Isaiah:
45:1,4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21
Who
Is Caesar and Who Owns Him?
The three parables of the last three weeks were
directed to the Jewish leaders. In the parable of the two sons (Matt. 21:28-32),
26th Sunday, September 27, the Jewish leaders appear as the
unsatisfactory son who did not do his father’s will. In the parable of the wicked
tenants (Matt. 21:33-43), 27th Sunday, October 4th, the wicked tenants refuse
to pay the landowner’s rent. In the parable of the king’s feast (Matt. 22:1-14),
28th Sunday, October 11th, the condemned guests are the ones who
refuse to attend. Today, the Jewish leaders launched their counterattacks at
Jesus with carefully formulated questions in the full view of the crowd to make
Jesus discredit himself by his own words in the presence of the people. Their question
was subtle, designed to put Jesus in a dilemma. Palestine was an occupied
country, and the Jews were subject to the Roman Empire; and the question was,
“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
The factions that confronted Jesus are worth noting.
The Pharisees together with Herodian sympathizers. These two were in bitter opposition.
The Pharisees were supremely orthodox and resented paying tax to a foreign king
as an infringement on God’s divine right. The Herodians, on the other hand,
were Herod’s party, the king of Galilee, who owed his power to the Romans and worked
hand in glove with them. These two were strange bedfellows; for the moment,
they forgot their differences in a shared hatred of Jesus and a shared desire
to eliminate him. Any man who insists on his own way, no matter what it is,
will hate Jesus. This is a trap because if Jesus says yes, he will alienate many
people, including the Pharisees, who resented Rome’s sovereignty. But if he says
no, he will alienate the Herodians, who were fiercely loyal to Rome. In this
case, Roman soldiers could also arrest him for fomenting rebellion.
Jesus outwits them with his answer. He asked for a denarius
stamped with the emperor’s head. That coinage was considered the property of
the king whose image it bore. He asked whose image was on the coin. They answered that Caesar’s head was on it. “Well then”, he said, “give it back to Caesar;
it is his. Give to Caesar what belongs to him; and give to God what belongs to God.”
Jesus befuddled them with his answer. Instead of laying down rules and
regulations on taxation, he lays down principles. Every Christian has a double
citizenship. He is a citizen of the country in which he lives and a citizen of
heaven. A country owes its citizens core foundational duties under the social
contract, centered on protection, the rule of law, and public welfare. The government
must protect the citizens from violence (crime, disorder) and external threats,
such as foreign aggression, through military, police, and legal systems. It
must establish and enforce fair laws, maintain courts for due process and
dispute resolution, and treat citizens equally under the law. Finally, States
are to promote general welfare by managing crises such as public health
emergencies, regulating dangerous or toxic industries, and building public
infrastructure like roads, schools, and health services. Under constitutional and
democratic frameworks, a country must respect, recognize, and actively uphold its
people’s fundamental rights and liberties, such as freedom of speech, movement,
and due process. Citizens, in turn, fund these duties through contributions such
as taxes in exchange for the security, stability, and civic framework the state
provides. Christians are people of honor; therefore, they must be responsible
citizens. Failure in good citizenship is also a failure in Christian duty. They
owe Caesar a duty in return for the privileges Caesar’s rule brings them.
Christians must participate in their country’s government. Because “When
the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule,
the people mourn.” (Proverbs 29:2)
In the first reading, God directed a pagan king Cyrus
to liberate his people from Babylonian exile and return them to their homeland
in Jerusalem. God called him “his anointed,” meaning mashiach, from which our
English “Messiah” comes. God calls Cyrus his messiah, a title otherwise given
only to someone in Israel, usually the king, or, in later Judaism, to the end-time
figure who would usher in the messianic age. God directs all Cyrus’s
operations. He even arms him, “Though you know me not.” The
reason is that “I am the Lord and there is no other, there is no God
besides me.” Whatever happens, at any time, at any place, happens under
God’s control. Jesus knew this; he knew that, while Israel was the chosen people,
the others did not act independently of God. Everything comes from that God; in
its own way, everyone belongs to that God. Nothing exists that is not his. So,
Jesus is really saying to his opponents, ‘You can give that coin to Caesar and
still be giving it to God.’ For even Caesar belongs to God. God created him,
and like King Cyrus, God made him who he is. He belongs to God, though he may not
know it. Christians therefore have dual citizenship. A real Christian is at one
and the same time a good citizen of his country and a good citizen of the kingdom
of Heaven. He will fail in his duty to neither God nor man. As Peter said, he
must “Fear God and honor the emperor” (Peter 2:17).
Rev.
Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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