to put things in the reverse.  They use religion as an excuse to withhold things that belong to the government.  At the same time, they give themselves – their hearts and minds and lives- to this world instead of to God.  

The Pharisees in this story were hoping to trap Jesus.  Should God’s servants pay taxes to a pagan ruler?  They thought this would put Jesus in an awkward position.  If he openly supported paying taxes, many of the people in the crowd would feel that he was no patriotic or zealous enough; it would make him seem weak, afraid to take a stand.  On the other hand, the Romans did not tolerate troublemakers who stirred up the crowds against taxes.  It was a crime to encourage others to commit tax evasion.  If Jesus said “no” to the tax question, he would be subject to punishment by the Romans, which would also have pleased the Pharisees.  It was a way to get rid of him.

Jesus called them “hypocrites” because they themselves faced the same quandary.  The Pharisees knew they could not say anything in public about taxes because they would incur either the wrath of the Romans or the ire of the crowds.  If Jesus had asked a Pharisee the same question in public, the Pharisee would have been in the same awkward situation that they foisted on Jesus.  It was indeed hypocritical for them to raise the issue, and their motives were evil – they simply wanted to embarrass Jesus because they were jealous of him.

This story gives us a picture of religion apart from God – worldly social institutions that try to please the people and appease those in power, instead of trying to please God Himself.  One of the favorite pastimes of religion is to think up difficult theological questions, such as the one posed here, for which they believe no answer exists except human opinions.  This encourages the members to adopt a relativistic approach to everything.  The religious mindset is always trying to think of hard questions for God.  “If God is all powerful, why does He allow my pain and suffering?”  “Why does the Bible say such a strange thing in ___ book?”  These are silly questions, of course; the whole purpose of them is to try to find a question that has no answer.  That is exactly what the religious leaders tried to do to here.   

They did this because they had no revelation.  They could not hear from the Holy Spirit.  They lived by their own reason and religious opinions instead of the Spirit’s daily manna.  For them, the Scriptures were just “dead letter” (2 Corinthians 3:6), ancient words they could try to understand, to debate about, and to apply literally whenever it was convenient.  The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  They had no spiritual life, just the letter of the Law.

Jesus surprised them with his answer.  He began by asking them a question in response (“Whose portrait is this?  Whose inscription?”).  This is a common theme in the Bible – Jesus answers people by asking them a revealing question.  He knows the answer, of course, before he asks, but he wants us to admit the truth to ourselves.  The answer in this case was simple: Caesar’s face was on every Roman coin, as we put former Presidents’ profiles on ours.   

This seemingly simple answer betrayed a much deeper truth.  The Jews resented the Roman taxes and military presence, but they all enjoyed the benefits of Roman capitalism and commerce, the material luxuries brought into their country by this commercial superpower.  They used Roman money every day to buy and sell goods. They liked Roman products.  The Israelites did not produce these coins themselves; the currency they used, the only currency of value, was the Roman money.  It was part of the Roman system, and the Jews were participating in it as a matter of due course in their daily lives.  Jesus poses a simple rule: if Caesar made the money (he did), and distributed the money (he did), and still has a legal claim to some or all of the money (he did), then give the money to Caesar when he asks for it.  The religious mindset of these Pharisees confused material things with spiritual things, as religion always does.  Taxes are simply a normal part of any monetary system, a material thing.  They wanted find an excuse to keep more money themselves, instead of paying the tax.  They cloaked their petty greed and materialism in an appearance of religious zeal.  Religion does this – the people are not trying to please God, but rather pursue the same material things as the people in the world.  Then they use religious reasoning and arguments to justify themselves. 

God did not make that Roman money.  Caesar did.  Money is something governments make as a convenience to facilitate trade and commerce.  It is easier to use coins than to carry bulky items around to trade.  We all use it, we all benefit from it, and we all should pay the government what we owe to them.  Give Caesar what comes from Caesar.  It has no value in eternity.  It did not come from eternity and it does not enter eternity.  It has no eternal value.  The money was Caesar’s in every sense of the word.  He made it and distributed it.  It bore his image and name, as one might mark his own property to indicate ownership.

The Bible teaches us that we should pay our taxes and obey the laws:  “Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.  This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.  Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”  (Romans 13:5-7).

“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.”  (Titus 3:1).  It is part of our testimony as sanctified believers, as the Lord’s servants, to have a good relationship with the governing authorities over us, to obey the law.  God wants us to be good, respectable citizens.

Then Jesus addresses an even deeper issue: “Give to God what is God’s.” If Caesar made the money, what did God make?  You and me.  “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  (Eph. 2:10).  Not only did the religious leaders want to avoid paying taxes, but also they did not want to give themselves fully to God, to please the Lord and obey his revelation.  We should give to God what is rightfully His.  A few verses later, in this same chapter, Jesus tells them, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”  (Matthew 22:37). 

We owe God our very bodies, our selves.  “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”  (Romans 12:1).  This is how we “give to God what is God’s.”  The religious leaders back then did not want to do this.  Instead, they wanted to appease God with something external, something material, like refusing to pay taxes to the unbelievers in Rome.  They were not concerned with pleasing God.  They just wanted to give God a little something so they could go their own way and do what they wanted.  We should give God what we owe Him, which is obedience and complete submission.  We should also give the authorities over us what we owe to them.

We should also remember to pray for our authorities – this is part of our obedience to God, “giving God what is God’s.”  “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.  This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”  (1 Timothy 2:1-4).  The religious leaders in Jesus’ day saw the authorities as adversaries, competing for power and influence in society.  We do not view the government as an opponent, but instead as other people God wants to reach with his message of love, salvation, and eternal life.

“They left him and went away” – Even though Jesus answered their question, they did not believe in him or yield to him.  Instead, they just went away from him and left him.  This is how dead religion works – when God speaks through revelation and silences all the human arguments and opinions, they just go away.  They avoid the revelation and shun the things that come from eternity.

We want to stay close to him.  Jesus is not of this world.  He is from eternity, and he will take us to eternity.  We need to understand which things in our lives are temporary – just part of our earthly existence while we are here – and which things are eternal and permanent.  “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”  (2 Corinthians 5:15).