Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?

 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him. 

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and died, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be:  For all seven had her as wife."  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  you are therefore greatly mistaken."

- Mark 12:13-27

In our current readings, it is Holy Week.  Jesus has been welcomed into Jerusalem as king and Messiah, and He has cleansed the temple.  In yesterday's reading, Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem.  As he was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. And they said to Him,  "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"   But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, "They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the Lord's doing,and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"  And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.    The Herodians are the Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great (whose son, Herod Antipas, now rules Galilee).  Therefore, among this group that asks Jesus about paying taxes there are those who are willing servants of Rome.  But the question is designed as a trap.  If Jesus answers "yes," it will turn the Jewish public against Him.  Answering "no" will bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  His answer defeats the trap by suggesting that a believer can render the state its due while serving God.  My study bible says that as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict between the two arises when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  It adds that God is the Lord over all of life including the secular.  But governmental requirement of citizenship are fulfilled, so long as they don't conflict with one's first responsibility to God.  Moreover, paying taxes and similar civic duties aren't detrimental to holiness.  See Romans 13:1-7; contrast with Acts 4:19, 5:29). 

 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and died, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be:  For all seven had her as wife."  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  you are therefore greatly mistaken."   The Sadducees are yet another party among the leadership.  They represented landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem.  They held many high offices in Israel, and controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin.  The Sadducees were more politically prudent than the Pharisees, and in contrast to them adapted to the presence of the Romans.   They interpreted the law more rigidly than did the Pharisees, says my study bible -- and unlike them, rejected belief in angels and in the resurrection from the dead at the end of the age.  After the destruction of Jerusalem, this party completely disappeared.  Jesus tells them that they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.  In the Resurrection, life as we know it does not continue, but rather is changed; men and women are like angels in heaven.  Most powerfully, Jesus points out their failure to understand the Scriptures, and the word of God in Exodus, expressing the living reality of the name of God  (I AM) and of the communion of saints:  "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"  (Exodus 3:6, 14-15). 

It's interesting to consider the notion of creation in today's reading.  Jesus contrasts the image and name (inscription) on the coin with the "image" of God.  My study bible explains that as we each bear the "image" of God as creations of God, so we belong to God. But in this same vein we have to consider the image of Caesar on the coin:  there is a system created in his image and under his ownership, but everything belongs to the Creator.  In some sense, it is an immediate comparison to the reading of the day before, when the leadership is rendered analogous to the vinedressers who wanted to "own" the vineyard and rid themselves of its heir.  When we serve God, even paying a tax becomes something we may do as those who love God, should it serve our faith to be good citizens.  Everything in life may become a question of a prayerful way of being in the world.  Jesus gives us a hint about things implied in the question when He wept over Jerusalem in Luke's Gospel:  "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes" (see Luke 19:41-42).  Even in the contrast with Barabbas, who is freed instead of Jesus who goes to His crucifixion, we have an extension of themes that are echoed in this question and in Christ's answer.  We must seek His way, and His way is rooted in questions of loyalty to Creator, and serving the image that Creator has placed in us, as God's own.  We can apply this same notion of true image to the question of the woman given to seven husbands.  Each of us bears the image of God within us, and Christ calls us to bear fruit in our lives that lays down testimony to that image, discarding whatever it is that defiles and diminishes it.  That would include ridding ourselves of what does not serve the love in the image, that extends itself in righteousness, right-relatedness to all of Creation.  It includes the power of transfiguration, that declares the living in heaven to be with us in the communion of saints.  All of this is living reality, with us and present at each moment of our lives, even contained in a moment of prayer when we choose what we do -- and how we respond to the demands of worldly citizenship.  Do we love our neighbor?  How do we do that?  And, who is our neighbor anyway?  How does Christ answer such questions?  What is it He tells us that makes for our peace?