God’s Currency
I was fortunate to be around one set of my nieces and nephews pretty regularly. I always was happy to play games with them, even the made-up games they invented. What is always so fascinating about playing games with smaller humans is that they generally follow the standard rules until they start to lose. Then all of a sudden the floor is molten lava, they have a magical necklace that acts as a force field, where they are is an automatic base, and whatever else their creativity imagines- the rules shift and change.
Even each household has their own versions of the general rule for standard games. Take Uno into consideration. The general rules of Uno don’t really change. Match the color or number and try to get rid of all your cards but don’t forget to call Uno. But then each household has their own rules that allow stacking of cards and other interesting changes to the game. There is always a catch when you play the game, either from kids or the household.
The religious authorities and the Roman Empires had strict rules to their game and reign. They created systems built on extraction, taxation, and subjugation. Then Jesus walks into the temple not willing to abide by their house rules, but to declare a completely new household has arrived—the reign of God.
It can feel a bit jarring to think of Jesus Christ stepping into a high-stakes squabble over taxation and power—yet today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus has been dealing with tricky questions about money for a very long time. And it seems that he is largely unfazed by them.
Matthew’s Gospel continues us in the Temple. The tables have been flipped, scenes have been made, and the religious leaders are angry. Jesus, the disciples, and the crowds have occupied the Jerusalem Temple for the better part of two days. The authorities tried to trap Jesus, getting him to slip up in front of the crowds and catch him in blasphemy, but have failed every time.
So now, the authorities try to work smarter, not harder. They send a tag-team: the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians. As agents of King Herod, the Herodians were bitter ideological enemies of the Pharisees, who were supposed to oppose the Roman occupation. Yet, their mutual opposition to Jesus and his ministry was enough to unite them.
So here comes these two odd groups in their united efforts against Christ. First, they try to woo Jesus and butter him up with compliments as they confess “Teacher! We know you’re sincere…” then they launch into the question. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor?
The Pharisees, in asking Jesus this question about paying taxes to the emperor, are not genuinely seeking wisdom about the tension between spiritual and temporal authorities. They are simply trying to entrap Christ in an unwinnable game. The Greek word used here for testing him carries the connotation of a trap meant to ensnare someone in their own words.
They know that if Jesus says, no, you should not pay taxes to the emperor, he will be arrested by the imperial authorities. And yet if Jesus says yes, you should pay them, he will appear to side with the empire against his own people. Either way, the Pharisees see an opportunity to knock Christ out of the game. What they do not anticipate is that Jesus is not interested in winning the game that they are playing. Jesus comes into their midst with entirely new rules of play.
Instead, Jesus asks them to show him a denarius used for the tax. And right there, in the holy precincts of the Temple, they produce the coin. As biblical scholars note, the very presence of that coin in the Temple exposes their deep complicity. The coin bears the stamped image and inscription of Tiberius Caesar, declaring him son of the divine.
From a Jewish perspective, it was a bite-sized piece of blasphemy and a graven image. By pulling it out of their pockets inside God’s house, Jesus’ opponents perform an unwitting confession: they are already knee-deep in Caesar’s economy. They are already playing Caesar’s game.
“Give therefore to the Emperor the things that are Emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s,” Jesus says. If this is your game, you already know the rules. But God is not subject to our strategies, nor is God one option among many on our ledger. God is not interested in our coins, but in our conscience, our compassion, and our complicity with the empires of this world. God has not come to monopolize our systems of control, but to show us a new way of being where there are more than enough resources for all.
Jesus isn’t dividing the world neatly into “spiritual” versus “secular” boxes. He is pointing out that God’s kingdom operates on an entirely different currency. Caesar trades in coins stamped with his image to extract wealth, enforce submission, and divide the world into winners and losers.
But what bears God’s image? Look around this room. Look at your neighbor. You do. Humanity does. We are stamped with the divine likeness of the Creator. Therefore, while we may navigate the messy, broken systems of this world, our hearts, our bodies, our allegiance, and our collective life belong entirely to God.
Far from being uninterested in the matter at hand, Jesus reveals, in his answer, that the only way out of the systems that divide and oppress is to stop assuming that such a game can ever be won on its own terms. Whether one is an enemy of the empire or the agent of empire, the empire is still the word on everyone’s lips, it is still the power that captivates everyone’s imagination, and Jesus invites people to start speaking of and imagining God’s Reign on Earth instead.
Jesus invites us to conceive of a God’s Rule where money and actions look radically different from anything dreamed up by the emperor. A place where we don’t need to hoard properties because God’s house is a house with many dwelling places, and we don’t need a “get out of jail free” card because all of the bars have been broken open.
I know Christmas is miles away and shame on me for bringing it up, but that Christmas dream of peace on earth reigns true always. Just imagine bringing God’s peace in this world. A time where we write new rules that more closely reflect a world of love and compassion like Jesus lived for. To live for such a radically different world causes tension. This world would rather isolate us than unite us, groaning under the endless weight of the earth’s gifts and the worship of coins.
Challenging these oppressive systems doesn’t happen by playing into partisan traps; it happens through the true “coinage” of God’s kingdom: healing the wounded, protecting the vulnerable, and making peace where the world demands division. Change begins when we give to God what is God’s—when our hearts and minds mirror God’s. For as long as we rail against one another, the rulers of this world continue to collect payment.
But make no mistake, Jesus is not an advocate of separation of church and state; instead, he has come to change our hearts for the sake of our common life. He reveals that the one necessary rule is simple and ought to govern our decisions: love God and our neighbors as ourselves. That is the golden rule we should follow and cannot ever be changed. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself that is the mindset we must remain united in.
The Reign of God is passing by, day by day. It is a delicate task to pave the path towards peace. It begins with giving to God what is God’s. It begins with us- Us who are made in the image and likeness of God. Us who are given the spirit to trust in and let it inspire our hearts. It begins with love. Believing in God’s love that will delicately extract the brokenness and hurt of this world and restore us to new life.
May we hear the call to bring God’s Reign closer to earth. For if this is a game against Empire and God, then surely winning looks like: Wounds healed, fractures mended, and power demonstrated by tenderness for all people. What a mighty God we have to offer such a vision, and may God send us to live out such compassion and love for the sake of ourselves and neighbor.
Amen.