Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,

and Render unto God what is God’s

As Jews and Christians, we believe everything belongs to God, so the joke is on the leaders hearing this story. Jesus dealt with this somewhat devilish event by turning it into a profound teaching opportunity, even though the elders were trying to ensnare Jesus in their trap.  

In truth, they wanted to be rid of Jesus of Nazareth. Their planning and scheming did not stop with this story. After failing to trick Jesus into heresy in this encounter, they tried three more times in succession to trap Jesus. All four of these stories touch on Torah’s teachings, and they all occur at the Temple.

So, I’ve italicized and color-coded specific words and phrases for our exploration. Jesus’ lines are in green, the elders’ lines are in red, and the purple text is neutral. 

Let’s take a look at this passage.

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 the emperor, 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, ‘The emperor’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’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. (Mt 22:15-22) 

Jesus, as a political theologian, teaches the importance of both nonsecular and civic duties

The Public Element

This event occurs in the outer Temple precincts. Consequently, there would be a lot of people walking about and probably many within earshot. I’m sure that for bystanders seeing these leaders take Jesus on, and knowing of Jesus’ wisdom and growing popularity, the stage was set for a verbal fencing match.

Notice the Pharisees sent their disciples to question Jesus.  The group included Herodians, who, some historians say, wanted to restore Herod the Great’s historic reign in some way. Herod the Great ruled Israel when Jesus was a baby, and he actually tried to have the infant Jesus slaughtered. The Herodians and Pharisees had doctrinal differences but seemed to want to present a “unified” front of Jewish elders.

The Honor-Shame Societal Rules Apply to this Story

For 21st century audiences, an invisible yet important subgame plays below the surface. Honor and shame held incredible influence over all aspects of life. When someone of higher social status, the one with higher status experiences shame. Conversely, when someone challenges another from higher status and gets proven wrong also suffers great cultural shame. This is called challenge-riposte, and we can see it operating between the lines of this passage. 

The Pharisaic disciples and Herodians commence the challenge with empty flattery in the public area of the Temple. They begin setting the trap:

‘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.’

They seek to show a superior knowledge of Torah. In a sense, they have set Jesus up as a peer or even someone of higher status, but they intend this elevation of status to be temporary. This means they must succeed at trapping him, or they will experience great shame. But Jesus is on to them from the start.

The elders begin by invoking the Passover Seder tradition where the “wise son” asks 

prescribed questions beginning with the phrase, “Is it lawful . . .?” 

Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?’

Subtly, the elders suggest their knowledge of Torah is superior to Jesus’ knowledge. Jesus unmistakably calls out their trickery by calling them, hypocrites. Not only does he avoid taking the bait, but instead, Jesus spring-loads their trap to snap back onto them!  

‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.’ 

Why does Jesus ask about whose head is on the coin? Because Jews had to pay a tribute tax in Roman coinage for every person in their household, including slaves. If Jesus says, “Yes, the Roman tax,” then the people will discredit Jesus as a collaborator with Rome.

Oops (in a big way)

The denarius had Caesar’s profile and the phrase, “Tiberius Caesar, August, son of divine Augustus,” stamped on it. Having an unholy Roman coin in the Temple was taboo, and the elders immediately suffered embarrassment when the people heard they brought it into the sacred Temple. The Pharisees would likely never do such a thing. Thus, a Herodian likely had the coin. By proving they had this profane coin likely created tension between the two Jewish factions as well.

Now the trap has been triggered and snaps shut on them as Jesus lands the famous command,

‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’

Many of us know this verse by heart through the King James Version, 

“Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God, what is God’s.

We can interpret Jesus’ response in three ways:

1.     Pay nothing to Caesar because everything belongs to God;
2.     Pay the tax because the emperor is God’s representative;
3.     Pay Caesar but recognize that his authority is relative, and loyalty to God takes precedence.

It’s about Tithes to God First and then Taxes to the Government

It seems Jesus elects for #3 above because paying the tax is not an endorsement of the Roman occupiers. This passage has usually been interpreted as justification for the “separation of church and state.” However, this text really addresses the need to attend to responsibilities, tithes, and taxes, and not just taxes. It’s about civics, but it’s equally about sacred duty. Notice how carefully Jesus shifted the emphasis of this question about Caesar back to God. 

Pick our Battles Wisely

Jesus knew that no single answer to this question was to suffice. In first-century Palestine, as today, we all must navigate our life while located between the spheres of government and our faith practice whatever it may be; it is a give-and-take relationship. Jesus knew that telling the people not to pay the tax would likely end up in Rome’s violence against occupied Israel. As in all things, we must pick our battles carefully.

There’s no Such Thing as Complete “Separation of Church and State”

Religion and politics cannot exist as completely separate from one another. “Separation of Church and State” is a concept, an ideal to which we aspire so that all can practice their faith without governmental interference.

To think so is a fallacy. There will always be variable overlap, especially within each person. 

In summary, let us not become ensnared with the idea that our civic duty carries more importance. We have two duties: to pay taxes to support a government that hopefully cares for society’s marginalized. The second involves our sacred duty to tithe and give to God what is God’s. According to our tradition, it’s all God’s anyway.

Blessings on your journey.