I subscribe to a daily Biblical email of the day from a military chaplain. In one of his reflections on a relevant passage, he asks, "Have you fully paid your taxes? If not, why not?"
This set me off. Now personally, I'm squeaky clean when it comes to paying my assessed tax obligation although I'm morally opposed to most spending. What pisses me off isn't so much the presumptuousness of his question, but he has totally quoted Jesus our of context.
I want to encourage readers to read this splendid little post, some of which is paraphrased below. I want to emphasize a few points:
- Jesus knows His opponent think they have Him trapped: if He agrees Roman taxes are just, the people will see Him as one of Caesar's minions, and He loses His followers. If He disagrees, His enemies turn Him in to the Romans as an insurrectionist.
- He never answers the original question, which simply calls for a 'yes' or 'no'. He says "give to Caesar's what is Caesar's"; He does not define what is Caesar's, he does not imply the taxes Caesar demands are just.
- He is explicitly contrasting Caesar and God, and it's an unfavorable one for Caesar. God is owed EVERYTHING, Caesar NOTHING. Who do you trust?
- People completely misread/misunderstand Jesus's counter-question (whose image, inscription is on this coin?) Keep in mind Caesar claimed to be a god. Recall in the Ten Commandments, which God Himself inscribed, God says you should honor no other god or take any graven image.
- In fact, Jesus has turned the tables on the Pharisee troublemakers. At least one of them has a denarius. The unspoken message is, why do you hold on your person the image of a false god? What happened to the Commandments? You have already compromised your fidelity with God, you hypocrite! Who are you to put me to the test? Better for you to throw away your possession of a graven image before God stands in judgment!
