New Testament Theology and Ethics: 2 by Ben Witherington III

Author:Ben Witherington III [Witherington III, Ben]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2016-04-21T04:00:00+00:00

Rendering unto Caesar: Matthew 22:15-22

In Matthew 22:15-22 we have another episode in the ongoing road show “Stump the Sage.” The attempt is made once more to trap Jesus in his own words. The question raised here surely is a Judean one, since only Judea was directly ruled by Caesar by means of his infamous provincial governor Pontius Pilate. Since entrapment is the name of the game, the question asked must be seen as malicious, not a sincere attempt to find the truth. The question asked is whether it is permitted under Mosaic law to pay the census head tax to Caesar using one of Caesar’s coins, in this case the silver denarius. If Jesus simply said, “Yes, pay it,” he would be exposed as a traitor to the Jewish cause, at least in the minds of some Jews. If he simply said, “No, do not pay it,” he could be branded as a revolutionary who was guilty of treason or sedition.

Notice that Jesus has to ask for a denarius, which implies that he has none on his person. This fact might make a favorable impression on the crowd watching this minidrama. It is not clear from the context whether it was the Herodians or the Pharisees who had the coin (the former is more likely because they were open and official collaborators with Rome). This may mean that what Jesus’ saying implies is that if “they” were going to use Caesar’s money (and influence), then “they” had to pay the price. We must bear in mind that the emperor controlled the production of gold and silver coins in the empire. In the final analysis, they were quite literally his. What makes this discussion especially pointed and poignant is that the required poll tax rendered unto Caesar is what had sparked the revolution of Judas the Galilean in A.D. 6 (Josephus, J.W. 2.118). Thus, we are dealing with a loaded question here, and Jesus’ deft handling of it suggests that he is no Zealot revolutionary in the sense that Judas was. Jews had to use the Caesar coin to pay the tribute, and Jesus does not seem to oppose their doing so.

The most intriguing aspect of the discussion comes when Jesus asks whose image is on the coin and what the inscription says, knowing full well what the answer is. This possibly suggests that Jesus could not read Latin. During Jesus’ ministry Tiberius was the emperor, and the coin in question read “Tiberius Caesar, son of divine Augustus” on one side and “Pontifex Maximus” (high priest) on the other. In other words, the coin indicated that Caesar was the highest religious official in the empire. Jesus does not explicitly recognize this authority, but neither does he reject it, and to judge from Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-17, Paul and Peter did not interpret Jesus’ teachings on this matter to suggest a rejection of human governing authorities in general. Jesus did have issues with corrupt officials such as Herod Antipas, whom

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