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Gospel: Mark 12: 13-17
Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent
to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him,
“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion.
You do not regard a person’s status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or should we not pay?”
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them,
“Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one to him and he said to them,
“Whose image and inscription is this?”
They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.”
They were utterly amazed at him.
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”
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The Pharisees knew how much the Jews hated paying taxes to Rome. They wanted their own land and government; they wanted to rule themselves; they had their own God to worship.
So, if Jesus tells the Jews it’s lawful to pay their taxes, then he’ll appear to be a friend of Rome and in clear opposition to the Jewish cause.
But if he tells the Jews not to pay their taxes, then he could be arrested for being an enemy of the state.
It’s a catch-22.
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“Bring me a denarius to look at,” Jesus says.
Where else will the Pharisees draw this coin from but their very own pockets? As much as they hate to admit it, they, too, pay their taxes.
“So, repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar,” Jesus says. But, “give to God what belongs to God.”
If we are to pay our fair share of taxes to the government – offering a percentage of our hard earned wealth – then what must we give to God?
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Our very selves.
In one of the first verses in the bible, God says, “Let us make man in our image and likeness.”
Every human being bears the image of God, not of Caesar. And if we bear God’s image, then we belong entirely to him.
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Pay your taxes.
But give your life to God.
What might that look like for me today?
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Image credits: (1) God the Father, Cima da Conegliano, The Courtauld (2) Denarius, Wikipedia (3) Sistine Chapel