Flashback Episode — God vs. Paying Taxes: Luke 20:20-26

One thing we discover about the early portion of the week Jesus was crucified is that similar to much of the earlier part of Jesus’ ministry, we see religious leaders trying to trick and trap Him with what He said and did. However, it appears as though during the week leading up to the cross, the religious leaders intensified their efforts. Perhaps this was because Jesus had chased out the commerce and the money changing that was taking place, and this felt like a direct attack on the priests and their way of doing business as a church.

In my own mind, one of the more tricky challenges these leaders came up with was a trap that related to money, and something that most everyone hated back then. Times haven’t changed much since then in regards to this particular money topic, and most people dislike, but tolerate, this particular subject.

For this episode and our passage, we are talking about taxes, and while most of us probably dislike paying taxes, there was probably a greater dislike of it when Jesus lived.

While several gospels include this event, for this episode, we will be focusing on Luke’s gospel. This event is found in the gospel of Luke, chapter 20, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 20, Luke tells us that the religious leaders:

²⁰ [So they] watched Jesus and sent some spies who acted as if they were sincere. They wanted to trap Jesus in saying something wrong so they could hand him over to the authority and power of the governor. ²¹ So the spies asked Jesus, “Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is true. You pay no attention to who people are, and you always teach the truth about God’s way. ²² Tell us, is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Before continuing our passage to see how Jesus responds, it is worth pausing for a moment to analyze this trap. The trap these leaders bring to Jesus is brilliant, because on the surface, there is no easy way for Jesus to win.

If Jesus had sided with the people and with the popular opinion that resented paying taxes, He would have gained popularity among the people, while also putting a target on His head from the government. The trap in this case wasn’t that Rome would kill Jesus, but that they would imprison Him, keeping Him from facing the cross at the appointed time.

While the Roman governor could have executed Jesus on the spot to set an example regarding paying taxes, this sort of death wouldn’t have brought honor to God. God would not come out as a winner if Jesus had pressed against paying taxes as an issue.

On an equally challenging alternate answer, Jesus could have simply stated that paying taxes was the right thing to do, but then He would lose credibility with the people and with the Jews He was trying to reach. While Jesus didn’t do or say anything for the sake of growing a crowd of followers, Jesus did speak for God, and if He were to come out and say that taxes should be paid to Caesar, then it would be like Jesus was telling God’s people to pay allegiance to an empire and religion that was opposed to God.

A response supporting taxes would subtly speak against putting God first – and this challenge would taint Jesus’ influence and God’s character.

With two ways to lose and no good way to win, let’s read how Jesus responds to this trap in an unexpected and brilliant way.

Picking back up in verse 23:

²³ But Jesus, knowing they were trying to trick him, said, ²⁴ “Show me a coin. Whose image and name are on it?”

They said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵ Jesus said to them, “Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶ So they were not able to trap Jesus in anything he said in the presence of the people. And being amazed at his answer, they became silent.

We’ll stop reading here because Jesus’ answer is so powerful and profound that I don’t want you to miss it.

First off, Jesus knows who is trying to trick Him and the trap they are trying to use, so instead of bringing the emperor into the discussion personally, He asks them a counter question so that those challenging Jesus would bring the emperor Caesar into the discussion, instead of Him.

While the Jewish people hated the Roman Empire and all it stood for, by shifting the focus away from the Empire as a whole, Jesus sets the stage for a one-to-one comparison. Instead of comparing Rome, which appeared to stand for everything opposed to the Jewish way of life, with God, Jesus shifts the comparison to a person, Caesar, and while most Jews did not like Caesar any more than Rome, Caesar was someone who most Jews had never met – and this detail was able to work in Jesus’ advantage.

The other benefit of Jesus’ counter question is that it brought money into the discussion in a tangible way. With a coin present, Jesus was able to draw the focus onto Caesar being the owner of Rome’s currency, and this allowed for Him to answer the taxation question in a way that really didn’t answer the question.

When Jesus responds by saying to give to Caesar what belonged to him, this challenged even those who supported the taxation, because Jesus’ statement suggests returning all of Caesar’s money to him. This is like a 100% taxation, which no-one but the cruelest dictator who doesn’t understand economics would do.

The first portion of Jesus’ answer caught both those who opposed taxes and those who supported taxes off guard, but Jesus finishes by easing the minds of those who might begin to think that Jesus was placing a human ruler who claimed to be a god above God.

Jesus’ response is perfect because it takes the focus off of self and focuses it on giving. We give earthly respect and honor to the earthly governments we live in, but we give to God what He owns – and He owns our lives. We know this is true because He has loaned us breath, and when our lives are over, our breath returns to Him. Without God’s breath, we are dust blowing in the wind.

Jesus responds to this challenge by telling those present to give Caesar what was his, specifically the Roman currency present throughout the empire, and to give God what is His, which is our life, our focus, and our allegiance.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and place Him first in your life. Be sure to live within the structure of the world He has placed you in while staying allied and obedient to Him.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, pray and study the Bible for yourself to learn and grow your relationship with God even further. When you determine to focus on learning from God personally, you will be amazed at what He will teach you through His word.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, give up on, or chicken out of where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!