Paying taxes, and the negative feelings associated with the process is not a new thing. Taxes have often been a point of tension for people of all stripes and political persuasions. Even progressives want taxes to go up, only as long as it doesn’t go up for them. Let someone else pay for all the good ideas their good idea fairy has brought.
Taxes to an oppressive government can rub with even greater fury. When your taxes go for things that you don’t agree with, it can be hard to willingly and joyfully pay the taxes due.
And Rome’s rule was oppressive. They purposely taxed that area of their empire to keep the population in check. When people are struggling to make ends meet, they don’t have energy for rebellion. But refusal to pay taxes was a crime under Roman law. It was seen as rebellion. It could lead to seizure of your property (think cattle out West), forced labor to pay for the back taxes (think wage garnishment), and it could even lead to charges that could lead to death.
That is why two enemies come together for this trap. The Pharisees and the Herodians are not friends and allies. The Pharisees wanted to establish a Jewish state, without Roman rule or influence. They saw the outside government as an intrusion into what should be a religiously run and God centered institution.
This sounds much like what Islam wants to do today. For them, all of life must be under the rule of Islam. That is why they kill anyone who doesn’t yield to Islam’s rule. There are three choices: convert to Islam, become a second class citizen by paying a large tax and agreeing to live in the lower status, or be killed. The first two options acknowledge Islam’s rightful place of rule. The killings in Iraq are not a fluke. They are part and parcel of Islam’s core beliefs. That is the reality whether we like it or not.
The Pharisees wanted no secular government over them. They despised Rome’s intrusion on what they considered their territory. That is why it is so strange for them to be joining the Herodians at this particular trap.
The Herodians were closely connected to Rome and its rule. They had sold out in order to have peace a part of the power. They traded their soul and made a bed with the enemy, at least that is what the Pharisees would say. The compromised their core religious beliefs in order to be happy. They would display the “Coexist” bumper sticker with pride.
So to have these two come together to try and trap Jesus around money is hilarious. And they try to use an image of Caesar on the money as the trap’s trigger. You see, Rome had accommodated the Jewish influence in that area by minting coins without the image of Caesar for use in local commerce.
Jesus is brilliant in His answer. He pits these two groups against each other. Divide and conquer.
The Arnold Journey 