15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. 16And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. 17Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
18But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? 19Show Me the tax money."
So they brought Him a denarius.
20And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"
21They said to Him, "Caesar's."
And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." 22When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
First of all, I’m surprised at their statement to Jesus that He does not care about anyone, that He does not regard the person of men. I wish Jesus had responded to that statement because that seems totally untrue to me. It is because He cares about everyone, because He has high regard for each person, that He is going through with this. He is going to suffer the penalty for everyone’s sins because he cares about everyone.
But Jesus does not respond to that statement directly. Instead, He responded to the question of whether or not it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. He knew that they were testing Him, that they were trying to entangle Him. For if He had said it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, He would have been in trouble with all those who oppose Caesar, and if He had said it was not lawful, He would have been in trouble with the Roman government. But Jesus’ answer to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s could satisfy both sides, and still be a just answer.
Giving to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s is an interesting piece of advice. It shows that Jesus knows we have many obligations. We have obligations to our government, our family, our work, etc. In giving to God what is God’s, Jesus does not expect us to ignore our other obligations as long as they do not conflict with what we need to give to God. Giving to God must come first.
I find it very interesting that this verse is right after the previous verse. There it talked of those who were invited to the wedding feast but made light of it and went to their farm or business. They were not worthy because they didn’t put the things of God first. But today’s text is saying that yes, you will have obligations to other things such as government, farm, and business, and you should give to those things that which is theirs, but make sure you first give to God what is God’s.
There are many aspects to our lives. We are to give our best to all. Participate in government in all ways that you are needed, take care of your family the best you can, do a great job in your work, but give your devotion to God. And maybe here is where Jesus is responding to the assertion that He doesn’t regard the person of men. He places no one in such high regard that it takes away from His devotion to God. Neither king, ruler, owner, boss, nor master can rule higher than God. But all these must be given the things which are theirs, as long as we give to God the things which are His.
I thought it was interesting that the Pharisees sent their disciples to test Jesus. They probably did this so it couldn’t easily be traced back to them, or maybe so Jesus wouldn’t recognize that it was the work of the Pharisees who were trying to destroy Jesus. But I think this plan backfired on the Pharisees. For in the end, they marveled and went their way. Were the Pharisees’ disciples so impressed with Jesus that they would wonder even more about Jesus and His teachings? Might the Pharisees lose these disciples to Jesus?