Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] in what he said. So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed, and they left him and went away.
Matthew 22:15-22
My sermon from the 21st Sunday after Pentecost (October 18, 2026) on Matthew 22:15-22.
So it feels like every time today’s reading from the gospel according to Matthew shows up in our three year cycle of readings, I’ve spent the week leading an elementary school’s fall book fair. It’s been a lot of fun working with our school administrators, teachers, and a number of amazing volunteers to help kids camp out with a good book. The general idea for what a book fair is has always remained the same but the details constantly change. New products, new situations, new experiences, and even a new company requires us to shift, innovate, and grow. But there are times when what comes our way is something we simply have to learn to live through. Last fall, when the US government decided to no longer mint any new pennies, every cash transaction suddenly changed. We had to ask – and let the register impose – on each customer a rounding up to 5 or a 0. Most folks didn’t mind but it did make waiting in line last longer as we explained to first, second, and third graders why we couldn’t hand them a few copper colored coins. It’s not everyday the tiniest of coins can symbolize the kind of change we all live through. But I wonder if the words we heard Jesus say might remind us of what we can count on no matter what change comes our way.
Now like I’ve shared over the last few weeks, today’s reading from Matthew comes as a very busy, hectic, and dramatic part of Jesus’ life. He was, at this moment, in the city of Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Life within the city’s walls had changed since people from all over the Mediterranean as well as the Ancient Near East temporarily grew its population by over 300%. Every day activities were changed by all the religious rituals, conversations, food, and events that defined how special this celebration was meant to be. It was a tradition – and an expectation – for religious teachers from the many different flavors of Judaism to spend time during religious festivals to teach, debate, and talk about God within the Holy Temple’s courtyards. Jesus followed this practice and many folks from all over came to see him. He also, though, often changed things up in ways that frightened everyone around him. When he arrived in the city, he came in like a king riding on a donkey. He then chose to head to the Temple, turn over a few tables, and toss all kinds of coins onto the floor. The rich variety of people visiting the city didn’t necessarily carry the kind of coins and currency they could donate to the Temple or use to purchase the animals used for the necessary sacrifices. They needed moneychangers to convert what they had so that they could worship God in the place God promised to be. Jesus wasn’t the only one who recognized how any transaction involving money could lead to corruption and fraud. He chose, however, to be a little different and started a small riot while Roman soldiers were busy policing the city. The political and religious leaders within Jerusalem recognized how Jesus’ words and actions could cause trouble if those with all the swords decided to respond with violence. It was their responsibility to keep their people safe which is why they wanted to protect the status quo. Jesus, though, had a different agenda and he pushed back against those who challenged him by sharing some of the most violent stories that he knew. This didn’t sit well with those who knew that he was talking about them. Rather than letting Jesus have the last word, different groups who didn’t even like each other worked together to push Jesus aside. And so they came to Jesus while he was teaching in the Temple and asked if they should pay their taxes.
Now the word “lawful” means more than simply wondering if paying taxes is allowed under the commandments given by God at Mt. Sinai. The question Jesus asked was a political question too. At its most general level, politics are the rules we develop and put into practice while figuring out how to live together. What it looks like depends on where – and when – we are yet politics is always present in the communities we call home. Those confronting Jesus were hoping to break his community based on the answer he gave. If he told folks to pay their taxes, those who despised Rome would have seen him as something other than the Messiah. But if Jesus encouraged folks to not pay their taxes, the Roman soldiers down the block would have immediately arrested him. The plan was to change how folks included Jesus as part of their community. And so Jesus, in response, asked them to dig out some pocket change. Jesus recognized how community centric their question was as they attempted to make him into an outsider turning his back on the kind of life they all had to live. But it was they, not he, who carried a coin with the Emperor’s face etched upon it. Their community, whether they liked it or not, was part of an environment where Rome put itself at the center of it all. Wealth, value, who could own and who was owned were defined by those who had started to call themselves sons of the gods. And while we would like to claim we’re always above politics or the independent objective kind of person who always thinks on our own, the community we participate in really does shape who we imagine ourselves to be. What we assume is faithful, good, virtuous, and right is also influenced by whoever has the power to determine someone’s worth. We participate in these communities willingly or because we can’t imagine it could be any other way. And I wonder if Jesus was inviting those who wanted to change his ways to notice how a holy kind of change was already present in their lives and in their world.
Change is, I think, one of the few constants in the universe. No matter how hard we work to keep things the same, change always comes. That change could be awesome like growing up, graduating from school, taking our relationship to the next level, or learning how loved we truly are. Yet change can also be hard – giving us all kinds of grief, nostalgia, and way too many regrets. Those who confronted Jesus weren’t even born yet when Rome claimed their community as its own. Yet they were all wrapped up in the balancing act of noticing what’s lawful to God might not be lawful to Rome and vice versa. There are plenty of people who will say this kind of balancing act is always easy to figure out if we just read our Bible, go to church, or do whatever they say. Life, though, is complicated since we are always shaped by the non-heavenly things – such as money, wealth, our will, our pride, and even our politics – that we put our trust in. It would be helpful if Matthew, like the other gospels, gave us a specific character at this point whose trust changes in a very tangible way. Matthew, however, lets life stay complicated. Rather than focusing on what changed, he invites us into the work of change by showing how human we truly are. And every relationship, every community, every teaching, every experience, and every word impacts who we get to be. That, on its own, can make life feel a bit unfair – as if we’re required to figure everything out on our own. But Matthew knows there’s one other constant that will hold us through. We have – in baptism, through faith, and at his table – a Jesus who is truly with us. We have a God whose arms are always wrapped around you no matter what change comes your way. Your worth is not only defined by the communities we belong to or the amount of coins we have in our pockets. You are – and always will be – shaped by the love God has for you. And we, as followers of Jesus, get to show others how God values them too.
Amen.