“Caught in their own snares”
Written By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, December 4, 2021
Matthew 22:15-22 (Forward, p. 36) CEV p. 1012
Several times the psalms (for instance, in Psalm 35:7-8 and 141:10) speak of people setting traps or snares and then falling into them, being caught by them, themselves. In a sense, that is exactly what happened in today’s passage. An unlikely set of bedfellows, some Pharisees and some Herodians, have gotten together to plot Jesus’ downfall. Matthew’s account suggests that they wanted to see how they might simply trick Jesus into saying something wrong, while Luke is a little more explicit. He puts it this way: “Jesus’ enemies kept watching him closely because they wanted to hand him over to the Roman governor. So they sent some men who pretended to be good. But they were really spies trying to catch Jesus saying something wrong” (Luke 20:20).
The question that they put to Jesus was quite clever, quite demonic in fact, for it basically placed Jesus in a no-win situation. Taxes, in addition to being heavy and onerous in the first place and therefore hated for that reason, were also a symbol and outward expression of the hated Roman oppression. So, for the ordinary citizen, any approval of those taxes by Jesus would immediately put Him in their bad books and earn Him their violent displeasure. What an uncanny and stealthy way to undermine Jesus’ public approval ratings!
But, on the other side of the coin, if Jesus went along with the popular sentiment and counselled the non-payment of the taxes, then He would immediately be in trouble with the Roman authorities. He would be seen as a subversive and as a threat to the established order, and the Romans certainly knew very well how to deal with such people. Under their swift and repressive rule, even the slightest tinge, the slightest threat of dissent, was speedily dealt with, squashed decisively.
So, what was Jesus to do in the face of such a ‘loaded’ question? Well, as the psalmist suggests, He sprung their own trap upon them. Here, His opponents were, here in the Temple, pretending (only pretending) to be such loyal citizens and conscientious observers. So, knowing their duplicity, Jesus asks them to show Him ‘one of the coins used for paying the taxes’ (verse 19). By rights, seeing as this denarius bore the image of Caesar, who touted himself as a god, they should not have even had such a coin on their person while they were in the Temple precincts, in such holy ground. But Jesus knew human nature—and He knew them. He knew that they weren’t quite as holy or observant as they claimed to be.
So, when shown the coin, He asked them, “whose portrait and name is this?” Of course, trapped, they could be reply one thing, “Caesar’s”. Coinage, both then and now, was considered to belong ultimately to whatever governing authority had issued it. So, His reply is classic. “Then give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s”. The tribute money is his, so give it to him. End of story.
But, what are we to make of this? Some have taken it to imply that there are two water-tight compartments, state and church, if you put it that way. This concept would say that certain things and activities belong solely to the public realm of government and business and society are not to be influenced by the private world of faith and morals and such like. The two are to be kept totally separate. And furthermore, if the state orders certain things, then you are duty bound to obey, and obey without question—even if your faith or ethics or sense of justice and propriety suggest otherwise. After all, orders are orders.
The other ‘reading’ of Jesus’ words takes it to mean that while the state and the world ‘out there’ does have certain prerogatives and areas of influence and jurisdiction, these realms of influence are not absolute. God’s realm is more all-encompassing and includes the realm of Caesar, the realm of the state, and so God’s rule is sovereign even over it.
But then we are stuck with some all-important and rather tricky questions: How do we separate and honour the two realms, and how we deal with it when the boundaries are not clear or when they seem to collide? There are times and instances in the Bible when civil disobedience is referred to with some approval, but other times when obedience is enjoined, even when the ruler (such as Nero) might be anything but good. Unfortunately, the Bible is not always clear or explicit about such things and so we need to be guided by prayer and the Scriptures and the general counsel of the church throughout the ages. But perhaps best of all, to be guided by the practice and example of Jesus Himself. We can’t go very wrong with His sense of love, mercy and justice even in the face of official acts and rules, or with His exalted and practical common sense. Let us pray that we are true to His way, even when we can’t be absolutely sure just what that might be. Amen.
Forward notes: “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, ‘Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.’ And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, ‘Whose head is this, and whose title?’” (verses 18-20)
“I am often struck by the fact that Jesus rarely gives an answer to the questions people ask him. In fact, theologian Martin B. Copenhaver notes that while Jesus asks other people 307 questions, of the 183 questions he is asked, he only answers three of them. And sometimes, he responds to a question with a question (does that count twice?), a practice that infuriates the religious leaders.
“Some seasons, it feels like there are more questions than answers. We beg, plead, and pray to God. We grow further perplexed when our questions are answered by yet another set of questions. But perhaps in these verses we realize that we are not alone, not in the questions we ask nor in the questions we receive in response.”
MOVING FORWARD: “Have you ever felt like you have more questions than answers? Reach out to a friend and ask them the same questions, too.”
