Should A Christian Pay Taxes? Matthew 22:15-22

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 

Faced with no other alternative, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus in his words.  Since they could not reason with him directly, or begin a plot to eliminate him because of his following, they try a more insidious tactic.  

16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 

The fact that the Pharisees and Herodians were teaming up against Jesus shows they had a mutual disdain for him.  The Pharisees had their own disciples too. The two groups were willing to set aside their differences for the sake of uniting against Jesus (Guzik)

Though the men were right in what they said about Jesus, their motives were less than pure, especially since we know they were trying to set a trap.  All in all though their words are pure flattery, it would be a good standard for any Christian teacher to live up to. 

17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”

This was the trap.  If he told them to pay the tax they would accuse him of being a friend of Caesar. A friend of the hated Romans.  If he told them not to pay, he would be accused of being a lawbreaker.  

"This particular tax was the poll tax. “Paying the poll tax was the mo obvious sign of submission to Rome… Zealots claimed the poll tax was a God-dishonoring badge of slavery to the pagans.” (Carson)

18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 

Jesus always knew a person's heart and saw right through empty words of praise.  The disciples, like their teachers, were hypocrites.  

19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

Jesus' wisdom was always much greater than those who challenged him.  

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

Jesus provided the perfect response. Without breaking the law, he clearly separated paying taxes to a human power, but also giving God what he deserved.  In this case, he is literally talking about the taxes owed to the temple when he is referring to giving to God what is God's.  

“Every Christian has a double citizenship. He is a citizen of the country in which he happens to live. To it he owes many things. He owes the safety against lawless men which only a settled government can give; he owes all public services.” (Barclay)

Martin Luther is famous for his "two kingdom" theology.  He taught that a Christian lives in two kingdoms.  One is in temporal realm and is ruled by human rulers. They are supposed to have in mind the interests of the subjects they rule over in their decision making.  Since all authority is given by God, these leaders will be accountable to God for the authority they have been given and how they used it.  Paul teaches us to be subject to the governing authorities in Romans 13.  Martin Luther often calls this the "kingdom on the left".  

The other kingdom is the spiritual kingdom, or what Luther calls the "kingdom on the right".  God has given authority to the church to proclaim the Good News and offer the forgiveness of sins in Jesus' name. The church makes decisions here on earth that are binding in heaven, as Jesus said to his disciples, "Whatever you bind here on earth will be bound in heaven. And whatever is loosed here on earth will be loosed in heaven."  Matthew 16:19  Of course these decisions are to be based solely on the authority of God's and the faithful interpretation of the Word guided by the Holy Spirit. 

The biggest challenges come when someone feels that the government is asking them to do something contrary to God's Word.   When the Jewish council in Acts 5:29 mandated the apostles to stop teaching in the name of Jesus they replied, "We must obey God before men."  

This was one of the toughest challenges during COVID for church leaders.  We faced such tough questions like, "Should we obey government mandates and not meet for worship. Or, was coming to worship a sacred right and in obedience to the fourth commandment?

I think these types of decisions need to be made prayerfully as the body of Christ.  Most of the time we are called to obey the laws of our nation because they are designed to protect all of us equally and God calls us to do that.  But there are times, we must be able to live according to our conscience.  

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Jesus' questions stopped them in their tracks for now, but this would not be the last trap set for him.

What are some issues where you think a Christian should obey God rather than the government?  Do you pay your taxes?  Are you tempted to cheat on them because you don't like how the government spends your money?  What example do we give the world when we disobey the laws of our land or cheat on our taxes?