Give to Caesar and God. What exactly did Jesus mean when He said it? Some pastors believe that he was speaking of tithing. Is there solid evidence to support that belief?
Let’s peek under the covers and see what we can find.
Here’s an ultimate guide to tithing.
Give To Caesar and God The Bible Verse
Mark 12:13-17 (NIV)
Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
Give To Caesar and God — Trapping Jesus
Jesus must have provided some indication that He opposed the paying of taxes to Caesar. Why else would the Pharisees attempt to trap Him? The posed question was brilliant in its simplicity.
If Jesus states “Yes! Pay taxes to Caesar” then He’s complicit with a Godless dictator who is opposed to God. If He states that the imperial tax is illicit then He makes Rome His enemy.
It’s a classic Catch-22 situation.
Jesus, who was always many steps ahead of His interlocutors, masterfully handled the situation without directly answering the question.
Breaking The First and Second Commandments
Jesus asks for a copy of the coin. A person brings one to Him. Perhaps, Jesus was not part of that financial system and didn’t have one of the coins.
He looks at the coin and fires His first shot:
Mark 12:16 (NIV) They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Jesus carefully selected His words hearkening back to the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 20:4 (NIV) “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
This was a direct blow to the experts in the law.
The inscription was dreadful. What was the wording on the coin? On one the inscription read, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” The other side of the coin had the image of Pax the Roman goddess of peace with the inscription “High Priest.”
The images and inscriptions wreaked havoc on the Pharisaical plan.
Did Jesus Advocate The Payment of Taxes
This entire text is theologically confounding. Was Jesus truly advocating the payment of taxes to a corrupt dictator? I tend to agree with Jeff Barr. Jesus was allowing listeners to choose allegiances while also advocating subtle sedition.
Paying taxes is neither patriotic nor spiritual. Reducing your tax burden is a subtle act of sedition.
Christians should eliminate, reduce, and minimize taxes as much as possible. Tax dollars are used to murder babies, start and continue unjust wars, and spread lawlessness.
The NIV does a great job of interpreting the final verse.
“Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” The word “back” is key.
Caesar, like every political ruler, was corrupt. How could a Jew “give back” to Caesar when he had stolen everything?
Modern governments are similar. Citizens are taxed for buying things, working, owning land, having a pet, driving on roads, and many other things.
What can one possibly “give back” to the State?
Jesus was not advocating the payment of taxes. He also did not advocate withholding taxes.
His subtle sedition on taxes was picked up by someone. One of the crucifixion charges laid on Jesus had to do with taxes.
Luke 23:2 (NIV) And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
Give To Caesar and God — Did Jesus Advocate Tithing?
Jesus understood the Law of Moses. He knew what tithing was and what it was not. Tithing was never money. It was always food. In this context, the question was about money and not tithing.
If you want to go deeper into WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT TITHING click here.
Money changed hands at the temple. The temple tax was established in the Law of Moses and reiterated in the book of Nehemiah. Jesus paid the temple tax.
Matthew 17:27 (NIV) “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”
A Weak Tithing Argument
The Caesarian Tithing Paradox is a weak tithing argument and should be disregarded as proof that Jesus supported tithing.
First of all, money pays taxes. Tithing was always edible food products. Jesus did not conflate the two concepts and neither should we.
Secondly the statement “give to God” is ambiguous. We should resist taking liberty with the text.
Giving to gospel causes should be joyous.
Paying taxes — not so much. I’ve heard both Ron Blue and Jim Rohn state one should be happy about paying taxes. I disagree.
Tim manages a $ billion+ loan portfolio. He loves to write and teach about biblical stewardship. He has authored three stewardship books, including The Profit Dare. His fourth book, Savvy Stewardship, will be released in May 2024. He hosts The Profit Dare and Sola Melodica YouTube Channels.
He has an MBA from Cornerstone University and a Certificate in Behavioral Finance from Duke University.
Tim is a former church planter, youth pastor, and short-term missionary.