A text – Matthew 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. 16 So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” 21 They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.
A reflection:
We have heard this text before. We know the two groups trying to entrap Jesus, Pharisees and Herodians, were not friendly toward one another, but they were working together because of Jesus’s popularity with the crowds (it is just two days after Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem) and because they agree it is time to take him down. They want Jesus’s answer to their question to get him into trouble with the people if he determines they should pay the despised poll tax, or get him arrested by the Romans if he tells them not to pay it. Either way, the Pharisees and Herodians can get rid of Jesus’s influence without ever having to dirty their own hands.
But Jesus’s response not only delivers him from either of their planned fates for him. It also teaches us even now. Jesus tells the people not only to give to Caesar that which is Caesar’s, but also to give to God that which is God’s. If this teaching is for us, now, we have to decide what we owe to God. What of ours belongs to God? Some Bible scholars have taken Jesus’s response here to make a point Jesus leaves unspoken in this story. “Whose picture is this and whose title?” Jesus asks about the coin. “Caesar’s,” they say. One might ask today, “Whose picture is on us?” If we are made in the image of God, God’s picture is on each of us. Thus, we belong to God. “Give to God the things that are God’s.”
In our text for Wednesday Moses will be arguing with God about the Israelites belonging to God, now that God has saved them, and God will make it clear that God wants to live with us flawed humans who keep forgetting the gifts God has showered upon us. From the ancient stories of God’s relationship with humans onward, God chose us. We are God’s. Jesus comes to live and teach among us, and even to die so that death’s power over human beings will be broken for us. We are God’s. So what do we give to God because we belong to God? Ourselves. Our devotion. Our hearts. Our worries. Our past foibles. Our current struggles. Anything that gets our focus off the one who loves us best. Give to God the things that are God’s. Give our whole selves and find God’s peace.
A prayer:
Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for wanting to live with us as your own people. Help us to remember to give to you what belongs to you – our lives and our gratitude for them. Bring us closer to you every day. Amen
