Tribute To Caesar
TRIBUTE TO CAESAR
MATTHEW 22:15-22
In this world we owe loyalty to two kingdoms, secular authority and God’s kingship.
In 17:24-27 responsibility regarding one form of tax was discussed: the tax which figures in the present debate constituted the hottest political question of the day in Judea. It did not arise in Galilee, which was governed by a Jewish prince (Herod Antipas); but when Judea became a Roman province in AD 6 it became directly tributary to the emperor. Some Jews maintained that the payment of taxes to a pagan ruler constituted high treason to God, the true King of Israel, and revolted against Rome under Judas the Galilean (cf. Acts 5:37). The revolt was crushed, but its spirit survived among the Zealots (cf. 10:4). The Zealots’ viewpoint enjoyed much popular support, whatever was thought of their violent methods (cf. 11:12). The Pharisees and the Herodians were strange bedfellows, but if the Herodians (who do not appear elsewhere in this Gospel) maintained the claims of the Herod dynasty to rule all Palestine, they would have had at least theoretical objections to the payment of tribute to Caesar.
It was hoped that the question would impale our Lord on the horns of a dilemma: if he said it was right to pay the tribute, he would forfeit general popularity; if he said it was wrong, he could be reported to the Roman administration for sedition (cf. Luke 23:2). For him, however, “the things that are God’s,” the interests of his kingdom, were primary; they would not be adversely affected if a pagan monarch received back the denarius (cf. 20:2) which was self-evidently his. There were some Jews so scrupulous that they would not touch such a coin, because the imperial image infringed the second commandment. Jesus’ words may suggest that such coinage was fit only for Gentiles to handle: Caesar’s money was best designed for paying Caesar’s tribute. Let them make God’s kingdom and righteous requirements their principal concern (cf. 6:33). Thus Jesus not only avoided the dilemma but turned it to emphasize the central theme of his own teaching.
Note By “hypocrites” (22:18) we are (as in 6:2ff.) to understand “play-actors,” whose words and actions do not express their personal thoughts. The reference is probably to the complimentary gambit of 22:16, which masked a desire to set a trap for Jesus.