Luke 20:20-26: Yeshua taxes our understanding of authority

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This is the first of four questions between Yeshua and various authorities in the Temple, who unbeknownst to them were examining Yeshua as the spiritually unblemished Lamb of God for the ultimate Passover.

1. From Pharisees and Herodians over taxes (Luke 20:20–26; Matt. 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17)
2. From Sadducees over the resurrection (Luke 20:27–40; Matt. 22:22–33; Mark 12:18–27)
3. From a Pharisee sage on the “greatest commandment” (Matt. 22:34–40; Mark 12:28–34)
4. From Yeshua on Messiah as the son of David (Luke 20:41–44; Matt. 22:41–46; Mark 12:35–37)

Again, at issue in these passages on taxes is authority. 

Some of the arguments are straw men: arguments set up just to be easily knocked down. Some of them are what one might be called “zingers” or “gotcha” to try to make a person stumble. 

We see here an unusual alliance between the Pharisees and Herodians to challenge Yeshua on whether taxes were due a pagan ruler, thus acknowledging his authority over Israel.

Herodians, political courtiers named after Herod the Great, were largely hellenistic, i.e. assimilated with Greek and Roman culture.

This is a “double-barreled question” from two different groups who have different motives. The Herodians appreciated the Roman order. 

The Pharisees, on the other hand, were deep, mystical believers in God. They had ecstatic religious experiences. They believed in the existence of the supernatural, including angels. They also extended the ceremonies of the temple into everyday life. For example, the ceremony of hand-washing, that the Pharisees confronted Yeshua about on another occasion, is an example of the Pharisee’s bring temple rituals into everyday life. It may be a beautiful teaching tool, but they had elevated it above Torah, which Yeshua taught against. 

Yeshua largely endorsed their teachings but attacked instructions on excluding “gentiles”1 and placing traditions ahead of the testimony of God and the prophets.

Pharisees often supported the Zealots, who insisted, “God alone rules Israel.”

Flavius Josephus wrote about a famous Zealot, Yehudah, who led a revolt against these taxes:

“… a certain Galilean, whose name was Judas, prevailed with his countrymen to revolt; and said they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans, and would, after God, submit to mortal men as their lords. This man was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own, and was not at all like the rest of those their leaders.” (Wars of the Jews, 2:118)

Gamaliel reminded the Sanhedrin about Yehudah of Galiliee when deliberating the fate of Peter and the other apostles for teaching Yeshua was the Messiah, proclaiming which the other members demanded their deaths (Acts 5:34–39).

The Pharisees who were debating with YEshua should have sat at Gamaliel’s feet more often. You have to leave room for God’s work. God may work in a way you don’t understand. Paul said he had, learning the approach that God’s sovereignty can act in ways one’s paradigm may not account for.

In other words, one’s theology — understanding about God — may get in the way of the testimony of God.

In the First Century, many looked down their noses at the money-changers in the Temple, because of Yeshua’s violent reaction to their activities, but the policy did have theological merit.

It is recorded that Pharisees didn’t carry Roman currency in the Temple, and some sages eschewed the coinage all together, because of reverence of God’s commandments about idolatry. 

Yeshua was in the Temple and He was not carrying a denarius Himself. He had probably already changed it out if He had one before He arrived at the Temple. 

This could be why Yeshua said, “Show me a denarius” (Luke 20:24). He might not have had one in the Temple.

Yeshua was requesting to see a very specific coin. The word “denarius” was not a generic term for coinage or money. The Roman denarius at this time had an image of Tiberius Caesar surrounded by a garland and an inscription in Latin, “Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti Filius Augustus,” or “The Divine Emperor Tiberius Augustus.” The reverse said, “Pontifex Maximus,” or “High Priest.”

You could understand why many pious Jews felt uncomfortable carrying this type of coin, especially in the Temple of the Creator God. 

The poll-tax was an annual tax Rome levied. Taxes (and fees) were a major method the Roman authorities use to raise money. One of Yeshua’s disciples was a tax collector and they were despised by the people. Taxes were not just collected on April 15. They are collected seasonally or even more often.

There are several examples of Hebrews who served in regimes who were not believers in the Creator God. We think of Joseph and Pharaoh (Egypt) but there was also Daniel (Babylon, Media-Persia) the prophet and Mordechai (Persia) who were  godly men in high office serving authorities that history record as less than godly. God exiled them and put them in their positions of power and authority.

This gives us some insight into the issue of paying taxes to Caesar, who was also an authority who did not bow the knee to God. 

Paul, likely referring to Rome because he was writing to the congregation in Rome, advised the congregation there to respect the authority (Rom. 13:1–7; cf. 1st Tim. 2:1–4; Titus 3:1–3).

This subjugation to a temporal authority was not just in a vacuum. The paying of taxes is just one aspect of government subjugation. 

Peter advised similar reverence for authorities, which would have been Rome at the time (1st Pet. 2:11–15).

What if you are not dealing with an empire of an administration that doesn’t deserve honor. God says we are to give honor anyway. God will take it down when He is ready to take it down. For example, God says that He raised up Babylon and Persia, but they went too far and He took them down. 

The prophets and apostles noted that God puts limits on this temporal authority.

God said through prophets that nations set up to discipline Israel’s love affair with false gods went too far in their oppressive behavior and had to be brought down (Deut. 32:27). God will take the empires apart when they overreach and overstretch their hands. 

Peter and the imprisoned apostles told the Sanhedrin when commanded not to speak about Yeshua as Messiah, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). This is God’s legal test. We give honor, taxes to whom they are due. They keep things in order. Some authority is necessary for freedom of movement, freedom of thought and evangelism. We also see examples of oppression when governments go beyond their God-ordained mission of law and order into religious and political oppression.

This appeal to an authority higher than the Sanhedrin’s, and some members’ violent response to that challenge, was the context for Gamaliel’s notable statement about God’s sovereignty, mentioned earlier.

So, the leaders of Israel weren’t taking notice of why Rome occupied the Land, installed the high priest, demanded often-steep taxes and violently opposed fervor over the Messiah. Daniel realized that he was in Babylon because the leaders had disregarded God and started to oppress each other. Rome was there because they were looking to themselves as the authority instead of God. 

In this teaching on taxes, Yeshua seems to be saying that “this coin, this thing that bears Caesar’s face and his grandiose title, this is his.” If you put your faith in the power of Rome, than you owe Rome it’s due. 

But Yeshua is also telling the Pharisees not to bristle under this. They should acknowledge that Roman law and order has helped them spread God’s word, through their synagogues, to every major city in the Roman empire. 

Yeshua also says to give to God what is God’s. What is the image of God? Mankind, male and female. He tells the Pharisees that they need to respect men and women as the image of God. When the Pharisees oppress the people with their burdensome religious rules, they are separating the people from God driving a wedge between the people and God and that is not OK. 

Where does authority come from? Why was Yeshua throwing out the money changers? Yeshua was not an extremist in regards to the use of money. There is record that Yeshua and His students had a communal “money container” (John 13:29), so likely that would have included the denarius He and His students talked about often (Matt 18:28; 20:2, 9–10, 13; Mark 6:37; 14:5; Luke 7:41; 10:35; John 6:7; 12:5).

Speaker: Jeff. Summary: Tammy.