Luke recounts the story of the chief priests’ attempt at putting Jesus in a situation where his answer is certain to anger one side or the other. He is referencing the baptism of John (by God or by man?), and if we read a little further we find the passage everyone is so familiar with: “Give unto Caesar what is his and unto God what is His.” The subject is, of course, taxes. How relevant!
Instead of taking a stand themselves, the priests want Jesus to tell them, and the people, what he thinks is right. They want Jesus to answer both the baptism and the tax question - taunting him into answering questions that they are afraid to answer themselves.
I think the question, rather than the answer, may inform us more about relevance today. How often do we now see our leaders trying to make law but retain deniability and escape any backlash from “the People”? As are the chief priests, they are cowards, not wanting to anger the group at the bottom or the top. It is today, as it was in Jesus’ time, a struggle between those who have a lot and those who have little or nothing, between the common man and the “elite.”
Jesus’ answer seems to say that the politics of state are separate from the politics of the soul. While we hope that the state is run with fairness and compassion we can’t count on it, but we must be willing to participate in life even when our leaders are making unfair laws or, as the priests are, afraid to make judgments for fear of being on the wrong side. Because of fear, they do nothing.
The priests are playing games with Jesus. We see all around us people in positions of power, either in a church or in public office, playing games with words from both or either the Old or New Testaments. Are we playing games with ourselves? It can sometimes be too easy to “play around” with the meaning of what we are taught so that we can make it fit our personal goals and objectives.
John Power
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