29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (A)

Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.

Mt 22:14-21

The rest of this chapter describes the questions which the Jewish leaders ask Jesus, and the question which he puts to them. Their aim is to trap him, so that they may have a charge to bring against him before the council of the Jews, and before the Roman governor.

First come the Pharisees with the Herodians: they begin with a flattering introduction, and then ask whether it is lawful for the Jews to pay the Roman taxes. Jesus perceives the reason why they ask this question: it is a test question, to see whether Jesus will declare himself on the side of the zealots who refuse to pay, or on the side of those who collaborate with the Romans.

Jesus says that the money for the tax bears the emperor's portrait and name, and is therefore his; so it should be paid to him. But then he goes beyond the terms of the question, and demands that the Jews should also return to God what belongs to him; and we recall here that in the parable of the vineyard the Jews were accused of not rendering to God the fruit which was his (21:33ff).

v. 15. Then the Pharisees went off and plotted how they might entrap him in speech.

To entangle (pagideuein): The word is rare in Greek, and is only used here in the New Testament. It is a hunting term, meaning to 'snare' or 'trap'.

v. 16. They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status.

Their disciples: Disciples of the Pharisees are only mentioned here and in Mark 2:18. The word 'disciples' implies a teacher, and the Pharisees were not teachers, except for those of them who were also scribes.

The Herodians: They were the supporters of Herod the Great and of his family; they favored collaboration with the Romans, who were ruling Palestine with the Herods as their puppet-kings. The Herodians would have been in favor of paying taxes to Caesar; the Pharisees would not.

v. 17. Tell us, then, what is your opinion: Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?”

Tell us, then, what is your opinion: It is a Matthean addition. Cf. 17:25.

v. 18. Knowing their malice, Jesus said, “Why are you testing me, you hypocrites?

Aware of their malice ... you hypocrites: Possibly Matthew has in mind the attack on the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees in Chapter 23
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v. 19. Show me the coin that pays the census tax.” Then they handed him the Roman coin.

As in I7:24ff., it seems as though Jesus and his disciples have no money.

v. 20. He said to them, “Whose image is this and whose inscription?”

Whose likeness and inscription is this? The denarius would bear a portrait of the emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14-37) and this inscription: Ti[berius] Caesar Divi Aug[usti] F[ilius] Augustus.

v. 21. They replied, “Caesar’s.” At that he said to them, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”

Render (apodote) is a different word from pay (literally, 'give', didonai) which was used in v. 17; the change in words may mean, The taxes are not a gift; but a debt. The same word, render (apodidonai) was used in 21:41 of the tenants who would render to God his fruit.