If I borrow a tool from my neighbor, and several days later the neighbor knocks on the door and asks me to give it back, I’d gladly do it. After all, it isn’t my tool; the neighbor was kind enough to let me use it for a while.
“Giving it back” to its owner is such common sense that a small child can understand it. “Give Susie her doll back,” the mother says to one of her children. The child understands what the mother is talking about.
Jesus dealt with learned people who prided themselves in being religious “models” and yet had not yet learned the “give it back” principle (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.’”
My, my! They are complimenting Jesus for his truthfulness and integrity. This, of course, raises the question: if they believed what they said, then why didn’t they follow him.
“Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we pay?”
A simple question. They knew Jesus would be trapped if he said yes, and in big time trouble with the Roman government if he said no.
“Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, ‘Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at…Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied, “Caesar’s.”
Surely they were smart enough to catch on now. Jesus stared at the coin and saw Caesar’s picture on it. That meant the coin was not theirs but Caesar’s. Since it belonged to Caesar and he “lent” it to them, he had a right to take it back anytime he wanted. If he wanted part or all of it, that was his business not theirs.
So Jesus said to them,
“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
These Pharisees and Herodians were reluctant to give back some of their coins to Caesar, even though they belonged to him. Yet, to protect themselves and to keep on good terms with the government, they did paid their taxes.
What about God? They knew that everything they had belonged to God—it did not belong to them. In one of the Psalms they read, “The earth and all it contains belongs to the Lord.” Their money, their voices, their land, their talents, their families, all belonged to God. He had a right to ask part or all of it back, any time he wanted. Were these leaders giving to God his full due? Were they respecting God at least to the degree that they respected their government leaders? Did they treat God at least as much honor as they treated Caesar?
We know from other stories in the gospels that the Pharisees were greedy. They not only believed that what they had was theirs, but that they had a right to take what others had to enhance their own bank accounts. They weren’t one bit interested in giving themselves and all they possessed to the Lord. They were as selfish and possessive as the little child who will not let go of her sister’s doll. When God sent his only Son to get God’s portion of the fruit of his vineyard, they not only refused to give God his due, they even plotted to kill his Son. Would they treat Caesar this way?
As much as we like to take pokes at the Pharisees, we are wise to detect the spirit of the Pharisees in ourselves. We fall into the trap of thinking that what we have belongs to us. We think, sometimes, that we are doing God a favor by sending a few words of praise his way or dropping an extra few dollars in the collection plate.
This teaching calls us to repent. We renounce our stinginess, self-centeredness, and even greed, so we are free to return to God all that is his due. Daily let us pray a prayer of surrender: “Jesus, all that I am and all that I have I give to you. Take me and do with me as you will for I know you love me” (adaptation of Charles de Foucauld’s prayer).
“You turn man back to dust, saying, ‘Return O children of men’” (Ps 90:3).
