Jesus on Paying Taxes

Conventional wisdom is that Jesus said we should pay taxes. Here is the relevant verse:

Mark 12:17 And Jesus said to them, “Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.

Taken out of context it surely looks like Jesus is telling his fellow Jews to pay taxes to their Roman oppressors. But when we look at the context, it is quite different. Jesus is showing his distain both for money and for all things Roman. The verse is not Jesus telling people to pay taxes, the verse is Jesus sticking two fingers up at Roman authority. Jesus divides the world in to things that matter - "to God the things that are God’s" - and things that do not matter, the profane - "Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s".

Look at the question is the greater context of verses 13 to 27. The first half is the Pharisees asking a question that they hope will ensnare him, in the second half the Sadducees do the same. In both cases Jesus is asked a yes/no question, and yet he will be sunk if he answers either way.

So he does neither; instead he changes the framing. The woman who married seven times will be married to no one in the afterlife because marriage is irrelevant. Paying Roman taxes is irrelevant, it is spiritual riches you should worry about.

It's A Trap!

Look at the verses in more detail. Here is the run up.

Mat 22:15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?”

18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 

What was the trap the Pharisees laid? What did the Pharisees hope would happen?

I think they knew Jesus told people to not pay taxes, and they wanted him to say that in front of witnesses. But if the conventional view is right, then Jesus was all for people paying taxes. So what could they hope to achieve?

No Taxes

The passage continues:

19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

If a man has 1000 denarii, how many had Caesar's head on them? How many is Jesus telling should be given to Caesar? All of them. Not just the tax, but all of them.

He is not saying to give only what you owe in taxes to Caesar, but all your coins. It is all dirty money; you should get rid of all your money and concern yourself with spiritual things instead. 

How can we be sure? Well the Bible tells us:

Luke 23:1 Then the entire assembly of them set out and brought Him before Pilate. 2 And they began to bring charges against Him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.”

In fairness, this is an accusation by his enemies, but I think it telling that the text offers no suggestion they were lying and there is no record of Jesus denying the claim.

There is also this passage.

Mat 17:24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

25 “Yes, he does,” he replied.

When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?”

26 “From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. 27 “But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

It is a little ambiguous, and it must be noted that Jesus does magically produce coins to pay the tax, though without getting his own hands dirty by touching the coins note. However, my interpretation is that Jesus is claiming to be exempt, on the basis that he is the son of God, the ultimate ruler.

Dirty Money

Jesus' view that all money is dirty is seen in several other verses.

Luke 12:32 ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Luke 6:20 Looking at his disciples, he said:

‘Blessed are you who are poor,

for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now,

for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

for you will laugh.

...

24 ‘But woe to you who are rich,

for you have already received your comfort.

Mark 10:23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is[e] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

The last passage is particular significant because it shows the disciples had no money, and hence were incapable of paying taxes.

Paul on Taxes

Paul has quite a different take - but then, he never met Jesus.

Rom 13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

The Church's Take

The church has been intimately connected to rulers and governments, nd so has had a vested interest in promoting the paying of taxes. It makes its own money from tithes, which are just taxes by another name.

My Take

Personally, I think in general we should pay taxes. This is how the government fund education, policing, healthcare (well, in most countries), etc. However, Jesus was in a different situation to me; he was living under a government of occupation, and in that situation, I can understand his reluctance to pay.