Bible Study series: Matthew 22:15-22. His reply never fails to impress me. It was the wisdom from the Father by the anointing of the Spirit. His own high intelligence also assisted him.
A warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together. I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click on this link:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Matthew 22:15-22
15 Then the Pharisees went and took counsel in order to trap him by a statement. 16 And they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the path of God truthfully, and you are not swayed by anyone, for you are not intimidated by people. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to give a poll tax to Caesar or not?” 18 Knowing their wickedness, Jesus said, “Why do you test me, hypocrites? 19 Show me a coin for a poll tax.” They brought to him a denarius. 20 He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” 21 They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 On hearing this, they were astonished and, leaving him, they departed. (Matt. 22:15-22)
Comments:
15:
In this confrontation, the temple and Jerusalem establishment strike back. They intended to trap him into making a statement about taxes. They wanted him to say, “I’m a political revolutionary! I denounce Caesar and his tax requirement! I signal my followers: Now! Let’s all revolt!” If he had said to pay the tax to Rome, they could have accused him of being a Roman sympathizer. If he had told them not to pay, they could bring a political charge against him. They wanted to intimidate Jesus, so they could win the cultural battle of shame and honor. They would get the honor in public with other experts standing around, while Jesus would slink away. But Jesus was not flustered or startled. He held his ground.
For many years now there has been a teaching going around the Body of Christ that says when Christians are challenged, they are supposed to slink away or not reply. This teaching may come from the time of Jesus’s trial when it is said he was as silent as a sheep (Acts 8:32). No. He spoke up then, as well (Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:32; Luke 23:71; John 18:19-23; 32-38; 19:11). Therefore, “silence” means submission to the will of God without resisting or fighting back. But here he is about to reply to the test and pass it. Get into a discussion and debate with your challengers. Stand toe to toe with them.
Further, during his ministry, he did not cower or surrender. He fought back. His growing movement and lives were at stake. If he let his opponents get away with their criticism, his silence could have been misinterpreted as weakness, so he would not have been worthy to be followed. The listeners would have abandoned him and gone home, and rightly. “He’s not sure of his own message? He lets the religious leaders walk all over him? He’s not the Messiah!” Often silence can be misinterpreted as agreement. And if the sparring match is over eternal truths (as distinct from nonessential issues), don’t give in to your erroneous and broken opponents.
No, don’t be rude or contemptuous or defiant or stubborn, especially when you don’t know very much of Scripture or basic doctrine; don’t be those things particularly to your pastor who has a good heart and knows the Word. But if the Scripture is really, really clear, be firm and resolute about your interpretation of such issues, e.g. Christ is the Lord, or sin should not be accepted in the church, despite the culture’s pressure to compromise (e.g. about same-sex marriages).
“Pharisees”:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
This group, among others, were the Watchdogs of Theology and Behavior (David E. Garland, Luke: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Zondervan, 2011], p. 243). The problem which Jesus had with them can be summed up in Eccl. 7:16: “Be not overly righteous.” He did not quote that verse, but to him they were much too enamored with the finer points of the law, while neglecting its spirit (Luke 11:37-52; Matt. 23:1-36). Instead, he quoted this verse from Hos. 6:6: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). Overdoing righteousness, believe it or not, can damage one’s relationship with God and others.
“statement”: it is the Greek noun logos, and its definition is huge, but I like “statement” because it is as if the Pharisees are the religious police. But if you want to translate it as “word,” you may certainly do so.
16:
“Herodians”:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
“disciples”: of the Pharisees. Young Saul was a disciple of Gamaliel, a Pharisee, who lived in Jerusalem (Acts 5:34; 22:3). It would be a bridge too far to believe that Saul was among these disciples. If he had been, surely we would have heard about it, even hinted at, in his epistles. But did he hear about this confrontation from them a few years later? We’ll never know.
All of these words were flattery and hypocritical, but they were true in an objective sense. It’s a bad idea to accept flattering words, even if true. Just stand there and smile, as you wait for the hypocrisy to come out.
“you are not swayed by anyone”: literally the Greek says, “It is no concern of yours about anyone.” I just couldn’t go literal this time. In sum, the flattering Pharisees and Herodians tell him that he doesn’t care what people say or think about him. He’s not easily swayed by shifting opinions. The church needs to be careful about following the trends in society.
“for you are not intimidated by people”: literally it says, “You do not look towards face of people.” I just could not go literal here, either. Preachers often look at the faces of people and get intimidated. Don’t.
17-18:
Satan was the first to test Jesus (4:1-11). Jesus sees these religious leaders as being in league with the evil spirit being. However, he will teach these religious leaders a lesson in basic theology.
“hypocrites”: originally it comes from the Greek play actor on the stage. They wore masks and played roles. There were stock characters, such as the buffoon, the bombastic soldier, or the old miser. The Septuagint (pronounced sep-TOO-ah-gent and abbreviated LXX for the “seventy” scholars who worked on it) is a third to second century translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. It uses the term hypocrite to mean the godless. However, in Matthew’s Gospel (it is used only once in Mark 7:6 and three times in Luke 6:42; 12:56; 13:15), it is more nuanced. Hypocrites appeared one way, but in reality they were different. They appeared outwardly religious, but inwardly they were full of dead men’s bones (Matt. 23:27). They wore religious masks. They actually did many things that the law required, but they failed to understand God’s view of righteousness. They were more self-deceived than deceivers, though in Matt. 23, Jesus denounced the Pharisees and experts in the law for teaching one thing but living another. They are religious show-offs who act out their righteousness to impress others but are out of touch with God’s mercy and love. Eccl. 7:16 says not to be overly righteous, but that is what they were and displayed it publicly.
They pose their question. To be honest, it was an effective strategy of entrapment. However, we are about to watch the literal genius and literal anointing of Jesus on full display. It is stunning (to me at least) that he could come up with such a piercing and clarifying and rich answer immediately after this challenge. At the end of the discussion the Pharisees and Herodians will be hushed, and Jesus will emerge victorious in public.
Jesus used his discernment to perceive or recognize their wickedness or evil. He knew that they were testing him.
A denarius was the standard daily wage for a laborer (Matt. 20:1-16).
19-22:
How would he reply? A revolt? Then his enemies would have reported this defiant reply to the governor, who would have come out and arrested him at the wrong time, before the connection to Passover. He was going to be the Passover lamb who would die for the sin of the whole world (1 Cor. 5:6; John 1:29). The flow of events would have been out of line. He had a higher and different mission, from God.
Instead, his answer is going to be brilliant and revealing. Even his opponents will be amazed.
Caesar’s image and inscription are on the coin, which, representing the entire worldly economy, belongs to him or his administration representing him. Jesus’s kingdom does not belong to or is tied down by this kingdom. His kingdom rises above it. However, let’s not overlook the truth that ultimately all kingdoms are overseen by God. In his sovereignty, he is the Lord of the world, not Caesar, though all government officials nowadays may believe that they are.
Gen. 1:26-27 says that people have the image of God in them. God can restore clarity of this truth by their entering the kingdom of God and following him. They find their true identity in him, not in seeking their own way and their own image. It is best to let God make his image in them. So the coin had Caesar’s image on it, and we have God’s image inside of us.
One prominent NT scholar said on youtube that this passage does not separate off Caesar’s kingdom from God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom overarches and influences Caesar’s kingdom. That’s partly true, for God’s kingdom should influence kingdoms of the world. However, God’s kingdom is eternal, while the earth-bound kingdoms are all doomed to pass away. So this passage does separate off God’s kingdom from Caesar’s. But see my comments just above, for a slightly contrary view. God in his sovereignty does rule over everything.
Jesus’s answer was brilliant. This was a word of wisdom, delivered by the Spirit of God (see 1 Cor. 12:10). Some say all of Jesus’s miracles and wisdom were brought out by the Spirit; others say most or all were done by his divine nature, which he took with him when he left heaven. The dominant picture of Jesus is that he worked by the Spirit; the Spirit worked through him by the Father’s will. However, if his divine nature shone out, as at the Mt. of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:1-13), then who am I to argue? Or maybe he answered by the Spirit and by his divine nature, both. But the dominant image, in my viewpoint, in the Gospels is that Jesus replied by the Spirit.
1. Gifts of Spirit: Word of Wisdom
Paul in Rom. 13:1-7 and Peter in 1 Pet 2:13-17 develop this idea of rendering to Caesar the things that belong to him. “(1) the obligation demand ‘submission’ and loyalty. (2) All earthly rulers are put in place by God to serve its citizens and are answerable to him. (3) Submitting to Caesar is part of our submission to God; it is a mandate, not an option. (4) Paying taxes is part of that obligation and an example of submission (Rom 13:6-7).” … (Osborne on 22:21).
Recall that Jesus lived in an honor-and-shame society. When someone wins, the other guy loses or is shamed. As noted, people wrongly believe that Jesus was meek and mild out in public, as if he would just stand there and say nothing, but let his opponents steamroll right over him, as he sneaked off in defeat. These interpreters must be getting their bad ideas from a misreading of his trial, which is about to happen. Even in that case, he replied. In his public ministry, he also answered back their questions and devious strategies. He shamed them in public. No, don’t do this to shy people who mean you no harm, but stand up to the bullies. There is nothing wrong if you win the debate, and they slink away and not bother you again.
In any case, Jesus brilliantly separated off the Roman empire from the kingdom of God.
However, his accusers at his trial or arraignment before Pilate accuse him of these crimes: 1 “Then the whole group of them got up and led him to Pilate. 2 They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We have found this man to be misleading our nation and forbidding them from giving tribute to Caesar and saying of himself that Christ is king.’” (Luke 23:1-2)
So the accusations were false.
GrowApp for Matt. 22:15-22
1. Have you ever been challenged about your faith in God? How did you respond? Were you fearful, or bold like Jesus? Tell your story.
2. Read Gen. 1:26-27. You have God’s image in you. With this image, how do you belong to God, like a coin with Caesar’s image and inscription belongs to Caesar?
See my post for more ideas.
RELATED
9. Authoritative Testimony in Matthew’s Gospel
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 