O WHAT A (HOLY) WEEK ! DAY 3
Beginning on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Day we have “Holy Week” - the last week of Jesus human life. Many will readily remember some key events such as Jesus entrance into Jerusalem riding a donkey, the Last Supper, Jesus’ Crucifixion and His Resurrection. Yet so much more happens and we don’t always fully appreciate all that occurred during this week. Each day of Holy Week will look at what was going on and select just one simple thought on which to reflect.
DAY THREE - Tuesday
Today’s scripture reading (WAC Bible Reading Plan) Mark 11:27–14:2; John 12:37–50
The events.
If yesterday was a challenging day for Jesus the pace doesn’t slow down on Tuesday. It is a day packed full of activity. No other day receives more attention in the gospels than Tuesday.
# Jesus returns to the Temple passing the fig tree he cursed the previous day. He’s bravely returning to the place where yesterday he disrupted the operation of the Temple and upset the religious rulers.
# His authority is questioned by the leading priests, teachers of the law and elders And Jesus cleverly turns their question back on them.
# He teaches in the temple with parables including that of the evil farmers who stole the whole crop and killed the owners representatives and finally his son.
# The leaders send Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trick Jesus with the question “is it right to pay taxes to Caesar?”
# The Sadducees question Jesus on resurrection with a question about a widow who remarries
# Jesus responds to a teacher of religious law who asks which is the most important commandment.
# Jesus says beware of teachers who parade in public and yet cheat widows. A widow is then observed dropping her last two coins into the collection box
# On leaving the Temple that day Jesus prophecies the destruction of the Temple. On his way back to Bethany that evening He stops on the Mount of Olives to explain and answer the disciples’ questions.
Reflection
It’s hard to imagine that so much activity happened in just one day and hard to select just one thing from the day for reflection. I’m going to consider what was happening when Jesus was asked if it is right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not - should we pay or shouldn’t we?
Jesus recognised the question was set to trap him. The taxes were imposed by their Roman oppressors and were highly despised by the Jews. If Jesus answered yes pay your taxes to Caesar he would immediately lose his Jewish followers but if he said no don’t pay your taxes the chief priests would report him to the Roman Governor for sedition. The trap was set.
Jesus asks that they bring him a denarius to look at. He observes it and asks - whose image is this on the coin and whose inscription is it? They answer it is Caesar’s. Already Jesus is turning the tables back on them. How so?
The denarius had the face of Caesar with an inscription proclaiming Caesar to be the son of the divine Augustus (Caesar son of god) and on the other side was an image of the Roman goddess of peace. No God fearing Jew would carry this coin as it violated the commandments not to worship other gods or possess graven images. By asking his question Jesus showed himself not to have such a coin and in handing him one the Pharisees and Herodians showed themselves to have one. They had brought an idolatrous coin into the Holy Temple.
Jesus asks, “whose image is this?” “Caesar’s” they reply. By asking his question Jesus shows his own disregard for Caesar to whom he didn’t look for protection and peace. The swift, assertive reply of the Herodians and Pharisees suggested they acknowledged Caesar as having authority.
Jesus has turned the tables and quietened his challengers but he has not yet answered the question posed. He continues “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” This brings the encounter to an end and the crowd were amazed at Jesus’ answer.
Why, what was so amazing that left the crowd astonished?
You’ll often hear the view that Jesus was saying we must give God and country what each are due. The argument goes that this is the requirement because we are citizens of both a heavenly kingdom and also an earthly nation. If that is what Jesus had meant what’s so amazing about this? Why were the people astonished? It certainly would not have been at all popular with the crowd. No it seems to me the crowd must have understood Jesus words very differently from this. We also read later in the story that, based on this encounter, the religious leaders bring Jesus before Pontius Pilate and accuse him of telling the people not to pay their taxes. So what was Jesus really communicating to the people?
Jesus and his followers were Jews and familiar with the Torah and Prophets. In carefully choosing his words and asking whose “image” was on the coin Jesus would have triggered their core belief that they were all made in the image of God. They were imprinted with the image of God and owe everything to him. This was their citizenship.
Jesus had been asked should they pay taxes to Caesar but he doesn’t answer this directly. He says to “repay” (give Back) to Caesar what is his and to God what is his. This raises the deeper question what belongs to Caesar and what belongs to God. Any Jew would answer everything belongs to God. It’s a refrain that runs through the Torah - the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it Ps 24:1
If everything belongs to God nothing belongs to Caesar and there is nothing to repay. Maybe these blasphemous evil denarius coins that no good Jew would own could be given back to Caesar but everything else was God’s and to be used for his purposes.
We owe all of our lives to Jesus, all that we have, we are, we long for. No part of our lives is separate from the command to love the Lord our God with all our being.
Prayer
Jesus help us to live fully with our identity being as citizens of your kingdom above and beyond all else. Give us wisdom to speak words of truth to those who hold earthly power. To speak prophetically with words for justice and righteousness seeking only to do your will.
Amen