On Taxes to Caesar.

(Mat. 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26).

Among their disciples and Herodians (adherents of Herod, to whom not everybody wanted to pay taxes as he was of another tribe) the Pharisees selected the more cunning individuals and sent them to the Lord with a devious question: “Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” This sneaky question was aimed at catching the Lord. If He answered that you have to pay taxes to the heathen emperor, hated by the Jews, He would alienate Himself from the people, and if He said not to pay them, He could be immediately accused before the Romans of trying to incite the people. Those posing the question had the following hidden thought behind it: The Jewish people are God’s people that recognize only God as their King. Therefore, it cannot serve a foreigner, especially a heathen king, as he would then appear as God’s enemy; consequently, what are they to do — pay the taxes to Caesar or maintain their staunch loyalty to God? The Lord wisely answered that you had to do one and the other — “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to do the things that are God’s” i.e. fulfill your obligations in relation to God as well as in relation to the government authority, and of course, in as much as the latter doesn’t conflict with the first.