Matthew 22:21

‘Then he says to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

Jesus' reply was masterly, for it clearly answered the question, and yet did it in such a way that all, even the most fervent, had to acknowledge that He was right. “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” In other words He was saying, ‘this coin clearly belongs to Caesar, for it contains his image and superscription, so give it back to him, for you should not possess it anyway unless you acknowledge his overlordship. On the other hand you are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and God has designated His people as ‘holiness to the Lord' in the superscription on the golden plate on the High Priest's headpiece (Exodus 28:36; compare also Exodus 19:5; Isaiah 44:5). The consequence is that you should therefore live your lives wholly for God.'

The remarkable nature of the reply comes out in that the Zealots would have agreed with it wholeheartedly, considering that to own denarii was unpatriotic. If they could have done so, they would gladly have bundled up all the denarii and handed them back to Caesar. And the Romans would have found nothing amiss in it, for that is what they asked, the return of their denarii in taxes. All who came in between would also have had to agree, for they felt uneasy about holding denarii, and recognised that such were not of God, and yet they did so. Thus by holding them and using them they were thereby compromising with Rome and as a result putting themselves under an obligation to Rome, and at the same time, even if only theoretically, they fervently admitted that all that they had belonged to God. Each could therefore interpret Jesus' words to speak to his own position and as in the end seeking to turn them back fully to God.

Nor was it an evasion. It was a recognised principle of the time that to use a ruler's coins was to acknowledge his overlordship, that was one reason why they were issued. The use of them therefore indicated a recognition that the users accepted civil responsibilities. Thus Jesus was saying that those who did so also had to fulfil those civil responsibilities. And yet He was also emphasising that God must have the prior claim in all things, for all things belong to God. Thus when it comes to a choice between God and the state, God must be pre-eminent. These are the principles of the new Kingly Rule of Heaven.

The idea that men could owe allegiance to an earthly sovereign, even a foreign sovereign, was not new. The principle is enunciated in Jeremiah 27:5; Jeremiah 38:17. It is based on the fact that God is sovereign over men's affairs, and that when He brings judgment on His people they must recognise their civil responsibilities even with regard to foreign overlords. The principle is confirmed by Paul in Romans 13:1.

But in contrast man is made in the image of God with the responsibility of watching over the world in His Name (Genesis 1:26; Psalms 7:5). His prime responsibility is thus to God, and to live before Him with the openness and responsiveness of little children (Matthew 19:13, compare Matthew 18:1). Had the Chief Priests, Scribes and Elders been living to God they would not have neglected God's vineyard or have rejected His Cornerstone (Matthew 21:33). Had they been living to God they would have responded to the Kingly Rule of Heaven (Matthew 21:31). And thus for those under the Kingly Rule of Heaven all must be submitted to God, while at the same time recognising civil responsibility in its rightful place.