Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church still write books about it. The relationship between Church and State has not ‘gone away’ as an issue but is still a lively subject of controversy, particularly in the USA. Or, to put another way, are there any limits to God’s kingdom here on earth? ‘Give to Caesar what belongs to him. But everything that belongs to God must be given to God’ as the New Living Translation conveys the meaning of Matt. 22:21 is deliberately ambiguous because Jesus was being tested by those who sought to entrap him. A ‘yes’ would have discredited him with those who found the imperial domination system reprehensible and unacceptable. An outright ‘no’ would have made him subject to arrest for sedition.
Everything that we know about Jesus suggests that he shared a central affirmation of the Hebrew Bible, expressed in Psalm 24:1: ‘The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.’ If this is so, what is owed to Caesar? Nothing. But the text of our gospel provides no clue as to what was meant. Even Romans 13:1-7, which has been regarded as the one point at which Paul nods in the direction of Caesar, and the nod appears quite respectful, is more ambiguous than it might at first seem. Preaching and living the gospel must always mean announcing and following Jesus, rather than Caesar, as the true Lord. The church must live as a sign of the coming complete kingdom of Jesus Christ; but since that kingdom is characterized by peace, love and joy it cannot be inaugurated in the present by chaos, hatred and anger.
