Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22

Mat 22:15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. Mat 22:16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians (people that believed in King Herod), saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. Mat 22:17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"

Caesar's coin Circa 33AD

It was not likely that there was much if any money amongst the Disciples and Jesus. Why the question then? The Pharisees and Herodians  started with ,“ we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any”. They were flattering words but from the LANTC¹ I states: The Pharisees were against these taxes on religious grounds; the Herodians supported taxation on political grounds. Thus, either a yes or a no could get Jesus into trouble. If Jesus agreed that it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, the Pharisees would say he was opposed to God, and the people would turn against him. If Jesus said the taxes should not be paid, the Herodians could hand him over to Herod on the charge of rebellion.

We are instructed to obey man’s law if it does not violate God’s law. Rom_13:1-7; 1Ti_2:1-6; 1Pe_2:13-17).

 Mat 22:18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? Mat 22:19 “Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius. Mat 22:20 And He *said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" Mat 22:21 They *said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He *said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's." Mat 22:22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

Romans had the rights to control Judea with their laws and taxes but your soul belongs to God. As William Wallace said: Aye, fight and you may die. Run, and you'll live... at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin' to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they'll never take... OUR FREEDOM! From the movie Braveheart

It should always be remembered that Christians are persecuted, scoffed at, and ridiculed but your soul is what you protect from temptation.

 

ASTERISKS are used to mark verbs that are historical presents in the Greek which have been translated with an English past tense in order to conform to modern usage.  The translators recognized that in some contexts the present tense seems more unexpected and unjustified to the English reader than a past tense would have been.  But Greek authors frequently used the present tense for the sake of heightened vividness, thereby transporting their readers in imagination to the actual scene at the time of occurrence. However, the translators felt that it would be wise to change these historical presents to English past tenses.