And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him. Mark 12:13-17

We find ourselves in a place in Mark's gospel where the hostility toward Jesus is reaching its peak. Soon, the religious leaders will conspire with the Roman authorities to put Christ to death. But these leaders and authorities feel a need to build their case against Jesus, and in the final week before his death, that's precisely what they set out to do. In this passage we find two enemy groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, join together in an attempt to stop Jesus. They presented a challenge to Jesus about government oppression in Rome.

The Pharisees, for their part, were against the Roman government. It grated on them that the people of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had been promised the land in their covenant with God, would be under Roman occupation. Even though many of them had slowly accepted Rome's presence, some of them thought paying taxes to Rome was unbiblical, unethical, and unholy. They felt it was a great compromise among God's people to pay the annual poll tax demanded by the unrighteous emperor from Rome. There was even a radical group called the Zealots who wanted to fight against Roman occupation.

On the other hand, the Herodians had joined themselves to the political power of Rome. And, because of their willingness to comply with Rome, they found themselves with political influence in Israel. And Jesus' life and teaching threatened to disrupt the new normal they had cultivated. He was a threat to their political advantage.

So these two groups came to challenge Jesus about Rome's taxation of Israel. And they weren't looking for Jesus to become the arbiter of their debate. They didn't come like children in need of a parent to settle an argument. Instead, they came to trap him in his talk (13). Luke's gospel says, "they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere" (Luke 20:20). They thought whatever answer Jesus gave would get him in trouble -- either with the dissenting crowds who hated Rome, or Rome who hated dissenting crowds. So they tried to trap him.

14 And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?"

Flattery

When they came to Jesus, they began with flattery. They told Jesus he was a man of integrity -- we know that you are true (14). They told Jesus he was an independent thinker -- You do not care about anyone's opinion (14). They told Jesus he was impartial in his thinking -- You are not swayed by appearances (14). And they told Jesus he was incorruptible in his teaching -- You truly teach the way of God (14).

Now, all this was true, but they did not believe these things about Jesus. They said them in an attempt to manipulate him into a foolish answer. It was all flattery. They say gossip is saying behind a person's back what you would never say to their face, but flattery is saying to a person's face what you would never say behind their back. They would never have talked privately about Jesus with such complementary terms, but to his face, they effusively praised him before asking their question. They were trying to butter him up.

But it couldn't work on Jesus. He is full of integrity. He is an independent thinker. He is impartial in his thinking. He is incorruptible in his teaching. And because he is these things, he is not susceptible to flattery. They were trying to appeal to Jesus' sinful flesh, but Jesus would not and could not sin. He is the Son of God, and he was impervious to their measly temptations.

However, we are not so strong. If we aren't careful, we can fall into the trap the Pharisees and Herodians set for Jesus. For example, you may have watched the Social Dilemma, a documentary that exposes just how culled and crafted our various social media feeds have become. They aren't designed to show us a realistic view of the world, but the view we agree with, in an attempt to keep us online a little bit longer.

Your phone is often a space that is carefully culled and crafted to tell you how right you are. We often choose the apps, the people to follow, and the material to consume that bolster our notions. It says to us, You are full of integrity. You are independent. You are impartial. You are incorruptible. But we are sinful flesh, and we should not so easily trust our conclusions. Instead, we must repeatedly go back to the solid truth of God's word. Only it, not our emotions or feelings or convictions, can be trusted. We must watch out for flattery.

The Issue: Taxes to Caesar

So, with the trap set, the Pharisees and Herodians asked their question: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not? (14)

They weren't asking, "What's Roman law? Does it require taxation?" No, they were asking about God's law. Was it lawful for the people of Israel, the covenant community of God, the household of faith, the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to pay taxes to a foreign power? What did God's law say? That's the emphasis.

That's why they ask "should WE pay them, or should WE not?" They knew they were special people. It didn't seem right that God's people would be bullied about by a tyrannical dictator from Rome. So what did Jesus think?

Again, their attempt was to put Jesus on the horns of a dilemma. If he affirmed taxation, the masses would be mad at him. If he rebelled against taxation, Rome would be forced to deal with him. So how did Jesus respond?

15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's."

Jesus was not about to be overtaken by their underhanded questions. Mark tells us he knew their hypocrisy (15). John tells us Jesus distanced himself from hype and phony praise because he himself knew what was in man (John 2:25). Knowing what these Pharisees and Herodians were made of helped Jesus avoid their trap. He was alert.

The Denarius

In response to their test, Jesus told them to bring him a denarius so he could inspect it (15). Only then would he give his answer. They brought one to Jesus (16). It was an incriminating little event. They lived their daily lives with the coinage of Caesar. They traveled Roman roads. They traded on Roman routes. They lived in Roman society. And, here, they produced a Roman denarius.

This revealed they were part of the system they denounced. They might have hated paying the census tax, but they benefited in at least some ways from the governmental situation they found themselves in. Jesus pointed this out by asking them whose image and inscription were on the denarius. The portrait on the coin Jesus held was likely of Tiberius Caesar, and the inscription read, "Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus." It was, at its core, a claim to divinity and part of the imperial cult of emperor worship. And they -- Jewish people -- were using this coinage!

17 Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him.

Next time in part 2, we will unpack Jesus’ answer.