"Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" Jesus said to them, "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's and to God the things that are God's." (Mark 12: 14, 17)
According to Mark, Jesus was very busy on Tuesday. The account of his day begins with Mark 11:20 and continues through Mark 13. Over two chapters of activity. Among the many events of that day, Jesus has an encounter with some Pharisees and Herodians who seek to trip Jesus up with a question about taxes.
Now, to say that one should not pay taxes would have made Jesus a challenge to the Roman state. It would have been insurrection. However, to say that one should pay taxes was to incite the frustration of the Jews who were an occupied people. It would have been akin to being a traitor to your people.
Jesus, however, does not take the bait. He asks for a coin to be brought to him and he asks, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answer, "The emperor's".
And so Jesus then says, masterfully, to give to the Emperor what is the emperor's and to God the things that are God's. Why is this such a masterful stroke?
Because by putting it this way, Jesus, in a subversive way, makes the point that EVERYTHING belongs to God. He sounds like he is being fair and balanced when in reality he is calling them to account for even considering that what we have could be anything but God's property and gift. He is not necessarily saying not to pay taxes. Do what you need to do he says. But remember, everything is God's, nothing is ours and certainly not the Emperor's.
May we live with the same kind of commitment and realization that all we have is a gift from God.
Generous God, thank you for blessing us with the gifts of life. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment