Today’s Daily Word Study is an abridged excerpt from Chaim Bentorah’s newest book: Does The Bible Really Say That? 20 (Seeming) Biblical Contradictions Explained. Click here to learn more.
Seeming Contradictions in the Bible: Render Unto Caesar
Matthew 22:15–22: “Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in [his] talk. (16) And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any [man]: for thou regardest not the person of men. (17) Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? (18) But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, [ye] hypocrites? (19) Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. (20) And he saith unto them, Whose [is] this image and superscription? (21) They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. (22) When they had heard [these words], they marveled, and left him, and went their way.”
CONTRADICTION: Jesus answered the Pharisee’s question the way they hoped He would, that is to pay your taxes. He played right into the hands of the Pharisees who should have arrested Jesus for violation of their Oral Tradition and brought Him before the Sanhedrin, instead everyone marveled at his answer and left him alone.
This is a popular Bible story, but I have never heard anyone explain it to my satisfaction. The Pharisees tried to trap Jesus by asking if He should pay taxes.
The Pharisees laid a clever little plot to trap Jesus. With the Herodians, who supported the Roman government, standing nearby and the Pharisees also within hearing distance, a Pharisee asked Jesus if it was right to pay 10% in taxes to the Roman government. If Jesus said no, the Herodians would call the Roman soldiers to arrest Jesus for being disloyal to the government and inciting others to rebel. If He said yes, the Pharisees would haul him off to the Sanhedrin to be tried for heresy.
He asked the Pharisee if he had a coin. He then asked whose image was on the coin. The Pharisee walked right into it. He said, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said: “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and to God that which is God’s.”
Matthew 22:22 tells us that everyone marveled and then left Him alone. The word marvel in Greek is ethaumasan, which means “to be astonished, amazed, surprised or stunned.” In the Aramaic, the word is damar, which means, “to admire.” It is in an intensive form, so everyone was filled with admiration. Yet, did not Jesus say to give to Caesar what belongs to him, which is really saying you are to pay your taxes? It was the very thing the Pharisees hoped He would say, so they could drag Him off to be tried by the Sanhedrin for violating their oral law?
Actually, it was the Pharisee who fell into Jesus’s trap and ended up with egg on his face. The word rendered is yahav, which means “to allow.” “Allow Caesar to have that which is his and God to have that which is His.” That means to pay your taxes, right? Well, not exactly. Note what the first commandment teaches:
Exodus 20:3-4: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (4) Thou shalt not make (for your possession) unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth:”
This commandment instructs the Jews to have no other gods before God Jehovah. They are not even to make an image of a god. In the Aramaic, the phrase to make is the word pasal, which is an engraving or carving that is not to be made for your own personal possession. The Jews interpreted Exodus 20:3–4 to mean that you cannot possess an image of anyone or anything that declares himself or itself to be a god.
In the Aramaic, Jesus was telling the Pharisee, “Allow Caesar to be Caesar (thinking he is a god), but allow God to be God and bear all the glory as the God of the Universe.” In other words, Jesus was saying: “Watcha doin’ carrying Caesar’s image, thereby, giving him the glory of considering himself a god? Then you accuse me of breaking man’s law when you are in direct violation of the first commandment?” Jesus never answered the question. He didn’t have to, for he took away the right of the person to even ask such a question since he was violating Torah Law, and the first commandment to boot, making this Pharisee out to be a real honest to goodness hypocrite.
To the Herodians, Jesus was saying that they needed to decide if God Jehovah was the true God or if Caesar was.
A similar situation existed many years earlier in Israel, recorded in I Kings 18:21: “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD [be] God, follow him: but if Baal, [then] follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”
I believe it is possible that Jesus was making a reference to the story of Elijah and the challenge against Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. It is amazing how few Christians realize this story concerns the nation of Israel, which was in a state of apostasy and literally ruled by a foreign government with their own king being merely an empty suit or figure head. The king of Israel Ahab had married a foreign woman, Jezebel. Jezebel was from the capital city of Phoenicia, Sidon, which today is located in the country of Lebanon. She worshipped Baal and Asherah. She eventually purged the nation of all followers of Jehovah, causing a chief official of the royal court, Obadiah, to shelter the remaining 100 prophets of Jehovah from being executed. Baal worship was elevated to national status, and Jezebel used the nation’s funds, the taxes paid to the government of Israel, to support the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah. It quickly became unlawful to even worship Jehovah, and Jezebel tore down all the altars to God.
God sent Elijah to warn King Ahab and Jezebel that God would prevent any rains from falling on the land if they did not return to God. Jezebel’s response was to put a price on Elijah’s head. After three and a half years of drought and famine, God told Elijah to return to King Ahab and Jezebel and demand they return to God. Elijah returned with the challenge. The prophets of Baal were to build an altar to Baal and if Baal be the true god, he is to send fire from heaven and light the altar. If God Jehovah be the true God, He will send fire from heaven. We all know the story from there. It is the climactic words of Elijah that really stand out: “If YHWH be God follow Him, if Baal follow him.” The word follow in Hebrew is really two words, laku ‘acharayn, which could be literally translated as “You render to him and go after him.”
Literally, in the Aramaic, what Jesus said was: “Give (allow) Caesar for Caesar and God for God.” The Herodians would be given the challenge: “If Caesar be god follow him but if YHWH be God follow Him.” To the Pharisees, they would think of the story of Elijah and be forced to consider the very basis of their faith. Not just some law about tithing, but who are they really following. Jesus would be giving them an ultimatum in Joshua 24:15: “Choose you this day whom you will serve.”
Thus, Jesus was not saying yes or no to paying taxes. He was saying to consider who is the true God and who are you going to serve.
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