ON PAYING TRIBUTE (TAXATION)

What do citizens desire most from their government? Free things… for many, things for free without having to pay for them. Taxation should always be for essential things.

Voting has always been essential. To be taxed with no recourse is bondage, and many countries, including the colonies of America, fought wars because of taxation without any voice in the management of the government — taxation without representation.

‘Tribute’ is a special kind of taxation. The Law of God requited that a tax be paid to support the Jewish government and the religious institutions. Unless the money collected is squandered, it was both patriotic to the King and to the LORD GOD for the privilege of paying taxes.

Joe Biden once said that it was patriotic to pay taxes. In a sense, he was right… if the government is by the people and for the people rather than for the bureaucrats and politicians.

The American Colonies did not fight for independence because they were taxed but fought because they paid the same tax as the mother country without any voice in parliament.

The American Civil war was fought for the same reason; the South, especially South Carolina, objected to themselves collecting tariffs on behalf of the northern states.

Taxation has always existed, but unfair taxation; resisted. Those who resisted taxation without representation in the Herodian Kingdom were known as ‘zealots.’ Jesus was crucified between two ‘malefactors’ (kakourgos) — ‘evil doers.’ That term encompasses any type of bad behavior but it was the Roman government that was punishing them. Their crime was not so much again their ‘parliament” (the Sanhedrin) but against Caesar. They likely failed to pay tribute to Caesar either monetarily or authoritatively.

Caesar, at that time, Tiberias, was on the island of Capri where he partied for years as the Romans essentially ruled themselves. He was living a life of luxury at the expense of the contributing nations, to wit: 

When Cesar had heard these pleadings, he dissolved the assembly: but a few days afterwards he appointed Archelaus, not indeed to be King of the whole countrey; but Ethnarch of the one half of that which had been subject to Herod: and promised to give him the royal dignity hereafter, if he governed his part virtuously. But as for the other half, he divided it into two parts; and gave it to two other of Herod’s sons: to Philip, and to Antipas: that Antipas who disputed with Archelaus for the whole Kingdom. Now to him it was that Perea and Galilee paid their tribute: which amounted annually to two hundred talents: (13) while Batanea, with Trachonitis, as well as Auranitis, with a certain part of what was called the house of Zenodorus, (14) paid the tribute of one hundred talents to Philip. But Idumea, and Judea, and the countrey of Samaria paid tribute to Archelaus; but had now a fourth part of that tribute taken off by the order of Cesar; who decreed them that mitigation; because they did not join in this revolt with the rest of the multitude. There were also certain of the cities which paid tribute to Archelaus; Strato’s tower, and Sebaste; with Joppa, and Jerusalem. For as to Gaza, and Gadara, and Hippos, they were Grecian cities: which Cesar separated from his government, and added them to the province of Syria. Now the tribute money that came to Archelaus every year from his own dominions, amounted to six hundred talents. (Josephus n.d.)

 Herod Archelaus paid tribute to Rome although he was not King of all Herod’s kingdom but only to one-half the country, including Judea. Archelaus was king after Herod until Augustus Caesar eliminated that portion of ‘Syria’ and made it Judea. During the ministry of Jesus, there was no king of Judea but Pontius Pilate was the ‘prelate” or “lord’ over the Jews. The Census of Quirinius (Cyrenius; Luke 2:2) was at the time he was made hegemoneuo, acting ruler over Judea. In the absence of Caesar, both Cyrenius and Pilate became ruler and lord over Judea, as the ’right hand’ of Tiberius in authority.

Although the Jews had been free of tribute, alone among the many nations of the Roman Empire, in AD 6 Cyrenius instituted tribute and the zealots went wild! Although Augustus mandated that Judea pay tribute, Cyrenius, as his right hand, enforced the payment of tribute.

It was a per capita tax — a head tax. Jews were required to pay tribute to Caesar just because they existed. It was paid so that the Caesarians could live in extravagance, as Tiberius Caesar did from AD 26 until the end of his reign when he died in AD 37. Note that there was no active Caesar in Rome during the adult ministry of Jesus. Tribute was paid on behalf of Caesar’s lavish lifestyle. How would non-citizen you react? Many of you would have been zealots. You would hate taxation for Caesar’s relaxation! (That also pertains to taxes for the benefit of Biden.)

There was another problem; thieves stole the Temple taxes. They too were malefactors. Stealing from themselves was considered wrong, but stealing from God was not a problem for them. (The same goes today. Many despise governmental taxation and at the same time steal what belongs to God, be it tithes to God.)

Tribute was paid to the Romans just for the Jews right to exist. They had no influence over Roman laws but supported the lavish Roman government. That lasciviousness eventually destroyed the Roman Empire.

Out of nowhere, tax collectors came to Simon Peter and asked if his ‘Master’ (Jesus) paid tribute or not (Mat 17:24). That was as if inquiring whether righteous Jesus paid for the hedonism in Capri — the Island of Epicureanism.

Jesus asked Peter, “Of whom do the kings of the Earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?” (Mat 17:25). Tribute was always paid for by strangers (defeated kingdoms) to pay for the lavish lifestyles of the citizens of the empire. As such, tribute paying is involuntary servitude. As such, God’s chosen people were de facto slaves to Roman citizens.

Peter rightfully answered, “To strangers’ (Mat 17:26). Those ‘strangers’ were the Jews, the ‘peculiar people’ of the Promise.

Jesus concluded from Peter’s response, “Then the children are free” (Mat 17:27). As the children of the Romans would be free from tribute, so would Jews be free from Mosaic Law. Hence, Mosaic tithes should not be necessary to children of the Promise. That should have ended the concept of tithing and instituted freely giving of one’s gain. A free people can neither be mandated nor forbidden from paying tribute to God. Governments can mandate it but Jesus asked for tribute to be paid, not because of the Roman laws, but “lest we should offend them” — the Roman leaders. How would it look if Christians stole what belonged to Caesar, and what’s more, what would the penalty be for offending Roman Law? Crucifixion is obviously the worst of the worst and that is the evil that the other two on the Cross had done.

As a bonus, note that as the ‘son of David’ who was born ‘King of the Jews,’ Jesus, in the absence of any Herodians was as much King as Cyrenius was Caesar.

In fact, Julius Caesar was indeed king of kings, and proclaimed himself to be pontifex maximus — lord of lords. Both were intended to be inherited, but Tiberius was adopted. He was as much fake Caesar as fake Alexander, the supposed son of Herod, was the real king of Judea.

Albeit Jesus was the ‘son of David,’ (gens of David in Latin), Tiberius was not the gens of Caesar but was called that.

Tiberius had no right to Roman money by ancestry and Jesus was essentially saying not to require tribute to support Himself, although He was the legitimate King of the Jews and Lord of lords.

Jesus does not mandate anything! His ‘commands’ have never been enforced! Commandments in scripture are essentially metrics for pleasing the King and LORD of all. Commandments are more prescriptions for eternal health.

With that said, we should be cheerful givers, if it is to God, but pay are dues for what the government provides; not to support the lavish lifestyles, but not to offend those who do so.