Isaiah 45:1, 4-6/Psalm 96/1 Thessalonians 1:1-5b/Matthew 22:15-21
During the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Israelites were living under the rule of the Roman empire. As people living under the Roman rule, the Israelites were required to pay taxes to the Roman empire. Their taxes go to Rome, to where the emperor lives. Tiberius Caesar was the emperor during the time of Jesus. Tiberius Caesar, by the way, succeeded his father, Caesar Augustus, who was the emperor of Rome during the time of Christ's birth. Because people at that time had to pay taxes to Rome, the people during the time of Christ were very angry at the Romans because they were ruthless and vicious towards Israel. Many of them attempted to overthrow the Roman government by force.
Some Israelites decided to work for the Roman government as tax collectors. Examples of Israelites that became tax collectors are St. Matthew the Evangelist (who became an apostle of Jesus and the author of today's Sunday Gospel reading) and Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10). For many Israelites, what some of their countrymen did to work for the Roman government as tax collectors was an act of betrayal to their country. According to many zealots, these people have betrayed their nation and caused a very big sin in the eyes of God and man.
Now in the Gospel, two groups have met together in order to trap Jesus. These two groups have opposing beliefs. These two groups are the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Pharisees and Herodians have opposing beliefs. But how in the world were they able to unite and become a team? Jesus is the reason for their team-up. They rejected Jesus and look at Him as an enemy. Jesus is the common enemy for the two groups in order to team up. Another religious group during the time, the Sadducees, also opposed Jesus. The Pharisees have teamed up with other religious groups (Herodians and Sadducees) in order to get rid of Jesus.
The question the two groups asked Jesus is: Is it legal or illegal to pay taxes to Caesar? If Jesus answered yes or no, He will be trapped and arrested. Why? If Jesus says yes, then He will be a traitor in the sight of many people. Jesus betrays His nation Israel for Rome if He answers yes. But, if Jesus says no, Jesus will be seen as a rebel. The Pharisees, Herodians and other enemies of Jesus will have a case to present to the Roman government in order for Jesus to be put to death. Either way, it is a trap. Jesus is in danger.
Jesus is aware of what is happening. He knows that the question is being posed to Him out of malice and in order to trap Him. The Lord knows that His enemies are using nice words in order for Him to twist His tongue and be caught off guard. Jesus is aware that these groups approached Him in order to set a trap and arrest Him. He knows that the two groups want Him arrested and killed. If the Lord wanted, He would have just ignored them and continued teaching others.
The Lord answers the question in three parts. First, the Lord asks them for a coin. Second, the Lord asks them what image do they see on the coin. The obvious answer is Caesar's face is on the coin. Very surprising. We could probably ask, isn't the Lord familiar with what the coin looks like? As an Israelite, the Lord should probably know what the coin looks like. But, the Lord uses this for the third part of His answer. The third and final part of the Lord's answer is, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's."
What does this mean? It means that we should both pay respect to God and our own nation. As citizens of our nation, we have to be respectful to our leaders and help them. The problems of our nation is not only the problems of our leaders. Everyone is involved whenever there are problems in our nation. As a sign of respect for our countries, we have to be help each other, especially our leaders in congress. We have to correct them if they make any errors whatsoever. By doing this, we show our love and respect for our nation.
But, we have to remember that God created everything here on earth. He created the earth we live in. He created us human beings. Everything that we see around us are created by God. As a result, we have to pay what is due to God. What is due to God? Our love and respect for God. By worshiping and obeying God, we show our love and respect for God. Not only that, we have to respect our neighbor. Everyone of us human beings are made in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:26). We have to respect and love one another as a sign of our respect and love for God.
As true Christians, let us show our love for God and our nation. We have a responsibility towards one another and our nation. No one was born to live only for himself. We have a responsibility in the eyes of God. By loving and respecting our nation, we also show our love for God who created Heaven and earth. By doing so, we are giving to God what is due to Him. True Christian missionaries love and give respect to God first and above all things and also love and give respect to their nations.
