Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:15-22)
The Pharisees were constantly trying to back Jesus into a corner. Their intent was to find fault with him so they could arrest him and kill him. They gave him this question, knowing it was a lose-lose situation for him. If he answered that it was lawful to pay Roman taxes, the Jewish people would turn against him and Roman authorities could arrest him without fear of what the crowds would do. If he answered that it was not lawful, the Romans could put him to death for speaking against Roman authority.
But Jesus knew better. Immediately, he called out their hypocrisy and brought them back to what actually mattered. They were trying to use the law as a way to trap Jesus, but his answer showed that what they were caught up in didn’t even matter. His answer drew attention to the fact that God was bigger than their laws and his authority is over everything.
We may not be Pharisees trying to trap Jesus by our questions, but at times, we’re not very different from them. It’s easy for us to be caught up in what we know and see, what we think is right, and what we determine is just. But this interaction is an important reminder to us that what we think matters most is often not what Jesus says actually matters. It’s another event in the last week of his life that shows us his entire purpose was to make a way for people to have a relationship with God. When we become fixated on the details of our lives and consumed by what we’ve decided is fair or just, we need to remember the bigger picture—God is the ultimate authority over all things and our relationship with him is what matters most.
