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The Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
Almighty and everlasting God, who in Christ hast revealed thy glory among the nations: Preserve the works of thy mercy, that thy Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of thy Name; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 24)
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The Eighteenth Sunday After Pentecost
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Scripture citation(s): Matthew 22:15-22
A Sermon by
Fr. Mead
on
Matthew 22:15-22
✛
Caesar's Image and God's Image
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In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Today’s Gospel episode is the first of series of attempts by Jesus’ adversaries to trap him in his words. The time, in Saint Matthew’s narrative, is between Palm Sunday and Jesus’ crucifixion. Today’s trap was prepared by the Pharisees and the Herodians who took counsel together. These adversaries formed an unstable alliance, united only by their opposition to Jesus.
The Pharisees were strict and particular orthodox Jews. On some major points, Jesus shared their orthodoxy; for example, concerning the resurrection of the dead. But he criticized their legalistic spirit which appeared to “major in the minors,” picking nits and ignoring the weightier matters of justice and mercy. By contrast to the Pharisees, we know next to nothing about the Herodians, except that they supported the puppet monarchy of Herod the Great and his sons. This meant collaboration with the Roman occupiers of Palestine and support for the Temple in Jerusalem, which Herod the Great had enlarged.
And so these two groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, whose religious politics were very different, came up with today’s question for Jesus concerning the payment of taxes to Caesar. They begin with flattery, saying they know Jesus is no respecter of persons but teaches the way of God in truth. “Tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not?”
Here is the trap. “Yes” would satisfy Herodians and Romans but would alienate many Jews, including religious Pharisees and political Zealots who saw support for the Romans as intolerable. If Jesus said “No,” he would satisfy those Pharisees and Zealots but would be in trouble with the Roman authorities and their allies, such as the Herodians. [1]
Jesus perceived their malice. They were not seeking truth; they were tempting him. “Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute money.” His response, which is direct and brilliant in its simplicity, focuses on the Roman denarius (not a modern penny), which was a day’s wage and had an image of Caesar, perhaps at this time the image of Tiberius, the current emperor. The superscription would have said, “Tiberius Caesar, august son of the divine Augustus, high priest.” [2] “Whose is this image and superscription?” Jesus asks. “Caesar’s,” they reply. “Render therefore unto Caesar the things are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. When they heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.”
Caesar’s image on the coin showed that the currency, the economy, the rule of imperial law, the roads, the aqueducts, the army and police, in a word the Pax Romana, were embodied in the tribute, the taxes. The State is always based on coercion, whether it is imperial or democratic. In fact Christ here implies that like it or not, his followers are citizens of the State. And while at times the State can become corrupt or even monstrous (as did Rome), it is still God’s instrument against anarchy; thus Christians are called to be good citizens. For all of our problems and complaining about them in the United States, whether we are Republicans or Democrats or whatever, we are in fact greatly blessed in our institutions which are designed to protect liberty and to promote justice. Followers of Christ, whatever their political leanings, are called to be our republic’s best citizens.
But let us return to the Gospel. “Whose is this image and superscription?” asked Jesus. On the coin, it was Caesar’s. But Jesus went on to say that, after rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, we are to render unto God the things that are God’s. Part of rendering unto God what is God’s means, yes, being a good citizen in all things lawful and honest. But it goes much deeper and further than that, as Christ’s use of the word, image, suggests.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female he created them.” (Gen 1:27) What does it mean, asks the Prayer Book Catechism, to be created in the image of God? “It means that we are free to make choices: to love, to create, to reason, and to live in harmony with creation and with God.” [3] This is a different realm; we are dual citizens, of this world and of God’s kingdom. Caesar’s realm is based, one way or another, on coercion. Caesar’s laws are enforced. God’s kingdom is served by free spirits, angels and mortals, who have been given a measure of their Creator’s graces, his image, in the capacity to choose, to love and to make a sincere gift of one’s self, to create, to live in peace and harmony with others and with the Lord. Love is not coerced; it is a gift freely chosen.
Nowhere is this divine image more clearly seen than in Jesus Christ himself. Unmarred by the sin that has overcome us, our Lord exhibits freedom, love, graciousness, creativity, power and peace as does no one else. Jesus constantly referred to himself as the Son of man. One thing this means for sure is that Jesus Christ is the One, True, Human Being. His conflicts with the religious leaders stem from his witness, out of love, to the truth. His perfection formed a target for the arrows of their animosity. After today’s conflict, Jesus was more admired when they were finished tempting him than when they began. But he was in far more danger, because those enemies marveled only that he had broken the snare they had set for him – they were not interested in his truthfulness. They wanted to destroy him, because his perfection threatened them. Paradoxically, the more Christ revealed of himself to them, the closer it brought him to his crucifixion. And there, at last, the true image of God shines forth for all to see. Far from threatening, it attracts faith. In Jesus’ own words, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” (Jn 12:32) He had completely rendered unto God the things that are God’s.
In the Name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost. Amen.
[1] Leon Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew, p. 556.
[2] Daniel Harrington, SJ, The Gospel of Matthew, Sacra Pagina series, p. 310.
[3] The Book of Common Prayer (1979), p. 845
