LECTURE II. THE ANSWER OF CHRIST, AND THE DEVELOPMENTS OF EUROPEAN HISTORY. "But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Cæsar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's; and unto God the things that are God's." - ST. MATTHEW Xxii. 18-21. IT has already been pointed out, that the pur pose of the Pharisees, in sending their disciples with the Herodians to Jesus, was, to betray him into one of two alternative dangers in defining his attitude towards the Roman civil authority. The craftiness with which their question was put was worthy of the deep-laid plan out of which it proceeded. The inquirers came to Jesus as to a Master in Israel, one who taught the way of God in truth, as though they would refer to him the settlement of a pending dispute. There was a subtle attempt at flattery, moreover, in their allusion to his conspicuous and manly in dependence, his freedom from all kinds of social and political obsequiousness, -"Thou regardest not the person of men." They appealed to him, therefore, for an authoritative and out-spoken declaration, either for or against the lawfulness of a certain tribute, or tax, levied by Cæsar; believing that his answer, whether affirmative or negative, would serve their purpose of hostility to him. A brief consideration of the political and religious antagonisms of the time will show that their expectation was well founded. To the orthodox and patriotic Jews, the levying of this capitation-tax was doubly odious, not only as a burdensome exaction, but also as the badge of the subjection of the chosen people of God to a detested and despotic Gentile power. The religious and patriotic zeal of all the more respectable and devout was aroused into fierce opposition to this sacrilegious spoliation of the heritage of Jehovah. The coarse and brutal Roman procurator, whose office had special regard to the supervision of the revenue, had made this tax still more hateful by his contemptuous disdain of the scruples of the Jews. Of all the Jews, the Galileans were conspicuous for their patriotic opposition to the despotism under |
