Matthew 22:15-22
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke Sunday, July 5, 2026
“Give to God the Things that Are God’s”
“What do you think of Donald Trump?” No, I don’t plan on starting a debate or discussion on that topic right now. I am thinking of a time I was asked that question. I was at our booth at the Tucson Festival of Books when someone came up to the table and asked me that question. I was a little worried about how best to answer him. You can probably understand why. There are a lot of people who have very strong feelings about our current president. Those strong feelings come in both positives and negatives. Some people think that he can do nothing wrong, and some people think that he can do nothing right. I was not at the Festival to talk about Donald Trump. I wanted to talk about Jesus and about this congregation of his people. I was worried that the question was a trap.
Does it make sense that the question would come to mind when I read about and think about what happened to Jesus recorded in Matthew 22? I know the question that came to him was a trap. People with strong feelings on both sides had plotted together. There were some, the Herodians, that were apparently supportive of the Roman rule in the land. Others, like the Pharisees, wanted to get rid of the Romans altogether. That way they could be in charge and the Israelite people could govern themselves once again.
Even though they had opposite political views, these two parties had the same view of Jesus. They did not trust him. They did not like him. They wanted him out of their way. They wanted to trap him in his words. But they didn’t tell him that. They told him: “You are the best.” “You are truthful. You teach what God’s Word says. You don’t worry about who is asking you questions or who might be listening, you just say what is right.” Amazingly, what they said at first was completely true. That’s an excellent description of who Jesus is and how he lived among them. But they didn’t actually believe that, they just wanted him to answer their question. They wanted to put him at ease and throw him off their own impure motives. Then they came with their question. Not “How do you feel about Donald Trump.” Not even “How do you feel about the King?” Instead their question is a little more subtle, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
Briefly explained, Caesar was the Roman ruler. He was above Herod the king, from whom the Herodians got their name. But Herod could rule only because he had the permission of Rome and Caesar. And that was pretty dependent on Rome getting taxes from the land. So Jesus could upset most of the Jews and definitely the Pharisees by saying that people should pay taxes. Remember, they thought anyone ruling over them was an insult to them as God’s chosen people. Or Jesus could agree with the Jews and Pharisees and upset the Herodians and potentially any Roman officials that would be told about this. That’s the trap. Jesus loses. The Pharisees don’t even need to win, they just want Jesus to lose.
Doesn’t it kind of feel like even as we just reached the 250th anniversary of the birthdate of our country that political discussions all feel a little bit like this sort of a trap? If you haven’t spoken to someone about politics, you try to be especially careful until you figure out whether they’re on your side or not. Of course, not everyone worries about such traps. They think their opinions deserve loud proclamations. On the one side, “How dare you celebrate America with someone like that in the White House.” On the other side, “I can’t believe that you are so un-American that you won’t even celebrate the Fourth of July.” And it can be confusing, and it can be disorienting, and it can be really hard to know what to do.
So let’s listen as Jesus responds to this trap. He leaves everyone impressed. They walk away from this whole incident amazed. They can’t find anything wrong with the answer he gives. He starts by having them bring the coin, the denarius, used to pay the tax that they are so worried about. And right on that coin, as they are ready to admit, is the face and the inscription of Caesar. The fact that they had such a coin was an indication of the blessing that they had from Caesar’s rule. But that was not the end of the discussion. In a response that has become relatively well known to many, Jesus gives them an answer: “Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
We do owe some things to Caesar. Well, we wouldn’t say it that way necessarily. We owe certain things to the governments that God has put in place over us. What Jesus says about giving to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s should direct our attention to passages like Romans 13, where Jesus has his apostle explain in some detail what he means and why. The government does important jobs for us. It punishes evil to promote good. There would be trouble if the authorities weren’t doing that, even if you can find people who gladly claim something different. So we owe respect and honor and taxes like the ones Jesus was asked about.
How do we do at giving to Caesar the things that are Caesars? Do we pay taxes with cheerful and thankful hearts? Do we give the respect and honor that we owe to the authorities that God has placed over us? Do we thank God for the gifts that he gives by instituting governments over us? Do we even remember that God gives us gifts in this way? It certainly is not always easy to put away our own preferences and opinions and to acknowledge that even when we are talking about governments with which we don’t agree a whole lot or like (remember, that’s what Paul was dealing with and what Jesus’ disciples were dealing with), even then we can recognize that God uses them to bless us. And maybe that helps us be a little kinder in conversations about politics and a little less judgmental in our views.
Unfortunately, sometimes we focus on that lesson about government and then we forget the rest of what Jesus says here. Let’s not do that. He also calls us to give to God the things that are God’s. And we don’t need a coin to help us visualize that. We can do better. Look around. Everything you see belongs to God and comes from him. All the blessings you can think of, all the good memories you can conjure up, all the hopes and loves come from God. So how do we give to God the things that are God’s? Well, let’s start with thankfulness and with recognizing that he is the source of every blessing, including what we have already mentioned about governing authorities.
That puts things into perspective, too. Jesus wasn’t intent on just answering a question. He was pointing the people to God. The government does indeed do much for us, but it does far less for us than God does. Our perspective ought to be that God’s Word will accomplish much more for me than any law or elected official. God’s gifts will serve my needs far better than any political party or platform. If I am more concerned about winning an argument with my neighbor than I am seeing him in heaven, then I have misplaced priorities. “Give to God the things that are God’s” means that I owe God everything that I am and everything that I have.
Don’t despair if you realize that you have not lived up to that. It’s true you have not, but you have someone who has. That same Jesus who amazed everyone by sidestepping the Pharisees’ trap and yet answering their question lived out what he taught. He gave to Caesar what he owed to Caesar. He paid the taxes that were demanded of him and obeyed the authorities that were placed over him. He honored, served, and obeyed all of God’s representatives in his life, even to the point that those authorities demanded his life from him.
But above all, he feared, loved, and trusted in his heavenly Father. He lived a life of perfect thankfulness and obedience. He did it all and sacrificed it all for you and for me. Now we get to reflect that same fear, love, and trust in our lives. That’s what it means for us to give to God the things that are God’s. And that includes giving to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
Unfortunately, when I was trapped by a question about Donald Trump, I don’t think anyone went away amazed. That man really just wanted to argue with me about how unreliable the Bible is, even to the point of suggesting that Jesus never lived. It’s not always easy to love the people who come to us with attitudes like that. It’s not always easy to deal with people whose politics disagree with ours. But we are called to something much more important than winning an argument or proving a point. We are called to give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. That’s a great way to celebrate this holiday weekend. It’s a great way to say, “God bless America.”
The Text: Matthew 22:15–22 (EHV)
15Then the Pharisees went out and plotted together how to trap him in his words. 16They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in accord with the truth. You are not concerned about gaining anyone’s approval because you are not swayed by appearances. 17So tell us, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18But Jesus knew their evil purpose and said, “Why are you testing me, hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.”
They brought him a denarius.
20He asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
21“Caesar’s,” they replied to him.
Then he said to them, “Therefore give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
22When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.