Caesar's or God's?
The Rev. Dr. Robert R. Hansel
Retired, Episcopal Priest
Memphis, TN

(This sermon is also available in audio.)

What is the purpose of Lent? What are we supposed to do that’s special or different during the forty days leading up to Easter? Well, there seems to be two schools of thought about that, as there are about most things. Some say it’s a time of sacrifice in which Christians should “give up things” they enjoy in order to identify with the suffering of Jesus. Others say that Lent is a time to “take on” increased study, meditation, and reflection so that we better understand and appreciate all that God has done for us. For me, this particular Lent has been more of the second sort. Being retired, I have more time to consider and to re-think the things that undergird my own Faith. One of those things that has occupied me in recent days is the way in which the Bible gets used and abused by people who want to support some particular social or political agenda.

That’s why, today, I want to work with you to take a specific biblical text as a Lenten exercise in trying to reexamine its message for us and for the Church. Now I’m well aware of the danger of even suggesting that we do this. Very often more biblically literalist folks criticize other Christians (especially Episcopalians) for being “selective” about the Bible--choosing the parts we like and dismissing those that we don’t like. I would simply say they’re missing the point. It’s not whether we like some words more than others; it’s whether those words are historically authentic. The Bible, in my view, should be subject to the same standards as any other documentation purporting to be true and accurate records of historical events. That having been said, let me move to a specific Bible text that’s a prime example of exactly what I’m talking about.

Among the most familiar sayings attributed to Jesus is, in fact, a highly suspect Biblical text. I’m talking about the one in which he is reported as having said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” As you can probably tell already, I am convinced that this is one famous saying that Jesus never said! Now, I’m well aware that there are many people who would question who I am to doubt the words written in the Bible. Certainly, anybody could legitimately ask how, since I wasn’t there, I could be sure what Jesus said or didn't say. Well, since the Church season of Lent is a time of reflection, questioning, and seeking, today seems as good a time as any to ask you to follow along with me as I share a few thoughts about all this. I want to lay out for you exactly how I have come to believe that Jesus never said these words and why, in fact, accepting these words as an accurate reflection of what Jesus believed and taught can lead to some very unsound and wrong-headed notions about the Christian Faith and how it relates to real life.

A clear and immediate example of the danger of simply accepting this Bible verse at face value is the current flap created here in Memphis by the organization called Shelby County Interfaith [SCI]. Some church people have recently spoken up to challenge the predatory lending practices that take advantage of local low-income families, locking them into impossible interest payments that, for lots of poor people, can lead to loss of jobs and eviction from homes. Poor people, says SCI, need to be protected by laws that prevent unscrupulous financial groups from engaging this sort of exploitation. Immediately the cry has gone up, “They’re mixing politics and religion”, “ Let the Church stick to it’s own business,” and “What do preachers know about the real world anyway?" Interestingly enough, the biblical text that I hear bandied about is this one about “render unto Caesar.” It’s quoted because in it, Jesus is commonly thought to be separating the worldly and the spiritual into two totally different compartments. Now, if I know anything at all about Jesus, I can tell you right away, we’re dealing with a huge misunderstanding. Jesus, throughout every aspect of his life and teachings, is absolutely clear about there being just ONE reality and God alone is the one and only ruler over it all. God’s rule is not shared or divided in any way with the Caesars of this world.

Well, let’s get started with a fresh look at what has caused the current misunderstanding. First, we need to go back and recast the scene described in the Bible. The place is the Temple, in the midst of the Holy City, Jerusalem. The time is the week of Passover in the year 33 A.D. The circumstances depict the people in a very restive and restless mood because Israel is about to celebrate its great national religious observance of freedom from slavery in Egypt, while still under the oppressive yoke of Roman military and political occupation. The cast includes Jesus as well as a large crowd of common people who are described as “hearing him gladly.” Into this arena march two groups of people who are certainly strange companions, to say the least. The first is a band of Pharisees--the sternly literal law-abiding Jews who wanted quick and easy answers to everything, ready-made solutions straight “by the book.” With them are a bunch of Herodians--those who have totally sold-out to the Romans, collaborators who are getting rich by cooperating with the enemy. Just imagine the buzz of conversation among the onlookers: what are these two groups doing here together? The writer of the Gospel of Matthew doesn’t keep us waiting long for an answer. He tells us that they have come with a common purpose: they want to “trap Jesus in his talk,” looking for any controversial remark they can twist into something blasphemous or treasonous. Their goal is to discredit Jesus in the eyes of the people and also set up, later on, a pretext for bringing false charges before the authorities.

They begin with unctuous flattery. In more contemporary terms, they say, “Good Rabbi, we know that you are witnessing to the truth courageously, the very truth from God himself. You have not sought anybody’s favor, even speaking up to defy the High Priest. So we trust you and we would like to hear what you have to say on this subject: Is it consistent with our ancient Law to pay taxes of tribute to Caesar and to Rome?”

But Jesus, we are told, perceived the trap they were setting. He realized that if he said “no” they could immediately bring him before the authorities on a charge of treason.
But if he said “yes” he would be totally compromised his message in the eyes of his followers. We can just imagine the crafty grins, the nudging and snickering as both the Herodians and the Pharisees watched Jesus struggle with his response. This time, they’re sure, they have him!

No one could have imagined what happened next. Jesus says, “Why try to trick me, you hypocrites? Show me a denarius. Whose picture and motto are stamped in the metal?” One of them reaches in his money-pouch and pulls out a denarius. Notice, please, that it’s a Roman coin, not a Jewish coin. Holding it up for everyone to see, he then announces to everyone, “It bears the image of Caesar.” That guy probably regretted his action almost immediately because the whole crowd must have instantly broken out in astonished and delighted laughter. Jesus has made him into an utter fool. Here he is trying to be a super-righteous defender of religious truth and is caught right in the act of violating the purity of the Temple itself by bringing in filthy Roman money. What I’m telling you is that this is the point at which I firmly believe the original Bible story ended. There’s no need to go any further. The question has been answered, no further statement is required. That’s why the end of the text tells us that “They all marveled at the response of Jesus and they held their peace.”

Now let me take just a minute to tell you a number of reasons I am convinced that someone, later on, has interjected into the biblical text some ideas of his own into this story, including the famous “Render unto Caesar” quote that Jesus almost certainly never said.

1. If Jesus had said the phrase attributed to him it would certainly have been understood as advising people to pay taxes to the Romans. Remember that the primary charge brought against Jesus that ultimately led to his execution was that “We found this fellow forbidding to give tribute to Caesar.” He was killed because of this charge of treason and it hardly seems likely that someone wouldn’t have used this incident in his defense if he had actually said this that Jews should pay Roman taxes.

2. The Bible says that the crowd went away “marveling” at the response of Jesus. Is it likely that this rather ambiguous, somewhat mealy-mouthed example of double-talk would have positively impressed anybody? It sounds like a fairly cowardly evasion of the issue and it most likely would have brought hoots of derision rather than respect.

3. Go back to the account of what happened. Jesus asks to see a denarius--a Roman coin--not a sheckel or tetradrachma, which were Jewish coins. The minute that anybody produced a Roman coin right there in the middle of the Temple Plaza that person was revealed as a Jewish traitor, a Roman collaborator. Jewish law was broken and defiled by Roman money. Why else do you think they had moneychangers in the Temple? Roman images (including coins) were considered pagan, clear violations of the Law against any graven image. Here we have the reason for the crowd “marveling.” Jesus, by their own hand, has turned the tables, revealing his questioners for who they really are--selfish opportunists who care nothing for God’s law and the covenant with God’s people.

4. There is no precedent anywhere in Holy Scripture for the schizophrenic separation of the world into two totally different spheres--God’s and mankind’s. The whole heart and soul of Hebrew Faith is the absolute unity of Creator and Creation. Spiritual and material can never be separated. The place of God’s presence and holiness is squarely in the midst of the world, the primary expression of God’s love. There can be nothing at all that is not embraced by and caught up in the nature and purpose of God. In short, Jesus (nor any other teacher of any knowledge and integrity) could have or would have made a statement even remotely like, “Render unto Caesar.”

So, for those four solid reasons--and even others that I could point to as well--I am convinced that Jesus never said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” Those words, I believe, came from a later writer who was not himself Jewish and did not understand the more subtle and more convincing message of the original text. Why do I say that? Well, just to quickly review the case: The Bible itself suggests that he never said it; the saying actually makes little sense in itself; a far better response had already been given in the more typical enacted parable style typical of all the rest of Our Lord’s teachings; and, finally, monotheistic Judaism absolutely prohibits anyone even thinking in these terms, much less the one who comes to us as the Chosen One, the Messiah.

So, now, in the time that’s left to us here, let’s consider the “So what?” question. Suppose it is true, as I have tried to suggest to you, that Jesus never said this curious thing that has for so long, mistakenly, been attributed to him. What earthly difference does it make right here in 2004?

The answer to that question is simply this: The text, “Render unto Caesar” has become the favorite rationale used in support of all sorts of dangerous and wrong-headed notions of how Faith and everyday life are related. This text has become the basis for arguments used by any and all who want to remove the consideration of moral values from everyday decision making and law-making. Here are just a few examples that I hear over and over:

Keep religion out of politics and business.

Let the Church stick to its own business.

We believe in the strict separation of Church and State.

All those bleeding hearts want to mix emotion into reality.

Hard decisions demand us to ignore sentimentality.

We have to bomb them for their own good.

Let’s not confuse the religious and the realistic.

Here we have a long list of amiable fallacies that are based on the mistaken notion that we human beings dwell simultaneously in two utterly separate sphere’s: Caesar’s and God’s, sacred and secular, private and public, religious and realistic--and that we are forced, constantly, to choose one over the other.

You and I are part of a religious tradition that radically and consistently rejects that false notion. Instead, we represent a worldview of unity--one in which all things are gifts from God, all things are the proper sphere in which to make God’s justice, compassion, and truth a reality. Nothing is without divine significance nor is anything immune from God’s standards and judgment. Even government and politics can be redeemed when exercised in the light of God’s gracious will.

What I want to leave you with today is a serious question. I want you to recognize that Jesus is not now and never has been the legitimate source of any support for separating the so-called “real world” from God’s world. We are expected to carry the truth of religion directly into the world of politics, business, and law. Now I’m not talking about the specific doctrinal teachings of sectarian religion. I’m talking about the shared belief of all religious traditions that this whole world is God’s own--all of it--and that you and I are a part of God’s great Plan to bring all people into unity and harmony by our everyday actions and decisions.

Lent is all about the business of getting straight the message that this is God’s world, a world so important that God does whatever it takes to show us his commitment and unconditional love. Each one of us--you and I--are challenged to resist false separations, barriers, walls that threaten to divide and isolate ideas, peoples, principles, and reality.

God’s own Son came into the world in-person. He experienced and suffered every awful reality this world has to offer. He accepted all the loneliness, betrayal, suffering, and death we heaped upon him. Through that humility he made all those things holy. He bound together fully and finally the things of God and the things of mankind. And his call to us is simple: Go and do likewise.

That’s the message of Lent in a nutshell--Our Faith doesn’t accept any distinctions or separations between this world as it is and the world that God is seeking to build. God doesn’t accept any difference…and neither should you.

Let us pray:

Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving Spirit may so move every human heart, that all barriers that divide us and all false notions that prevent us from seeing the demands of your righteous will within the issues of life itself may pass away. Let the power of your truth cause our human walls to crumble, suspicions disappear, and all hatreds and misunderstandings cease. Touch us with your healing presence so that, divisions being healed, we may evermore dwell together in justice and peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Copyright 2004 The Rev. Dr. Robert R. Hansel

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