Once again, Matthew’s gospel takes us into the confrontations that preceded Jesus' death on a cross.  Each week, the tension and aggression has been mounting, and so to put today’s text into context, I’d like to revisit the unfolding events in Matthew chapters 21 and 22, reminding you that Matthew wrote his gospel to a very specific audience…the Jews in and around Jerusalem.  His audience, unlike Luke or Mark who wrote mostly to Gentiles who didn’t know the story of Jesus, was to Judean Jews steeped in Old Testament prophesy, law and practice.  They expected the Messiah…they should have been ready to welcome him with open arms, right?  

So when Chapter 21 begins with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, his audience is fully aware of the long awaited promises of prophecy that proclaimed a king from the house of David would be coming in humility, riding on a donkey.  The whole city comes out singing Hosanna with great excitement, declaring that Jesus IS the one they have waited for so long.  

But human history shows us over and over again, that we are a rebellious, self-driven humanity.  The euphoria of Palm Sunday quickly disintegrates in that last week of Jesus’ life…hosanna’s are soon replaced by shouts to crucify him.   Matthew’s story uncovers how a corrupt pride and greed has crept into God’s  covenant with his chosen people so that the law itself is no longer of God, but a force of illegitimate power willing to turn against the Messianic hopes that had shaped them into a nation of faith in the first place.  

The old sayings, “what goes around, comes around,” and “history repeats itself,” are surely true as we look at our gospel reading for today.  For even though this moment in Jesus’ time on earth is 2000 years ago, and way in the past, it almost feels like it could be repeating itself now in 2026.   Corruption of God’s vision recycles as pride and power become our gods.

The parables of Jesus are a window into this corruption of God’s Kingdom on earth. Remember the two sons that struggle to respond to their father’s request?  The tenants, who turn to greed and violence so they don’t have to give the vineyard owner his due? The king who throws a wedding banquet for his son and discovers those he had called neighbors and friends have no interest in coming.  And so the king throws open his heart to ALL, the good and the bad, and asks only that they honor his son?  And now, in today’s parable, a trap, ready to snap, to silence this threat to a world that just doesn’t want to let God be God. 

Once again, we have the elite religious leaders, the Pharisees, confront Jesus so they can get the people to turn against him.  But this time, there is another distinct group of people that join them in their plot, the Herodians.  Who are the Herodians?  Herodians were a group of Jewish people who actively supported the ruling family of Herod of Antipas.  They worked to carry out his political agenda and protect his relationship with Rome.  In other words, the Herodians were a political party of activists in Jesus’ day.  

To understand their presence, we need to review a bit of the history of Judea under Roman rule.  Herod the Great was the king of Judea when Jesus was born.  He was remembered for his remarkable building projects like the beautification of the Second temple in Jerusalem where Jesus would later teach; a major sea port and harbor at Caesarea Maritima, and many impressive fortresses and palace complexes.  Herod was also known for his savvy political skill that made him valuable to Rome.  Yet, he cared little for his constituents and used harsh treatment of anyone or anything that was a threat to his throne.  We know him best as the king who sent the Magi to find the Christ child, hiding the fact that if he was found, Herod would have him killed.  Herod was so narcissistic and paranoid, that he had every male child under the age of two murdered when he couldn’t find Jesus   Ultimately, he gained his throne through Roman support during a turbulent period when Rome was expanding its control over the eastern Mediterranean, and Herod proved himself to be politically adept at securing the support of powerful Roman leaders like Mark Anthony and Augustus Caesar.  So you see, Herod the Great was at his very core, an evil, driven, king whose connection to Jewish religious life was a fraud. His legitimacy as a king over a Jewish territory was controversial and often questioned.  Yet, Herod the Great ruled for well over 40 years,  under a cloud of fear that his kingship and political survival might be threatened.  

Besides being fearful of a Christ child taking his throne, historical accounts describe Herod as ordering the executions of members of his own family, his wife, and several of his own sons whom he suspected were threats to his rule.  When he died in 4 BC, his kingdom was divided among several of his surviving sons with Roman approval.  So…in our gospel text today, Judea is under another Herod, Herod Antipas, known for the beheading of John the Baptist.  In Luke 13:32, Jesus refers to Herod Antipas as “that fox!”  And when Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, and Pilate learns Jesus is a Galilean, Pilate sends him to Antipas, who was in Jerusalem at the time.  Antipas was delighted thinking he would Jesus perform a miracle just for him.  But when Jesus refused to answer him, Antipas ordered his soldiers to mock him, dress him in a robe with a crown of thorns, and sent him back to Pilate.  Later, laughing about this event, Pilate and Antipas, who hadn’t liked one another, became fast friends.  What a politically corrupt time Jesus was born into.

But let’s go  back to the Herodians.  These leaders were politically motivated protectors of the rule of Herod and his family, and as Jesus’ growing influence became a threat, they eagerly joined with the Pharisees, whom they had nothing else in common, to hatch a plan to stop Jesus in his tracks.  They devised a question meant to trap Jesus no matter which way he answered.  “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?“ they asked.   If Jesus said yes, the Jews, who resented  Roman taxation and foreign rule, would turn against him.  If Jesus said No, he would be portrayed as opposing Roman authority and be arrested as a troublemaker by Roman authorities.  

Yet Jesus REFUSED to be threatened by “the fox” and the hypocrisy of his followers.  Asking them to show him a Roman coin, he gave his famous answer saying: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God, what belongs to God.” 

What an answer!  Here Jesus implies so much more than just the issue of appropriate taxation and civil authority.  The deeper question is this “What bears God’s Image and thus is to be given back to God?”   Is it the image of human accomplishment?  Is it our independence and grandiose power?  “People first?”  Or is it “God first?”

Actually, it’s all spelled out in Genesis 1 in the creation story where we learn that God creates human beings in God’s own likeness.  Each and every human life is fashioned in God’s image, so our coinage…the image we are to bear into the world; our mark of discipleship, our obedience, and faith should reflect the face of Almighty God as our creator, our redeemer, and our future.  To render to GOD what IS GOD’ means literally that we are to give God our very LIVES…our hearts…our vocations…our hopes and dreams and potentials to honor and steward this beautiful world, also created by God, into the fullness of God’s Kingdom….not our own!

And yet…history keeps repeating itself…what goes around, comes around, doesn’t it?

So what are the lessons we can take away this morning?  

Perhaps first, we need to face the truth that flattery, deceit, insincere politically motivated interest that elevates one group over another can and DOES cloud human judgment and distort the truth.   There is a  “FOX” in each age that will work to have its power and ultimate authority over the masses, that’s historically proven, and continues to unfold today, in 2026.  

Secondly, we must remember that JESUS cannot be manipulated!  The truth, no matter how distorted or reframed into a sound bite of fake news, will survive the light of God’s image reflected in the faces of those faithful to bringing God’s Kingdom of hope and peace.  Jesus isn’t just “going away,” as a belief of the past…but will speak truth to corruption and power in new ways when we have faith to see and hear it.

And third, our responsibility to earthly authority…civic law and rule, has a place.  It is important and necessary, BUT, it has limits imposed by truth, justice and mercy.  To follow Jesus is to be a new creation that bears God’s image of righteousness into a broken world where so many seek to know REAL LIFE…not just a political social system.  And where God’s Spirit is at work, bringing hope to the hopeless; courage to the fearful, and lives that dare to LOVE fiercely and actively so ALL God’s children can live in the newness of life.

And so we don’t lose hope.  For when we look at history, we also see so much more than just the foibles of human greed.  We see example after example of children of God, speaking truth to conspiracies; giving their heart and compassion to those disenfranchised and hurt by politically motivated agendas of power over the other; and people giving their lives back to God to be used as GOD sees fit.  They trust in a tomorrow where Jesus lives among us and guides us into REAL life and real LOVE for God’s Kingdom.  That gives us more than hope in the face of our own politically motivated chaos…It gives us courage to keep the FAITH.  Amen.