TO CEASAR WHAT IS CEASAR'S AND TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S

Matt 22:15-21

A Priest was once asked how he divided with God the money he collected during his church services. “That’s easy, he said. I just throw the money I collected upward. That which goes upward belongs to God. That which goes downward belongs to me.” If we follow the law of gravity, we know that the thing we throw upward will not go upward, it will go down.

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." For some politicians and rulers this verse ranks among the most popular verses in the Bible. They will confidently tell you: Didn't the Bible say to give to Caesar what is Caesar's; meaning the whole sphere of civil, economic and social affairs and to God what is God's; meaning the sphere of spiritual affairs? According to this interpretation, human affairs are divided into two areas: the spiritual side which belongs to God and God's ministers, and the secular side which belongs to civil authorities. Does Jesus really teach this kind of dualistic view of human existence?

To understand the full significance of this saying of Jesus we need to consider it in relation to the context in which Jesus said it originally. First of all, we know that the Pharisees are not being honest. They are not looking for the answer to a question. They are looking for a way to get rid of this trouble making Nazarene named Jesus. They wanted to entrap him in what he might say. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying: Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" For the Pharisees, if Jesus says YES, the people would reject Him because the Jews hated their foreign rulers and despised paying taxes to Caesar. For the Jews, it is an insult to their religion and a blasphemy against God because they held that only Yahweh is their King. Their nation was a theocracy and to pay taxes to an earthly king was to admit the validity of his kingship and thereby to insult God. On the other hand, if Jesus says NO, the Pharisees would report Him to the Roman government as a revolutionary person or a political troublemaker. The Roman government would then arrest Him and put Him into prison. 

As He does so often in the Scriptures, our Lord leaves His opponents and attackers shocked by His responses. He masterfully recognizes their bad faith, while teaching the truth that they need to hear. Jesus avoided the trap and taught a very important teaching by saying: “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

What do these popular words of Jesus mean? There is an interesting shift in Jesus' answer that could point us in the direction of the significance of the saying. The question was whether one should give tribute to Caesar. But Jesus' answer spoke of giving back, paying back, as if one already owed something. Instead of answering the direct question, Jesus raises the question to another level, that of the principle of justice as "giving back to everyone what is their due." Jesus seems to be saying that the only binding obligation is that of justice, that of giving back to every person what is due to them. Serving God is basically a matter of justice? If God has given us all that we are and have, then we are bound in justice to give back to God some gratitude, loyalty, and service.

This passage also invites us to ask ourselves: To what, or to whom do I give my loyalty? In other words, have I not created other Gods to whom I give loyalty in my life? Maybe my job, my will, and my personal efforts? I want to be respected, I want to be happy, I want to feel wanted and needed. Remember, you will always need more if you don’t have God.

It is a call to stop a bit and think. Who is my God? To whom or to what do I give my heart, my needs, my emptiness, my will? The greatest enemy of commitment in Christian life is convenient. In our society today gospel values are being removed in order to uphold what is profitable and convenient. When values are gone, then anything is possible. If you remove God from the picture, then even the frame collapses. If you remove God from your heart, from your family, from the nation and from the world, then there will be chaos, disorder and confusion. At this point, let us all ask ourselves: Who is my God? To whom do I give my loyalty?