City Life Starter

By Scott Fiddler

The Word: Mark 12:13-17

13        Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.

14        They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?

15        “Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.”

16        They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

17        And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

The Pharisees and Herodians represented two different approaches politically to the Roman occupation of Israel. The Pharisees believed an earthly savior, a king, would come through the line of David and deliver Israel from the Romans. The Herodians put their hope in the Herodian dynasty, the secular Jewish rulers of Israel who governed Israel but answered to Rome. Like our modern political parties in America, they both wanted what was best for their nation but differed in how that was best accomplished. They had different ideas about how to change their world.

The one thing the Pharisees and Herodians agreed upon was that Jesus was a threat to both of them. They saw Jesus making disciples and attracting a following and decided they needed to do something to undermine His ministry. They came up with what they no doubt thought was a plan that couldn’t fail. That question was about tax policy. If Jesus said the Jews should pay taxes to the Romans, He risked offending the majority of the Jewish population and they would no longer listen to HIm. If Jesus said they should not pay taxes to the Romans, He could be arrested for attempting to incite a rebellion and end up in a Roman jail. Either way, Jesus’ ministry and His ability to make disciples would be severely compromised.

Jesus, however, knew they were trying to trap him and His deft answer cleverly avoided the sound bite the Pharisees and Herodians hoped to use against Him, while at the same time preserving His ministry: Caesar’s image is on the denarius, but God’s image is on man; so Jesus said, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, but give to God what you owe to God, namely your life and your obedience.

They were amazed at Jesus’ answer because He refused to give them a soundbite they could use against Him. He didn’t literally say to pay taxes to Caesar, although that was the inference. Instead, He shifted the focus to what God required of them.

Jesus’ response is a lesson for all Christians. Jesus avoided damaging His influence with those He was trying to reach over a political argument. Jesus didn’t compromise His ability to make disciples over politics.  In the wake of the recent political controversy over the latest appointment to the Supreme Court, we would be wise to follow Jesus’ example.