Transperency before God and our fellow humans
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Is 45: 1, 4-6; Salm 95; 1 Tess 1:1-5b; Mt 22:15-21
The theme of hypocrisy comes to centre stage in the Matthean Gospel text which the Church proclaims on the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Matthew informs us that, “the Pharisees went off and made a plan to trap Jesus with questions”. The verb “to trap” is not very common in the Gospels; indeed Matthew makes use of this verb to manifest the seriousness of the situation. Let us recall that it was something against Jewish law to attempt to “trap” somebody with questions.
The hypocrisy of the Pharisees is further brought into the limelight when they join forces with the Herodians against Jesus, when we know that the Pharisees and the Herodians were enemies of each other. The Pharisees observed the law to the letter and wanted the Jewish people to gain independence from Roman dominion. Indeed, they considered Ceasar as the one who had taken the place of God. As strict observers of the law, the Pharisees opposed the use of Roman money as these carried images of false gods on them.
On the other hand, the Herodians sympathized with the Romans and hence they profited from this situation. They had no religious or nationalistic interest but their sole aim was to get richer and gain more power. To reach these goals, they had to favour Rome. What they held common with the Pharisees was their hatred of Jesus.
In this Sunday’s narrative, we see that both the Pharisees and the Herodians thought they had succeeded to corner Jesus with an intriguing question: “Tell us … is it against our law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor or not?” If Jesus had declared that they should pay their tribute to the emperor, they would have accused him of breaking Moses’ law, of collaborating with a pagan emperor, and of helping in propagating worship to the emperor. On the other hand, if Jesus’ answer to their question had been negative, the Herodians would have instantly reported him to the Romans accusing him of breaking the law and of instigating the people against Roman government.
Jesus slips away from their trap by asking for a coin. By doing so, he showed them that he carried no Roman coin and that he did abide by Jewish law which, as we already said in the above, prohibited the use of Roman money. When his enemies themselves took out a Roman coin, they manifested their hypocrasy as they showed themselves adhering to a system which they themselves described as oppressive.
When Jesus told them to pay to the emperor what belongs to the emperor, he was making it clear that it was good and necessary that they give their financial contribution for the benefit of the common good. But he also wanted to the drive the message home that if they had to give to the governor what they were obliged to give, then how much more should they do the same with God on whom all man’s life and existence depend. Let us remember that our faithfulness to civil government must enshrined within a wider context, namely that of total servitude to God.
Is 45: 1, 4-6; Salm 95; 1 Tess 1:1-5b; Mt 22:15-21
The theme of hypocrisy comes to centre stage in the Matthean Gospel text which the Church proclaims on the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Matthew informs us that, “the Pharisees went off and made a plan to trap Jesus with questions”. The verb “to trap” is not very common in the Gospels; indeed Matthew makes use of this verb to manifest the seriousness of the situation. Let us recall that it was something against Jewish law to attempt to “trap” somebody with questions.
The hypocrisy of the Pharisees is further brought into the limelight when they join forces with the Herodians against Jesus, when we know that the Pharisees and the Herodians were enemies of each other. The Pharisees observed the law to the letter and wanted the Jewish people to gain independence from Roman dominion. Indeed, they considered Ceasar as the one who had taken the place of God. As strict observers of the law, the Pharisees opposed the use of Roman money as these carried images of false gods on them.
On the other hand, the Herodians sympathized with the Romans and hence they profited from this situation. They had no religious or nationalistic interest but their sole aim was to get richer and gain more power. To reach these goals, they had to favour Rome. What they held common with the Pharisees was their hatred of Jesus.
In this Sunday’s narrative, we see that both the Pharisees and the Herodians thought they had succeeded to corner Jesus with an intriguing question: “Tell us … is it against our law to pay taxes to the Roman Emperor or not?” If Jesus had declared that they should pay their tribute to the emperor, they would have accused him of breaking Moses’ law, of collaborating with a pagan emperor, and of helping in propagating worship to the emperor. On the other hand, if Jesus’ answer to their question had been negative, the Herodians would have instantly reported him to the Romans accusing him of breaking the law and of instigating the people against Roman government.
Jesus slips away from their trap by asking for a coin. By doing so, he showed them that he carried no Roman coin and that he did abide by Jewish law which, as we already said in the above, prohibited the use of Roman money. When his enemies themselves took out a Roman coin, they manifested their hypocrasy as they showed themselves adhering to a system which they themselves described as oppressive.
When Jesus told them to pay to the emperor what belongs to the emperor, he was making it clear that it was good and necessary that they give their financial contribution for the benefit of the common good. But he also wanted to the drive the message home that if they had to give to the governor what they were obliged to give, then how much more should they do the same with God on whom all man’s life and existence depend. Let us remember that our faithfulness to civil government must enshrined within a wider context, namely that of total servitude to God.
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