Long live caesar latin12/25/2023 Nations benefit greatly from Godly people who are involved and active. This verse does NOT mean that we blindly go along with unjust laws, nor does it mean that we should avoid political involvement altogether. The Government and Our Civic Duty as Believers Trying to navigate between the two can be difficult for so many of us, but Jesus reminds us that while we are to honor the government with our income, more importantly we are to give our all to God. As Christians, we are citizens of Heaven while also being citizens of this world. Jesus responds by doing what Jesus always did: he forced those around him to look at things from a heavenly perspective and not a worldly one. The Kingdoms of the World and the Kingdom of God It appeared to be a win-win for these opposing forces to join together against Jesus. However, if Jesus said he opposed the tax, he would find himself at odds with the Herodians and supporters of the Roman authorities, and Jesus would now be considered an open enemy of Rome. This would have played into the hands of the Pharisees who would not dare say such a thing themselves. The question is set up in such a way that if Jesus says paying Roman taxes is acceptable, then he will be speaking against those who hate the Roman government. To be clear, these two groups had nothing in common except a common dislike of Jesus and his growing group of followers. While the Pharisees were the staunchly religious group that embraced traditional Jewish teachings and generally opposed Roman culture, the Herodians were a Hellenistic group who happily embraced Rome’s secularism, as it secured them political power and seemed to them the best way to secure stability. However, the Herodians are also in on this one. Those familiar with Scripture are used to the Pharisees questioning Jesus and trying to catch him in a trap. This encounter stands out as one of the greatest conversations in recorded history. Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Muni Yogeshwaran The Pharisees and the Herodians: Who was Asking the Questions? Yet there is a great deal of peace and security that comes from understanding it, especially in turbulent time such as ours. This is not an easy teaching, nor is it meant to be. This applies to a healthy, free government as much one that is as cruel as the Romans were. The phrase applies to us in this way: every person on earth lives under the authority of a government, and Jesus instructs us to honor that government to the extent that we can. In the context of the time Jesus lived in, Caesar represented the Roman government that harshly ruled Israel. For our application, to “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” (or give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s) simply gives us a guideline of how to Biblically relate to any governing authority we are subject to. The Caesar specifically mentioned by Jesus is Tiberius Caesar, who was in power from AD 14 to AD 37. 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. ‘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. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ he asked. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?’ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. 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. They came to him and said, ‘Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. “Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. The exchange is recorded in three of the Gospels, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26, and in Matthew 22:15-22. But what does the phrase really mean, why did Jesus say it, and how does it apply in a world where there is no longer a Caesar? We have likely heard the saying, “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,” which is a quote from Jesus as he is giving one of these “answer a question with a question” type of responses. His response to a yes-or-no question was often answered with another question, in a way that provided nuance, deeper meaning, and clearer context. Throughout the Gospels, we see many examples of Jesus taking a question and turning it on its head.
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