When our Lord was teaching in the temple (Matthew 21:23), He was interrupted by the chief priests & elders who had lots of envy and hatred towards Him. One way by which they had shown this was by calling into question His Authority (Matthew 21:23). In an attempt to discredit Jesus, and even “ensnare Him in His speech” as the Bible says (Matthew 22:15), the Pharisees have sent spies to Jesus from a group known as the Herodians. The gospel of Matthew says:
“Then the Pharisees going, consulted among themselves how to insnare him in his speech. And they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians” (Matthew 22:15-16).
The Herodians are believed by scholars to have been a Jewish political group that favored giving taxes to the Romans, their colonizers, who had control over all Judea. They were called Herodians because they were named after Herod the Great who was appointed by the Roman Empire as being the regional king of Judea. The Pharisees despised the Herodians because they were regarded as being sell-outs, or traitors of the Jewish people given that they were in favor of taxing their own kind on behalf of the Roman Empire, which was regarded as a form of humiliation. However, the Pharisees have collaborated with this group which they despised since, as discussed previously, they wanted to ensnare, or trap Jesus with a question regarding taxes which was the Herodian’s expertise.
They asked our Lord:
“Master, we know that thou art a true speaker, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou dost not regard the person of men. Tell us therefore what dost thou think, is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22:17).
In response to this question, Jesus calls out their hypocrisy not only because He knew of their allegiance with their enemies the Pharisees, but also because they asked the question with the persona of seeking righteousness and instruction. They asked Jesus this question because they knew that if He said “Yes”, it would turn the Jewish people that were His disciples against Him, and that if He had said ‘no’, that it would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.
Our Lord had then challenged them, stating:
“Shew me the coin of the tribute [tax money]. And they offered him a penny. And Jesus saith to them: Whose image and inscription is this? They say to him: Caesar’s. Then he saith to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God, the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:19-21).
So, who was Caesar in this context? Caesar was a title used by many Roman Emperors in honor of Gaius Actavius, who took the name Gaius Actavius Julius Caesar Augustus, whom they considered to be successors or heirs of.
The emperor during this time whose image was on the coin discussed in this passage of scripture was Tiberius, or more specifically: “Tiberius Julius Caesar”, and the coin on the image was of him. In fact, the coin said: “Tiberius Caesar Divi Augustus Filius Augustus”, which in Latin means: “Caesar Augustus Tiberius [the] son of divine Augustus [i.e. Gaius Actavius]”. The title ‘divine Augustus’ was on the coin because the religion of the Roman Empire believed that Gaius Actavius, the original Caesar, became a deity after he died. This further shows the hypocrisy of the Pharisees collaborating with the Herodians, as this was regarded as a form of idolatry by them (rightly so), yet they compromised the law of the first commandment with the intent to harm Jesus, breaking also the 5th commandment.
Now that we are able to see this through a broader view, Jesus told them to give to Caesar what is his, and to God what is His to show that just as the coin has the image of the ruler of the Empire upon it, we, being made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26) are to also give ourselves back to Him completely. And what greater way is there for us to give ourselves to Him but by obeying what He told His disciples: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24).
Take into account that our Lord had said these words prior to His passion and crucifixion, and you can imagine that the Apostles were probably confused by these words. But Jesus, being God, prophesied the death by which He would suffer for humanity, since He as God foreknows all things. This is why St. Paul said: “For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
Regarding this issue, some question: “How is it that God can suffer?” Our Holy Religion, which is based upon the teachings of the Holy Bible and the living witness of the Church Fathers emphasized that Jesus, again, being God, always existed, and that there was NEVER a time that He did not exist. However, because humanity has fallen due to the curse of Adam, and because of His love for us, He humbled Himself and came down from His throne, though not ceasing from being God or from governing the universe, taking upon Himself His very own Body from St. Mary that He might dwell with us and save us from sin and death – despite knowing that He would be humiliated, despised, hated, beaten, spat upon, forced to carry a cross, and crucified to death. His becoming flesh is what the Church calls the ‘Incarnation’.
As our father St. Athanasius the Apostolic says:
“Thus, taking a body like ours, because all our bodies were liable to corruption of death, He surrendered His Body to death instead of all, and offered it to the Father. This He did out of HIs sheer love for us, so that in His death all might die, and the law of death thereby be abolished…” (On the Incarnation, Chapter 2).
Since we are able to see what great love our Lord has for each and every single one of us, despite our imperfections and brokenness which we all have (me first), and since we are In Christ and apart of His Body, we are likewise called to live out that very same sacrificial love for both God and each other, as this is the greatest commandment (c.f. Matthew 12:28-30). And what greater way is there to love our Lord, and to grow in His Grace, but by living a life of prayer, practicing daily examination of ourselves that we might repent of our failures that our spiritual wounds may be treated, and by living a life centered around the sacraments of the Church; especially confession and Holy Communion; for it is within the very sacrament of the Altar that we partake of His literal Body and Blood as He promised us (John 6).
When we partake of Him in the Holy Eucharist, He abides in us, and we in Him, and we eat of the very light which has given light to the entire world, and eat of the very Body which has healed the sick and even raised the dead. This means that through partaking of Him, our wounds, both spiritual and physical, are healed. Our abiding in His light is what grants us, naturally, the inclination to grow in His love and to, in response, also love each other; even in the simplest and smallest forms – be it by prayer, doing acts of charity, etc. This is how we live out the love expressed in the Lord’s Incarnation, and how we, being made in His image and likeness, give ourselves back to Him. Let us therefore reflect and regularly ask ourselves: ‘whose image is on the coin”?
Faith Unto Ages 