Sermon by Bp. Craig Luesing - St. Alban's Anglican Church Today's Gospel (Matthew 22:15-21) describes for us a trap that is being laid for Jesus. The Sanhedrin (which did not have the power of life and death) wanted to trap Jesus in such a way that he could be turned over to Pontius Pilate on a charge of rebellion and treason. In this way, Jesus could be put to death, and they would be rid of him forever. So they sent a group of Herodians and Pharisees to ask Jesus a question: "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" The Herodians were members of Herod's party and staunch supporters of Rome's right to tax the Jewish population. The Pharisees, on the other hand, believed that God was the only king and that it was, therefore, unlawful to pay tribute to any other power. If Jesus answered that it was unlawful to pay tribute to Caesar, then the Herodians would find him guilty of treason and he would be turned over to Pilate for execution. If Jesu...
Lean Not Unto Thine Own Understanding...