The Pharisees and the Herodians, sworn mutual enemies, become friends for a while and scheme against Jesus with an insidious question to trap him, “Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar or not?†They knew if Jesus said ‘yes’, he would lose favour with the people who hated imperial rule. If he said ‘no’, they could label him as an insurrectionist. Nonetheless, they didn’t succeed in ensnaring Jesus, because his response went beyond all their cunning calculations: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar‘s and to God the things that are God’s.â€
Apparently, with this answer Jesus makes a distinction between civil authority and religious authority and underlines the importance of fulfilling one’s duties and responsibilities both to God and to state. Now the question is, what is Caesar’s and what is not God’s? Is there anything in this world that is not of God? Even Caesar and his kingdom – his rights, powers and possessions belong only to God! If a coin, struck with the image and inscription of the emperor, belongs to him, every human person created in the image and likeness of God belongs to him and only to him!