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Pay Tax Unto Who?

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Mark 13:17 – March 22, 2026

“Pay Tax Unto Who?”

            If you have lived in Chicago for any length of time, you probably know how much many people around here are involved with politics.

My mother, God rest her soul, was a volunteer for the League of Women Voters. She wanted to get as many people involved in the political process as possible. Even though politics was sometimes crooked, and sometimes politicians played dirty, still – my mother had great integrity, and she wanted to get as many people involved in voting and in democracy as possible.   

            The people of the first century did not have that option. The Roman Empire had all the power at that time, and Rome was certainly not a democracy. The Jewish people were under the heel of Roman occupation, and every Jew knew it. Plus, like any large bureaucracy, the people who worked for the Roman empire and the Roman occupation had its bad apples and crooked employees. Just like many political bureaucracies throughout the centuries.

Sure, the Roman empire had its governors, and its tax collectors, and most importantly its garrisons of Roman soldiers to make sure everything in the provinces was kept in order. And, a very large part of that order was convincing the local population to pay taxes to Rome. Which is where our narrative begins: two separate factions of Jews are both trying to catch the Rabbi Jesus in a big boo-boo. Something that would get the Rabbi Jesus in big trouble with the Roman authorities. These two groups – factions – opposing teams, if you want to think of them that way – are the Pharisees and the Herodians.

These two groups or factions are not friendly with each other at all. However, both of these groups want to discredit Jesus! They want to make the Rabbi Jesus look bad, and if possible, get Him in trouble with the Roman authorities!  

            Let’s take a look at what the Gospel of Mark says. The Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday has just happened. Jesus has entered the City of Jerusalem, and the stakes are higher than ever. Let’s listen to how Mark sets up this interaction:         

“They sent some of the Pharisees and some supporters of Herod to trap him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, ’“Teacher, we know that you’re genuine and you don’t worry about what people think. You don’t show favoritism but teach God’s way as it really is. Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay taxes or not?’”

            I want everyone to be sure we all understand. The Pharisees are the ultimate, strict rule-keepers. They not only keep every rule or Law in the Mosaic Law Code themselves, but they are ready and eager to shake their fingers at any Jew who does not keep all of the rules! And then, we have the supporters or followers of Herod. Some translations call them Herodians. These are more secular Jews, more lax in the rule-following department.

Let’s hear what these two groups ask Jesus, again: ’“Teacher, we know that you’re genuine and you don’t worry about what people think. You don’t show favoritism but teach God’s way as it really is. Does the Law allow people to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay taxes or not?’”

“So, here are two parties whose only point of agreement is their fear and hatred of Jesus. The Pharisees object to the tax on religious grounds. The Herodians support it on political grounds.” [1] And, both factions wanted to get the Rabbi Jesus in big trouble!

This seemingly straight-forward question is a trap! If Jesus answers, “Yes! We all must pay our taxes.” Then, the strict rule-following Pharisees will be mad at Him for putting something before God, who is over all! However, if Jesus answers, “No! We can’t pay taxes to an outside, foreign and pagan government!” Well, then, the Roman empire and occupation will come down hard on the Rabbi Jesus for fomenting radical and treasonous activity! Telling people not to pay taxes? Lock up this upstart Rabbi! He’s preaching rebellion and civil disobedience!

            As is so often the case in dealing with suspicious or downright angry groups of people, our Lord Jesus has great finesse. He is able to read the room. And actually, our Lord is helped by His Godly ability to discern the intentions of people’s hearts.

Listen to what Mark says in the follow-up to this question: “Since Jesus recognized their deceit, he said to them, ‘Why are you testing me? Bring me a coin. Show it to me.’ 16 And they brought one. He said to them, ‘Whose image and inscription is this?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. 17 Jesus said to them, ‘Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.’ His reply left them overcome with wonder.”

            So many times, these responses of Jesus are absolutely on the money! (see what I did there?) Seriously, these responses of Jesus are so on the mark, they absolutely flabbergast the people interrogating Jesus.

            As the Rev. Alyce McKenzie says, “The trouble is that we want blueprints and prescriptions. We want someone to tell us what to do and think. To know that Jesus is still available, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, to guide us in evaluating our own and others’ motives and making decisions about our allegiances and priorities may not be specific enough for our tastes.” [2]

            This whole subject of taxes is a matter of jurisdiction. We see the coin, and can hold a depiction of Caesar. Caesar clearly has staked out his realm in this visible world. However, God’s realm is very different. I hope many people do not criticize me for turning all touchy-feely, but that is exactly what Jesus is saying repeatedly in His description of the Realm of God. He does not give a definition of the Kingdom or Realm of God right here in this particular reading from Mark, but Jesus certainly does in other parts of Mark chapter 12!

Let us go a bit further down in Mark 12, to verses 28-34. This is where the Rabbi Jesus tells everyone which the most important feature of the Kingdom – the Realm of God. Jesus tells us what is the Greatest Commandment in the Law of Moses. Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself. That’s it. That is all. Love God, first and foremost, and love your neighbor – any neighbor, near or far, of any nationality, any language spoken, any faith tradition, any other similarity or difference – love your neighbor as yourself. Period. That commandment encompasses the Law and the Prophets. That is rendering to God what is God’s. 

The issues of today may be weighty, indeed. Plus, we all can hold up the heavenly values we see our Lord Jesus consistently live. “We all can look for God’s work beyond our community, and the places we normally expect God to be. We can call each other back to God’s word and promise and charge that we are each made in God’s own image and likeness and are therefore called to live in a way that others may detect the family resemblance.” [3]

Could we consider our situation in the modern day? Instead of squabbling about nonessentials, with some television preacher or self-help book telling us all what to do or think, what blueprint to follow or which prescription to take, why don’t we all consider loving God, and loving our neighbor. Period.

That’s the way to follow Jesus. Amen.

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my other blogs: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!

[1] https://www.patheos.com/resources/additional-resources/2011/10/state-vs-god-alyce-mckenzie-10-10-2011  

[2] Ibid.

[3] https://www.davidlose.net/2017/10/pentecost-20-a-image-likeness-and-identity/

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Jesus Seeks and Saves

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Luke 19 zaccchaeus-the-publican

“Jesus Seeks and Saves”

Luke 19:1-10 – September 1, 2019

Do you know anyone who is really unpopular? I mean, so unpopular that people turn their backs and ignore them when they come around? That is just the sort of person we are going to talk about today: a particularly unpopular, even despised person.

The Gospel of Luke chapter 19 tells us of the tax collector Zacchaeus and the encounter he had with the Rabbi Jesus. Jesus had been in ministry for almost three years, and I suspect that He was a celebrity in the Jewish population. Perhaps even of rock-star-status, given Jesus had healed people, cast demons out of people, and performed all sorts of other miracles for the past three years. It’s no wonder Jesus attracted such a crowd wherever He went!

When you or I read about tax collectors during the first century, we might think they were simply unpleasant people tasked with an unfortunate job. Because, someone had to do it! The Roman Empire occupied a huge territory, including the region of what is now Israel and Palestine. The Roman army was the occupying force that policed the region. The conquered Jewish people were a subjugated people. But, that was not all.

No one likes to pay taxes. And, taxes are even worse when they are being collected by an occupying force, like the Romans. Except—the Romans were fiendishly clever. Some of the native population was used to collect taxes. Here’s what happened. The taxation system the Romans used was ripe for abuse. The Roman government farmed out the collection of taxes and sold off the right to do tax collection to the highest bidder. All that was necessary was that the Romans receive their assessed financial amount at the end of the year. Any money over that amount could be kept by the native-born tax collector. And, boy, did they collect the money! As I said before, this was a scheme sure to be abused. Talk about a shakedown racket!

Was it any wonder that these tax collectors were especially despised by their fellow Jews? These Jewish shakedown artists collaborated with the Roman overlords, besides being seen as extortionists for collecting double, and even triple the amount stipulated by the Roman tax assessment.

Some people think the United States tax code is punishing. They haven’t seen anything, compared to these tax collectors who were backed up by the force of the occupying Romans. In other words, just in case any Jewish person was even thinking of not paying taxes, the Roman army could come knocking at the door and drag them off to prison for tax dereliction. What is more, Zacchaeus was the chief tax collector, in charge of all the other tax collectors in the region. He must have been simply rolling in dough.

There is more, in terms of social consequences. Even though he was very wealthy, Zacchaeus had lost his place in the local synagogue, was not permitted to attend worship services, and was totally ostracized from all “decent society” in town. I mention all this to let everyone know what a scandal it was.

On top of everything else, Zacchaeus was extremely short, and probably felt even worse because of his little stature. New Testament scholar Anselm Grun theorizes that “Zacchaeus wanted to stand out to gain recognition, but the result was that he was isolated and rejected. He felt compelled to set himself above people because, alongside them, he felt too small. So perhaps there was a vicious cycle of insecurity, exploitation of others, loneliness, and rejection at work in Zacchaeus’s relationships in the community, or, more accurately, his lack of relationships.” [1]

But, no matter what, this guy really wanted to see the Rabbi Jesus!

We know what happened. Reading from Luke 19, Zacchaeus “wanted desperately to see Jesus, but the crowd was in his way—he was a short man and couldn’t see over the crowd. So, he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus when he came by.” Can you just see Zacchaeus, his head and shoulders poking out between the branches of a sycamore tree? What about the Rabbi Jesus? He called Zacchaeus by name! Can you imagine? Calling a hated tax collector by name, and even proclaiming that He would eat dinner at that tax collector’s house that evening?

What a scandal! What a horrible thing for a respectable Jewish Rabbi to do! Can you imagine what all the “decent folk” in Jericho had to say about that?

Yet, isn’t this just like Jesus?

Again and again in the Gospels, especially in Luke’s Gospel, we see Jesus side with those on the margins, those who are the least of these, those who are disrespected and dismissed. Jesus comes alongside of the down and out and those not accounted as much in the eyes of the world. “While Zacchaeus is rich, he is nevertheless despised by his neighbors, counted as nothing, even as worse than nothing. Yet Jesus singles him out.” [2]

I follow the social media account Invisible People on Twitter. This account regularly posts articles and photos of those people who are invisible to society at large: the homeless. The vignettes and stories are heartbreaking, on a daily basis. The followers who read Invisible People meet person after person who had a job and lost it, or had a spouse and lost them, or had an extended health reversal and lost their apartment, or any one of a dozen other sad scenarios. These people teetering on the poverty line, or even below it, pull at anyone’s heart strings.

Yet, to many people across our country, any mention of the homeless or those in shelters or camping in the woods because they do not have any other place to stay is certainly similar to mentioning “tax collectors” in first century Palestine. These “invisible” friends are despised by many “decent folk,” many who have money, education, experience, or moderately good health.

These “invisible people” of today are on the margins of society, similar to the tax collectors of the first century. Reading from Luke 19, we get some indication of what the onlookers said: “Everyone who saw the incident was indignant and grumped, “What business does Jesus have getting cozy with this crook?” 8 Zacchaeus just stood there, a little stunned. He stammered apologetically, “Master, I give away half my income to the poor—and if I’m caught cheating, I pay four times the damages.”

Jesus responds in typical, loving, caring Jesus-fashion: He lets everyone know that Zacchaeus is just as good as any of the “decent folk.” 9-10 Jesus said, “Today is salvation day in this home! Here he is: Zacchaeus, son of Abraham! For the Son of Man came to find and restore the lost.”

Who has a corner on perfect righteousness and standing before God? Which of us is not lost and wandering, at times? Don’t we all need to be found and restored to God’s loving embrace? Jesus has come to seek and save the lost, the wandering, the people on the margins and the outskirts of society, as well as “decent folk.” Jesus has His arms open wide to welcome each of us, no matter what.

Surely it is God who saves me—God has arms open to save all of us. Amen, alleluia.

[1] https://www.patheos.com/progressive-christian/power-persistence-alyce-mckenzie-10-28-2013.html

“The Power of Persistence, Part 3,” Alyce M. McKenzie, Edgy Exegesis, 2013.

[2] http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=2968  October 30, 2016

David Lose

@chaplaineliza

(Suggestion: visit me at my regular blog for 2019: matterofprayer: A Year of Everyday Prayers. #PursuePEACE – and my other blog,  A Year of Being Kind . Thanks!