To Caesar what is Caesar’s… They say many frequently as a way of expressing a certain need for balance regarding a specific topic. However, many do not know that this popular expression arose for the first time from the mouth of Jesus; in a rather controversial situation in which he and the Pharisees were debating the civil obligations of his people (the Jews) before the Romans.
According to the sacred scriptures, this response of Jesus provoked great admiration and respect; so impressed were his contenders, that they gave up trying to prove it with questions of words and arguments for a while.
It is an event that we find related in three of the four gospels; the discussion about whether or not to pay taxes to the Roman state was something temporary at that time. Something that could well be of little relevance in our time, but at that time; it implied that Jesus and his followers were placed on one of two diametrically opposed camps.
The controversy according to the scriptures begins like this:
“Then the Pharisees went away and consulted how to surprise him in some word. And they sent their disciples to him along with the herodians, saying:
– Master, we know that you are a lover of the truth and that you truly teach the way of God, and you do not take care of anyone, because you do not look at the appearance of men. So tell us what you think: Is allowed to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” Matthew 22:15-17
To Caesar what is Caesar’s…
The main aspect to consider in order to understand the impact of these words of Jesus on his audience is to understand that Jesus was a Jew, and all the Jews as well as their cities, holy places, and fortified sites remained under the rule of the Roman Empire; who as a gesture of goodwill had allowed them to preserve their customs, religion and a good part of their laws and system of government.
The Jews had a very complex legal and religious system, which trying to abolish by the Romans would cause an unnecessary war… therefore, cultural and religious domination was not a priority for Rome as it was the economic domination. So even though there were all kinds of disagreements between the Jews and the Romans, while the former will pay tribute (in Roman currency) to the latter, all was well.
The Promise of a Deliverer
Yet the Jews eagerly awaited the manifestation of a deliverer, a prophesied messiah (anointed one); that although he was right under their noses in the person of Jesus, they were not able to recognize. They expected a man who would come to give them freedom from Roman rule. And that not only that, but that he undertake great campaigns of conquest over other nations; which would lead them to recover all the territory that God had promised him.
The Jews expected a man of the stature of David (as the prophecy says, he would be called “son of David”) or of the stature of Joshua who was capable of introducing them to the promised land and conquering a large part of Canaan. A man with these interests; he would never place himself on the Roman side, before he should show himself with a hostile attitude before the imperial domination; but Jesus was not that kind of leader…
He seemed to focus on showing what the official Jewish religion was doing wrong… And on announcing the kingdom of God in a totally different way than what had been heard so far.
Are you with the Jews or with the Romans?…
This was the question that was basically on the table with the question asked to Jesus about the tribute to Caesar. Jesus had never been concerned about the Roman occupation, and although his countrymen knew that he was a Jew, his lack of opposition to the Romans made him look like a traitor to his homeland, on the contrary; if he stated that he did not agree to pay the tax that every Jewish citizen owed to the empire; he would be in open opposition and rebellion against Rome.
The latter was certainly quite convenient for Jesus’ adversaries, since it would force the Romans to get rid of him. As a precaution against the possibility of uprising.
So the question about the tribute in short was nothing more than force Jesus to assume a position radical. “You do not agree with the tributes” you are a nationalist looking for the opportunity to rise up against those who oppress and dominate us (that is, the Romans).
Or, “you agree to the taxes”; you are a traitor to the homeland, one more that is only looking out for his own benefit. And to see that he gets out of the sad situation of domination of his own people, not very different from the family of herods; nor of the tax collectors of that time.
Another important aspect to highlight was the religious perspective of both peoples…
The Religious Disagreement
The differences between the Romans and Jews on a religious level were at the very least quite disproportionate…
The Jews were monotheists worshipers of one true God, who was the epicenter of all their culture and religious life. There were therefore different types of sacrifices and days of celebration all related to something that the God “Jehovah” had done in the past; facts like the crossing of the red sea. Or the day that the angel of death in Egypt spared the lives of the firstborn of the Hebrews and not so with the Egyptians, they were cause for celebration.
However, the Romans saw the religious universe totally different… They were polytheists, and they worshiped many gods, as required by their daily human activities. There was therefore a god of fertility, one of navigators, one of war… A god for every occasion and an occasion for every god… there were also demigods among whom were “the emperors” which according to Roman culture were worthy of veneration and adoration, since many of them proclaimed themselves gods.
So for the Jewish people; Roman domination represented in a certain sense the constant risk of accepting their cultures and customs. According to which the “Caesar was god” and should be revered and adored as such.
Each thing in its place…
But Jesus, knowing their malice, said to them:
Why do you tempt me, you hypocrites? Show me the tribute coin.
They brought him a denarius. Then he asked them:
–Whose is this image and inscription? Matthew 22:18-20
Currency is the basis of exchange in a country’s economy. And what Jesus with this question is showing them is that they “They had already been dominated”; that is, they were not in a situation that would allow them to demand or aspire to liberties beyond those they enjoyed, the economic system of the Roman Empire had assumed; which it’s it had nothing to do with worshiping their God.
The biblical text goes on to say:
They told him: Caesar’s.
And he said to them: Render therefore to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. Matthew 22:21
With this answer Jesus makes it clear that his kingdom is not based on taking by force what does not belong to him; that if the tribute coins belong to the emperor, the tributes must be paid to the emperor.
And to God (Jehovah) is the worship and worship of him as a Jew.
Jesus shows that all established authority in one way or another has been instituted by God; and that the existing circumstances, whether favorable or not. By God they have been allowed with a purpose… Institutions must be respected and civil duties fulfilled; since not only both things have been allowed by God; but also God himself (in the person of Jesus Christ) respect them.
To the emperor belong the tributes (taxes) and the currency but to God belongs the adoration and total and full veneration.
To Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.
If you liked this article, do not stop reading; The Parable of the Talents – A Call to the Diligence of Today’s Believer.