Mark
12:13-17 (NIV)
Later
they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his
words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of
integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they
are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to
pay the imperial tax[b] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked.
“Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he
asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they
replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to
God what is God’s.” And they were amazed at him.
What are the politics of
Jesus? That is what the questioners want to know. They are bring out a specific
and particular hot button political issue to smoke Jesus out. If you have been
in church for a while then you might already know that the Pharisees and
Sadducees where theological opponents. In this passage the questions come from
the Pharisees and the Herodias who differed in the political spectrum. The
Herodias were supporters of Roman rule while the Pharisees where not. However
they both want to know what side Jesus takes on this political issue. Jesus
what is you political persuasion? Jesus what party are you a member of?
It is important to
understand the background to really get at the question that is being asked. The
question being asked is not about taxes in general. It is a particular tax. We
see this when Jesus asked for a denarius. There were lots of taxes but there
was one particular tax called the head tax.[1]
The head tax was an annual tax of one denarius. It was a tax for the privilege
of being a subject of Caesar.
The head tax was put in
place years before this moment in Mark 12. When the tax was put in place it
caused a revolt. A man named Judas the Galilean[2]
led a revolt against the head tax and Roman rule. He called on all Jews to not
pay the head tax. He gathered up some men armed with swords and spears and
cleansed the temple. He threw out all the foreigners, Gentiles and Romans. Then
he told the Jews that God not Caesar was King. Judas wanted to end injustice
and oppression and usher in the Kingdom of God. Eventually he was caught and
executed by the Romans. Now, years later, Jesus has been talking about the
Kingdom of God. Jesus has also just cleansed the temple. So now this question
comes to Jesus. There is one thing missing. . . Jesus what do you think of the
head tax?
What they are asking Jesus
is – are you a revolutionary? Jesus you have cleansed the temple and you talk about the
Kingdom of God so what do you think about the head tax? On the one hand if
Jesus says – No don’t pay the tax then he is calling for an armed revolt. He
will not just be in trouble he will be crushed by the authorities. On the other
hand if Jesus says yes pay the tax then everybody who has heard him speaking
about the Kingdom of God will know that he has been blowing smoke.
When we read the Bible we see
it thought our modern day eyes. We have been educated to think of the Kingdom
of God as spiritualized thing. From this perspective Jesus’ teaching about the
Kingdom of God means that God lives within my heart and brings me inner peace. In
our modern times religion is okay but it is a private thing. Religion is
private spiritual matter that needs to be kept to yourself. Well in most
cultures over most centuries people didn’t think like that. They figured that your
religion had to do with all aspects of your life. One’s theology affected
everything in daily living. When Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God he is not
talking about spiritual inner peace. The Bible tells us that the Kingdom of God
came to deal with real poverty, real injustice, real suffering and real hunger.
In Jesus’ first sermon in Luke 4 Jesus quotes a passage from Isaiah that talks
about the Kingdom of God. He says “The
Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery
of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favor.” The phrase “The year of the Lord’s
favor” is Biblical talk for the things that happen when God establishes
his reign on earth as it is in heaven (The Kingdom of God).
If Jesus says yes, pay the
tax, then the Kingdom of God is nothing more than some spiritual thing to bring
you inner peace and a happy life and the people will walk away. If he says no
he will be crushed by the authorities. They are essentially asking Jesus “Are
you a revolutionary bring the Kingdom of God?” Notice they ask Jesus the
question twice and the second time they end with should we or shouldn’t we.
They want a yes or no answer. One side or the other Jesus. This party or that
party Jesus. What political camp are you in Jesus? Jesus does not give them a
nice simple yes or no answer. He rejects that kind of political simplicity.
This tells me that we must not to do Jesus what he would not do to himself.
Followers of Jesus must be
careful to not suggest that this political party or that specific political
program or this particular political platform is Jesus. Jesus rejects the
notion that all real smart and right-thinking Bible-believing Christians would
only vote for this person or that program or this platform. Jesus wouldn’t do
that why would we do that for him? Jesus resists being put into a box and we
should not do that to him either.
Jesus asks for a denarius. A
Denarius had a picture of Tiberius Caesar on one side and on the other it had
an inscription. The inscription read Tiberius Caesar Son of the God of
Augustus, priest and King. So Jesus holds up a coin that says Son of God,
Priest and King. Jesus asks who imagine is on the coin? They say Caesar. Then,
Jesus says, give to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things
that are God’s. Give Caesar the thing that has his image on it. It is his coin
so give it to him but give to God what has his image on it – which is you and
me! Give Caesar that which is his but don’t give him your ultimate allegiance
because you were made in God’s image not Caesar’s. You may give to Caesar some
of what he wants, which is his money, but you can’t give to Caesar what he
ultimately wants which is for you to completely accept his system of injustice,
coercion and exclusion. Jesus does not give a yes or a no. No don’t pay and
revolt or yes pay and be nice tax paying patriotic citizens. Jesus does neither
of these.
Jesus was saying neither
acceptance of the system nor straightforward political revolt. Yes, Jesus is
saying a revolution is happening and the temple will be cleansed but not in the
way you thought. Jesus is not saying just be a good citizen and pay the taxes.
Jesus is saying I am a revolutionary but not the kind you have ever seen
before.
There were two groups that
were not paying their taxes in Jesus day and time. One group was called the
Essenes. The way that they dealt with the social problems of their day was to
just drop out. They went out into the desert and lived in their own little
world. They didn’t want to be part of system by paying their taxes. They wanted
out. There way of dealing with injustice, oppression, and social ills was to
not deal at all. To that kind of a program Jesus says no. You must render unto
Caesar. He does not allow his followers to opt out of the system and become
unpolitical and say they have nothing to do with the system. He will not allow
that.
The other group was the Zealots.
The Zealots wanted a revolt and Jesus is clearly not going that direction
either. So you can’t drop out and you can’t think that only politics or voting
for the right people or right things will fix anything.
The coin that Jesus asked to
see gives us two claims. Both say I am King, Son of God and High priest. But
look at how different they are. One King has all the coins in the world. One
King has to ask for a coin because he has given all of his away. When Jesus
says I am the King and I am bring the Kingdom of God he is not saying I am a
better Caesar and will replace Caesar. He is saying I am a King without any
money. Jesus is redefining what Kingship looks like as well as offering a
different kind of revolt. Jesus is revolting agaist revolts.
In Luke 6:20-26 Jesus
suggests that power, success, comfort and recognition are what the Kingdoms of
this world are all about. Jesus says that our human Kingdoms are all about
gaining, acquiring, and maintain these things. We have to have these things and
we are desperate for them. Jesus suggests that all of our life decisions are
based on power, success, comfort and recognition. People don’t move to places
like New York because they someone in New York could use a good neighbor. No
you go to a place like New York because it will help you increase power,
recognition, success, comfort. People without these things are despised. Jesus
says that every revolution inside the Kingdom of man is not really a revolution
at all. It is just changing the players all revolts are all about I want the
power, recognition, success.
Jesus says let me give you a
real revolution called the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God has an upside
down completely opposite view on the values of power, success, comfort and
recognition. Look at me Jesus says. I am a King without money because I have
given my money away. I am a King without power. I am King without recognition
because I am rejected. I love the poor, spend my time with outcasts and feed
the hungry. Have you ever heard of a King like this?
A Politian can’t do a thing
unless they have power and get elected. Jesus says the zenith of my kingship
will not be my election but my execution. And Jesus says that those that
transfer out of the Kingdom of man into the Kingdom of God will be like me. You
will no longer be driven by power, success, comfort and recognition. Life
becomes all about how I might benefit others. It is only when you grasp what
was done for you on the cross that you can truly serve the people of this world
like Jesus. It is those followers of Jesus who go out into the world not with a
message of inner peace but the Gospel. Only then do I become a revolutionary that
really does something about injustice, oppression and people who are hungry.
Jesus paid back what you own now pay him by joining his revolution.
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