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And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and said, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
- Luke 20:19-26
In Monday's reading, we were told that Jesus began to tell the people this parable (in the presence of the chief priest, scribes, and elders who had questioned His authority in the temple): "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.' But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.' So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others." And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!" Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and said, "Caesar's." And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. This question from the false "spies" (the people who pretend to be righteous) is a trap for Jesus: a "yes" answer will turn the people against Him, and a "no" answer would bring a charge of treason by the Romans So what we see here is yet another example of Jesus' wit, His mental strength and integrity, and His fully present engagement with truth: He won't fall for the trap. What He expresses, says my study bible, is the teaching that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (see Romans 13:1-7). The coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him; in the same way each person bears the image of God and so belongs to God. My study bible suggests that conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.
We once again observe the true "toughness" of this Man who also embodies the Beatitudes (see commentary for the reading of Friday, June 12, 2015: He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace!"). Jesus, as Messiah, comes into the city as a meek and humble Man, not with chariots and armies, not to force anyone into anything, but with love: embodying the Beatitudes He mourns over the city, He remains the ultimate peacemaker, and He will be persecuted for righteousness' (or justice's) sake. That this Man retains an inner strength and integrity beyond all persuasion and entrapment, beyond the punishment He will take at the hands of those who envy Him, is something we must couple with and is an integral part of the meaning and fullness of the Beatitudes (as preached in Matthew 5). It's in our humility that we remain firm as "sons of God" -- that is, those who inherit the Kingdom, and in this sense, we are each, both male and female, "sons." I would suggest that remaining true to the Beatitudes is the one way we can be certain that we remain "on point," that is, in our integrity as followers of Christ. It's the way we remain certain of our intention of service to God, firm in our integrity to righteousness, to justice, or "right-relatedness" as we might put it. The Beatitudes teach us to be poor in spirit (or humble), to accept that we must mourn, to be meek, that we must hunger and thirst for righteousness, that we are to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to try to be peacemakers (and here we remember where our peace truly is, in the One who reconciles in truth), and to accept the times when we are persecuted for righteousness' sake. What's not easy to see in this list of traits of those who are "blessed" is the kind of strength that all of this implies, the internal integrity, the solid reality of what it means to truly be rooted in the faith He calls us to. In worldly terms, it seems like a paradox. But it's not, really -- it is a firm and strong statement of what it is to live the life of the Kingdom even in this world that also a place of darkness. Christ embodies these teachings, as we reported in the earlier reading that Origen observed in Jesus' weeping and mourning over Jerusalem. This Suffering Servant, our humble Messiah, is a man of infinite internal strength, a character that doesn't yield from truth and righteousness, that remains true to His mission. Here in today's reading, He easily defeats an attempt to trap Him, and He does so -- once again -- by asserting an important teaching for all of us. We don't expect "the world" to be a perfect place, but it must function with systems that work for all of us. We can honor our obligations to what is best for the whole -- even if worldly -- while our internal integrity is rooted in our faith and where it takes us. This is the way we serve righteousness, and it's the way to walk through whatever darkness also exists in the world. It's His Way. There are those in this world who would insist that justice means tearing everything down in a spirit of nihilistic "purity" and abstraction, no matter how many people suffer. So often these boil down to ideologies that are another form of harsh legalism (no matter what one may call it or where it's oriented). But such efforts are missing the love that is at the heart of the gospel, and in which true righteousness and justice are rooted. That's not at all what He teaches us here, and His heart is with all the people -- not the leaders, and not the demagogues who in the end demand only their own purely "worldly" power. We remember the Beatitudes, to keep us rooted in His Way, the true gospel of love and righteousness.
