“Yours, Mine, and Ours”

Midweek Lent

March 11, 2026

Matthew 22:15-22

Then the Pharisees went off and began to plot how they might trap Jesus by his speech. They sent their disciples to Jesus, accompanied by sympathizers of Herod, who said, “Teacher, we know you’re honest and teach God’s way sincerely. You court no one’s favor and don’t act out of respect for important people. Give us your opinion, then, in this case. Is it lawful to pay tax to the Roman emperor, or not?” 

Jesus recognized their bad faith and said to them, “Why are you trying to trick me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin which is used to pay the tax.” When they handed Jesus a small Roman coin, Jesus asked them, “Whose head is this, and whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. At that, Jesus said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, but give to God what is God’s.” When they heard this, they were astonished and went away.

Message:

It comes near the end of Jesus’ life and ministry. He’s already entered Jerusalem to great fanfare and toppled the tables of money-changers at the Temple. The first event was a slap in the face of Rome’s rule, and the second was a slap in the face of religious authorities. So I guess we shouldn’t be surprised when the Pharisees and Herodians ban together to trap Jesus.

The Pharisees, of course, represent the religious leaders. The Herodians were responsible for sending the taxes to Rome on behalf of King Herod. Typically natural enemies, they found a common enemy in Jesus. One thing they can agree to disagree on is taxes. So they ask, “Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar?” Is it lawful? That depends. Whose laws are we talking about, anyway? Rome’s? Or God’s?

It’s such an obvious trap, but it also seems impossible to get out of. If he says one thing, he puts himself further into trouble with Rome. If he says another, he commits blasphemy against God. But Jesus isn’t limited to the choices we give him.

He asks for a Roman coin. Presumably, he’s still in the Temple where he’s been teaching. No one is allowed to bring in empire coinage because it bears the image of a living being. And that’s against religious law. But someone has such a coin and brings it forth. Instead of commenting on that particular faux pas, Jesus asks about the image. Whose image is it?

It’s the only time in the gospels in which this particular Greek word is used. The same word that the Septuagint uses when referring to God’s image in Genesis 1. You know, the part where humans are created in the image of God.

So, he asks, “Whose image is this?” Well, it’s Caesar’s, of course. They missed it. They missed the obvious—or perhaps not-so-obvious—connection. Even Caesar is created in God’s image, whether or not he behaves like it. So Jesus lets it drop with the provocative comment: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s; give to God what is God’s.”

He turns their trap back on them, letting them ponder—and probably fight—over what belongs to whom. The Herodians will argue that Caesar gets what Caesar wants. And the Pharisees will argue that all of creation belongs to God. And Jesus will walk away and prepare for the next trick.

Much ink has been spilled on what his statement really means. Does it mean that we should pay taxes, even when our taxes aren’t being used to make our lives better? When they go to wage war on the other side of the world? When they are used to hide violence and corruption?

Does it mean that we shouldn’t pay taxes at all, but should give everything to the church? Should we place our hope in an institution that, even at its best, often fails to share the gospel to those who need it most?

Or, perhaps, it means something completely different. Perhaps it means getting past the either/or approach we like to take with our lives. Instead, Jesus makes a third way—a way through the middle. A way that is messy and complicated and unclear. But a way that diffuses ultimate power—for both the Church and the Empire. A way that allows us to take a step back and put people first, as God intended—whether that is through government policies or church ministries.

Perhaps this is Jesus’ way of challenging us to recognize that serving God means recognizing and loving God’s image in others—even if the other is as awful as Caesar. And maybe it means that sometimes serving God also means resisting empire and resisting injustice.

Jesus’ statement undermines our definition of ‘lawful’ and pushes us to ‘compassion.’ Any number of things may be lawful without being right. And any number of things may be unlawful while being the only righteous way forward. And most things are a little of both.

So instead of dividing our world into what is yours and what is mine, perhaps God’s third way is seeing it all as ours.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE