IMAGE BEARERS

Coin collectors highly value the denarius in the photo. It dates to the time of Jesus. The denarius shown to Jesus by the Pharisees and Herodians in Sunday's Gospel (Matthew 22:15–22) likely belonged to a similar imperial coinage.

The question about paying taxes to Caesar was a trap. The Pharisees, who opposed Roman occupation, had reason to expect Jesus to say NO. The Herodians, who supported the Roman-backed Herodian dynasty, had reason to expect him to say YES. Either answer could get him into trouble.

Jesus asks for a coin: “Whose image is this, and whose title?”

“The emperor’s,” they reply.

The coin bore Tiberius Caesar’s image and the inscription identifying him as son of the divine Augustus. Its reverse associated imperial authority with the title Pontifex Maximus, or chief priest. For Israelites, such imperial imagery and claims raised profound theological problems. The coin embodied an empire that demanded not only taxes but also recognition of its power and sacred authority.

Jesus replies: “Give back therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Give Caesar his coin. It bears Caesar’s image. But do not confuse Caesar’s image with God’s image. And never mistake imperial power for divine ownership.

Here is where we must read the story from the cramped seats of the jeepney, not from the comfortable backseat of Caesar’s chariot. What does the empire claim to own? The labor of workers? The land of farmers? The bodies of the poor? The lives of those it exploits and discards?

People are not property. They are not commodities. They are not Caesar’s possessions.

Genesis tells us that human beings are created in the image of God. Every person bears that image—not merely the powerful, the respectable, or the religiously acceptable, but also those society excludes, dehumanizes, and treats as disposable.

Perhaps the real question is not simply what belongs to Caesar. It is this: Who bears God’s image, and who dares to deny it?

God has already claimed God's own: every human being, God's beloved sons and daughters. Every. Human. Being. Especially those whom we have been taught to consider otherwise.

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