15 Then the Pharisees left that place and made plans to trap Jesus in saying something wrong. 16 They sent some of their own followers and some people from the group called Herodians. They said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man and that you teach the truth about God’s way. You are not afraid of what other people think about you, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 So tell us what you think. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But knowing that these leaders were trying to trick him, Jesus said, “You hypocrites! Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me a coin used for paying the tax.” So the men showed him a coin. 20 Then Jesus asked, “Whose image and name are on the coin?”
21 The men answered, “Caesar’s.”
Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.”
22 When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.
Read Matthew 22:15-22 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Hidden within Jesus’ answer to one of the trap questions the Pharisees brought Him is a powerful truth that defined how Jesus worked. When the Pharisees try to trick Jesus with a tax question, Jesus responds by saying, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and give to God the things that are God’s.” (v. 21)
This was an answer that neither the Pharisees nor Herodians expected to hear, but neither group could argue with Jesus’ logic. The passage concludes by saying, “When the men heard what Jesus said, they were amazed and left him and went away.” (v. 22)
One of the best traps the Pharisees could think up leaves everyone present amazed at Jesus’ response – and I wonder if this might be because of what this response says about Jesus.
In the world we live in, there are those who fight against the government in order to bring about social change. In many ways this is good and we need people who are willing to do this.
However, when we look at Jesus’ response and specifically how He lived, we never see Jesus even imply anything that would be against the government. While Jesus acknowledges that He is a King, when asked to clarify, Jesus simply says that His kingdom is not a physical part of this world. Jesus never came to topple a government or to rally together a rebellion that would fight the system.
Jesus’ life and ministry is one that demonstrates how we are to live within the system and environments we are placed in. The government during Jesus’ era was about as corrupt and bureaucratic as one could get, but Jesus ministered and worked within it.
How Jesus responded in this event tells me that even if I disagree with anything and everything that is happening in the political arena, if I am to live and model Jesus as His disciple, I must focus on helping those who need help within my area of the world, and I should do so under the rules of the environment that I am living in.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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