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MAT. 22. 17. Tell us therefore, what thinkest thou? Is it lawfull to pay tribute to Caesar?
THe Iewes who were a people alwayes subject to rebellion and mutinie, propounded this question to Christ, Is it lawfull for us to pay tribute to Caesar
or not? As if they should say, we haue alwayes beene a free people, to whom many Nations haue payd tribute; we are a people who are commanded to pay our tithes and first fruits onely to the Lord. The Lord comman∣ded us to choose a King of our selues and not a stranger, Deut. 17. How shall we then pay to Caesar who is but a stranger? Caesar hath taken us violently, and made us captiues, & daily his Publicans most unjustly oppresse us; how then shall we pay tribute to him? and shall we giue him this penny which hath an Image upon it, con∣trary to the law of God which forbiddeth Images? And when we pay this wayes head by head this pennie to him, it maketh the Romanes insult over us, as if we were negligent of the worship of our God, & worship∣pers of a false God. Who can abide to see how these Romanes haue abused, and doe still abuse the Temple of God? And how Pompey and Crassus haue robbed the Temple? And how they exact of us that penny that should be payd onely to the Lord? And if any Nation in the world haue a priviledge to free themselues from the slavery and bondage of strangers, most of all haue we Iewes, who are Gods▪ peculiar people; and we would gladly know, Master, what is thy judgement in this case, and we will stand to thy determination; if thou bid us giue it, we will giue it; but if thou forbid us, we will stand to our libertie, and vindicate our selues, as the Macchabees our Predecessors haue done. The Herodi∣ans came here with the Pharisies to Christ, waiting what word might fall from him; If Christ should haue an∣swered any thing contrarie to the Romane power, then th•• Herodians would haue fallen upon him; or if he had said at the first, giue this tribute to Caesar, then the Iewes would haue fallen upon him, as an enemy to their liber∣tie. So they thinke to ensnare him what way soever he answered. But the Lord who catcheth the craftie in
their owne craft, doth neither answer affirmatiuely nor negatiuely, but saith, Why tempt yee me? shew me a pen∣ny, and he asked them, whose Image and superscription is upon the penny? they say Caesar; then our Lord infer∣reth, that they were bound to pay it unto Caesar. And Christ reasoned thus; Those which are Caesars, and be∣long not unto God, should be given to Caesar; but this penny is such; therefore it should be given to Caesar. The Assumption is proved, because tribute belongeth to the Conquerour, and he coyneth the money, & put∣teth his Image upon it, in token of his Dominion over the Subjects, and they should pay it unto him as a to∣ken of their subjection.
Shew me a penny. This was not the penny which was commanded to be payed to the Lord yearely.
The Iewes payed a threefold halfe shekell to the Lord. The first was called Argentum animarum, Exod. 30. 2. which every one payed for the redemption of his life. The second was Argentum transeunt is, that is, the halfe shekell which they payed to the Lord, when they were numbered head by head, 2 King. 12. 5. The third was that halfe shekell which they offered freely unto the Lord. This halfe shekell had Aarons rod upon the one side, and the pot with Manna upon the other; and when they were under the Romans, or captiues under any o∣ther forraine Princes, the Maisters of their Synagogues used to gather this halfe shekell of them yea••ely, and send it to Ierusalem to the high Priest. This was not the penny which Caesar craved of them, for it had Caesars I∣mage and superscription upon it. Neither would the Lord haue bidden them giue that to Caesar, which was due to God.
This Didrachma which they payed to Caesar was as much in value, as the halfe shekell; and Christ hims••lfe although he was free and the Kings sonne, yet he payed
it for himselfe and for Peter, Mat. 17. 27. And so Mary when Christ was in her wombe went to Bethlehem to pay this tribute to Caesar. Luk. 2. 5.
This Image set upon Caesars money was not contrary to that, thou shalt not make to thy selfe any graven Image; for it was not made for a religious use, but for a civill use.
This penny which Caesar exacted of the Iewes was but Denarius, (Denarius, Didrachma, and Numisma, were all one) this Denarius was the ordinarie hire of a work∣man for a day, Mat. 20. 2. and the daily wages of a Souldier, as Tacitus saith. What if the Romane Empe∣rour had exacted as much of them as Pharaoh did of their Predecessors? What if he had done to them as Salomon did to their Predecessors in his old age? or as Rehoboam did to them, whose little finger was heavier than his fathers loynes? What ingratitude was this for them to grudge for paying so little a tribute to the Em∣perour who kept them in peace, who kept Legions, and Garrisons of Souldiers, to defend them from the Ara∣bians and Parthians? he did not make them to worke in bricke and clay, as the Egyptians did their predecessors, neither tooke he their liberties from them; he permit∣ted them to keepe their Sabboths, Circumcision, and their Synedria, their Synagogues, and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉; and Dion testifieth of Augustus, that when he gaue comman∣dement to take tribute of the Iewes, that it should not be taken from them upō their Sabbath, but they should delay it till the next day. Now for all these benefits had they not reason to pay this tribute to Caesar?
Men may defend themselues and stand for their liber∣tie, but when they are once conquered, no place to re∣pine. Agrippa (as Iosephus testifieth) in his speech to the Iewes, who were called Zelotae for their preposterous desire that they had to free themselues from subjection
to the Romanes, said unto them after this manner, Intem∣pestivum est nunc libertatem concupiscere, olim ne ea amitte∣retur, certatim opo••tuit; nam servitutis periculum facere, de∣rum est; & ne id subeatur, honesta certatio est, at qui semel subactus, despicit; non libertatis amans d••cendus est, sed servus contumax; that is, it is out of time now to de∣sire your liberty, yee should haue rather long since stri∣ven not to haue lost it; for it is a hard thing to under∣goe servitude, and it is a lawfull strife to withstand it; but when a man is once overcome & yeelded himselfe, & then rebelleth, he is not said to be a lover of his liber∣ty, but to be a rebellious subject. And Iosephus saith, Qui victi sunt & longo tempore paruerunt, si jugum rejecerint, faciunt quod desperatorum hominum est, & non quod liber∣tatis amantium est, those who are once overcome and haue served a long time, if they shake off the yoke, they play the part of desperate men, and not of those who loue their libertie.
Now let us conclude this; giue unto God that which [Conclusion.] is Gods, and to Caesar that which is Caesar, Math. 22. Homo est nummus Dei, because he carrieth Gods Image, giue to him that penny which was lost, Luk. 16. Light the Candle, sweepe the house, finde it out, and giue to him: and giue unto Caesar that which is Caesars. Pro. 24. 21. Feare God and honour the King. Giue not divine honour to the King, as the Herodians did, who cryed the voyce of God and not of man. Say not, Divisum Imperium cum Iove Caesar habet, neither under pretext of Religion, withdraw that from the King which is due unto him, as the Essaeni did, and the Pharisies would haue done, but keepe an equall midst betwixt them both, and re∣moue not the ancient markes, Prov. 23. 10.
The Iewes a people prone to rebellion.
The speech of the Iewes in defence of their li∣bertie.
The Pharisies with the Herodians sought to in∣trap Christ.
The Iewes under the Law payed a threefold halfe shekell.
This tribu••e which Cae∣sar ••xact•••• wa•• not the h••••••e sh••••el•• which was du•• to the Lord.
Christ payd this tribute.
Denarius what.
C••sar was more milde to the Iewes than Pha∣raoh or Rehoboam.
He permitted them to use their liberties.
Men should not repine after they are become subject.
Man is Gods penny stamped with his I∣mage.