Tuesday in the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time, June 4, 2024

Mark 12, 13-17

Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech. They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” They were utterly amazed at him.

“Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.”  The Pharisees and Herodians are the spiritual ancestors of those today who twist the words of the Gospels or even invent sayings they falsely attribute to the Gospels, distorting the Lord Jesus and his teachings.  For instance, people who publicly indulge in sin and encourage others to do so sometimes try to justify themselves by claiming that Jesus is “inclusive”.  The fact is that Jesus is very exclusive: “Many are called, few are chosen” (Matthew 22, 14) and “How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leads to life: and few there are that find it!” (Matthew 7, 14).  It is true that he ate with tax collectors and prostitutes, but he did so with an eye to converting them, not to validate their behavior.  Now, the Pharisees and the Herodians make an odd pairing.  Generally, these two groups hated each other. They came together, though in the matter of Jesus.  The Pharisees saw him as a threat to their moral authority; the Herodians, to political stability.  They sought independence from Rome, but under Herod Antipas, not under a Messiah.

“Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.”  The Pharisees and Herodians think they can flatter Jesus and so cause him to let down his guard.  In fact, they thought him an imposter and a fraud who only stirred up the people.  “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?”  The question they ask is, “Is it lawful?”  That is, according to the Mosaic Law.  The Law did not prohibit the paying of taxes or tribute to an outside power.  It did not address this question at all.  The legal problem regarding the paying of tax to Rome had to do with the coin used to pay it.  Jesus asks: “Whose image and inscription is this?”  The image of Caesar Tiberius was stamped on the Roman coin, the denarius.  The Jews were forbidden to make images of other people or even of animals, lest these become the occasion of of idolatry.  So did the prohibition against making images include the use of coins that featured images?  The Pharisees and Herodians hoped that by Jesus saying Yes, that the Romans would arrest him for interfering with their tax collection.  Or, that by his saying No, that he would discredit himself as the Messiah who would deliver the Jews from Roman rule.  

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  By telling the Jews to give back to Caesar that which belongs to him, the Lord is treating the Roman coins as rubbish.  Take it away, he is saying.  By extension, he is showing his disdain for the treasure on earth that so many people scramble and fight for, only to lose it all when they least expect it: “You fool, this night your soul will be required of you. And whose shall those things be which you have stored up?“ (Luke 12, 20).  But if coins belong to Caesar, that is, material wealth to the world, what belongs to God?  Our hearts, souls, and minds: “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind” (Matthew 22, 37).

“They were utterly amazed at him.”  They were astounded at how he had slipped through their fingers with a wisdom completely unearthly, but we may hope that they were brought to think about the transience of the wealth we misuse our lives to gain while neglecting the wealth that lasts forever.