Sermon on Matthew 22:15-22

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

This week’s Gospel continues yet again with another story about the religious leaders trying to trap Jesus into either discrediting or incriminating himself in the days between Palm Sunday and Good Friday.

We had Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday,

the cleansing of the Temple,

the religious leadersquestioning Jesus’ authority,

and, in response, Jesus’ inflammatory parables that we’ve been looking at for the past few weeks.

In this week’s reading, which immediately follows, the religious authorities sent their disciples to talk to Jesus instead of going to him themselves. And their disciples resorted to flattery to try to get Jesus off his guard.

Then, they sprang their trap: “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?”

Jesus could have said, “Yes, obey the law and pay your taxes.”

That doesn’t seem so bad, except that the Jewish people were occupied by the Roman Empire. They weren’t too happy about foreign occupation and high taxes. The taxes the Pharisees and Herodians were talking about here was a flat tax: one denarius (about a day’s wages) due for every person, which meant that the poorest people were the most burdened by these taxes. The people who had celebrated Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem would not have been happy if Jesus responded that they should pay these heavy taxes inflicted by a foreign power.

On the other hand, Jesus could have said, “Don’t pay taxes to these Roman oppressors!” But guess who wouldn’t have been happy about that: the Romans. That’s a real good way to get arrested.

Yet again, Jesus had been asked a question with no easy way out. But hewas a good rabbi who answered questions with questions. He asked to see one of the denarius coins that taxes would be paid with.

It’s worth noting that Jesus didn’t pull out a coin of his own—he probably didn’t have one. Instead, he made his opponents have to physically pull out one of the tax coins they were asking if it was okay to use.

Jesus then asked them, “Whose image is this?”

And they replied, “The emperor.”

Not only were these coins stamped with a picture of the emperor; they were also inscribed with the words “Tiberius Caesar, August Son of the Divine Augustus” and “Pontifex Maximus,” which means high priest. The coins stated that the emperor was the son of God and claimed divine authority.

To the Jewish people, this was blasphemy. It was a graven image—an idol—which was forbidden in the ten commandments. It was a graven image of someone who was definitely not God claiming to be God.

This question wasn’t just about taxes, money, or politics: it was about divine authority.

It was about how to live in occupied territory while staying true to God.

It was about what to do when your government’s orders don’t align with your religious beliefs.

This is still a pressing question: how to be true to your faith in God when your government doesn’t fully align with your religious beliefs.

For most if not all of us, there’s some degree of dissonance between our faith and politics, regardless of what party is in power.

In this election season, this is a particularly pressing difficulty as we cast our votes in these next few weeks.

This reading from Matthew feels timely, if a little perplexing.

Jesus didn’t give a straight answer to the Pharisees and Herodians. This was partly to avoid getting trapped by them. But it was also because there’s no easy answer for how to live in a society that doesn’t align with your faith.

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,

and to God the things that are God’s.”

So, give the coins that have the image of the emperor on them to the emperor when he requires them of you.

Jesus also said, give to God the things that are God’s.

But what has the image of God on it?

Listen to this from Genesis chapter 1:

‘Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image,

according to our likeness...

So God created humankind in his image,

    in the image of God he created them;

    male and female he created them.”’

This mighty emperor could have coins stamped with his image and inscribe a claim that he was divine,

But every human being bears the image of God.

The entirety of creation, in fact, has God’s fingerprints all over it.

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,

and to God the things that are God’s.”

God is not subject to earthly rulers, governments, or political parties.

No political party or government official will save us.

Jesus has already saved us and will bring about the fullness of the Reign of God at the end of time.

But that doesn’t mean we give up on trying to make our world and our country a better place.

But just as Jesus didn’t give an easy answer to the Pharisees and Herodians, there are no easy answers for how exactly we as Christians should participate in the political systems of our day.

But here’s one way to practice giving to God the things that are God’s:

As we vote in this election, use scripture as a guide. If you’ve already turned in your ballot, good for you! You can keep this in mind next time.

What are the parts of scripture you turn to when you have to make a decision? Let them ring in your ears as you consider who and what to vote for.

Perhaps the greatest commandments, which we’ll be reading next week: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’” and ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)

What decision puts God first?

What decision is most loving to my neighbor?

Or Micah 6:8: “what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?”

Where are justice and kindness and humility in these decisions?

Or when Jesus says in John 10:10: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

How does this decision support abundant life for everyone?

Or even Jesus’ words from today’s reading:

“Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,

and to God the things that are God’s.”

How does this decision honor the image of God in every person?

How does this decision recognize that everything was made by God and belongs to God?

It’s not simple to live for the Beloved Community in a world where it hasn’t become complete yet. We have difficult decisions to make.

Whatever you choose to do in the political sphere—vote, educate, protest, run for office, or any number of other actions—remember:

You are made in God’s image.

You live in a world that has God’s fingerprints all over it.

You share that world with billions of other people made in God’s image.

Honor that image of your Creator and entrust God with what is God’s.