A reading from the gospel according to: Mark 12:13-17
13 Some Pharisees and some members of Herod’s party were sent to Jesus to trap him with questions.
14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you tell the truth, without worrying about what people think. You pay no attention to anyone’s status, but teach the truth about God’s will for people. Tell us, is it against our Law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor? Should we pay them or not?”
15 But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring a silver coin, and let me see it.”
16 They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.”
17 So Jesus said, “Well, then, pay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” And they were amazed at Jesus.
Reflection: Mark 12:13-17
The gospel reading above is one of the interrogation stories with the purpose of the embarrassing Jesus and also producing a reason to eliminate Him. During that time, the Jews were under the control of the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus whose empire was considered one of the greatest empire in the history of the world. Yet in Israel, trouble was brewing. Nationalistic fervor was on the rise. Ordinary Jews hated the Romans, not only because of oppression but more importantly, because these foreigners do not share their belief in one God.
Jesus has become a popular preacher who spread the message of the Kingdom of God and whose lifestyle was different from the religious leaders at that time. These leaders consider Him a troublemaker. So they came looking for a way to trap Him and find a reason to stop Him from destroying their centuries-old tradition. Their question about paying taxes to Caesar would surely put Jesus in a bind or so they thought. If He agrees that paying taxes to the Roman Empire is legitimate, He will alienate His followers and He will be considered a traitor. If He says paying taxes to Caesar is not right then they will report Him to the Roman authorities for disobedience and possibly subversion.
The answer of Jesus was amazing. Instead of embarrassing Him, the “interrogators” were silenced by the His wisdom. The coin with the emperor’s image does not belong to God. Give it to whom it belongs but never forget to give glory to the One true God. The religious leaders were known as lovers of money. Jesus can read what’s in their heart. They dislike to pay taxes because they themselves like to keep the money for themselves.
Let us pray that we may not be attached to earthly matters and instead focus ourselves to give glory to God in everything we do.