The writer here repeatedly stresses that a Christian should “honor the emperor.” Deference to authority, indeed to the absolute monarch Caesar, is an obligation of all Christians, according to scripture itself.
Slavery was another Roman institution, as Jews would soon experience in the aftermath of the Jewish War when tens of thousands of them were enslaved, as the Judea Capta coins of Vespasian and Titus amply bear witness. The New Testament provides instructions to the slaves of early slave-owning Christians, some of whom were no doubt high-ranking or aristocratic Romans. In 1 Timothy 6:1-2, slaves are advised thusly:
All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters should not show them disrespect just because they are fellow believers. Instead, they should serve them even better because their masters are dear to them as fellow believers and are devoted to the welfare of their slaves.
On at least four occasions, the New Testament commands compliant obedience from slaves, such as in this passage from the Epistle to the Colossians:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (18)
Slaves are addressed directly here. Tens of thousands of Jews at the time this was written had suddenly become slaves of the Romans at the end of the war. Many were former messianic rebels.
Slaves pour wine, Roman mosaic, 2nd Century, Tunisia
Many Jews who were not enslaved must have been dispossessed of their property following the conquest. In this context, Christ’s famous congratulations of the poor, assuring them that they are the “blessed” or the fortunate ones, is alarming when stripped of modern embellishments. (19) In the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus states, “Many who are the first will be last, and the last first.” (20) In order to emphasize this idea, Jesus himself in the Gospel of John washes the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper—like a slave. (21)
A means of conditioning the newly-enslaved Jews to accept their situation of abject servitude in the aftermath of the first Jewish War could not have been better devised:
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (22)
The master, curiously, is still “greater” than the servant, yet Jesus is modeling the role he wants to see his Jewish disciples accept. In Matthew, Jesus is explicitly asked by his disciples, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” Jesus straightforwardly tells the disciples that they must dramatically change their current expectations:
He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Emphasis added) (23)
The messianic prophecies found in Hebrew literature unmistakably promise that a savior will come to lead the Israelites to victory and even rule over their oppressors. The conquests of Joshua, the later elimination of their regional rivals, the famous victories of David over the Philistines, the Maccabean revolt—all are events in their history and heritage that confirm the nature of what we might call “Jewish exceptionalism” throughout their ancient literature. All such anticipations of the Messiah express the same martial values and political hopes that inspired the Jewish revolts under the Romans in the 1st and 2nd Centuries.
What Jesus represents is nothing short of a radical redefinition of this concept of exceptionalism and the very nature of the Messiah. An argument among the disciples in the Gospel of Luke gives Jesus an opportunity to express his anti-messianic mission:
A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. (24)
In light of the praise Jesus lavished on the Roman centurion, and the regard he has for his own authority, it is not clear that Jesus is condemning the Gentiles, or even disputing that their rulers can be “benefactors,” and he readily concedes that the one sitting “at the table” is greater than the one “who serves.” Jesus is merely asserting that his followers must embrace not just service, but servitude and humility. Like the Jewish priests and Levites of old, they have a distinct assignment, and like the Messiah himself they are to be the servants, not the served, but this will result in a special reward for them in the afterlife. However, they must let go of any expectation of earthly rule or reward.
So: the Messiah is no longer a King David or a conquering military leader who will lead Jews to victory in this world—instead, he is a humble slave. And Matthew’s version further defines his messianic mission as sacrifice and not rule:
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever want to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (25)
Nothing could have been more amenable to the 1st Century Roman state in the aftermath of the war with Judea than to redefine the mission of the Jewish Messiah as one of servitude and sacrifice rather than conquest and rule—or, indeed, to redefine the special role of the Chosen People themselves as one of humble subjugation. The message could not be more ironic if George Orwell had written it himself: the voice of totalitarian power invokes surrender as the ultimate victory for the conquered. Meanwhile, Vespasian was constructing the Colosseum as a not-so-subtle alternative.
Questioned about paying taxes to Romans, Jesus himself explicitly endorses “rendering unto Caesar” the things that are Caesar’s, implying that there exists no conflict between the dictates of God and the requirements of Rome’s ruler. It is sometimes asserted that this is an ambiguous instruction on the part of Jesus, but, in fact, the meaning could not be more plain: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were amazed at him.” (26)
The accusation later brought against Jesus, that he refused to pay the Roman tax (27), is pointedly untrue. It is shown to be something concocted by his conniving accusers, who know it to be false. According to Matthew, the accusations against Jesus were “false witness.” We are thus assured that Jesus pays his taxes. (28) Notice, too, that Christ’s earthly parents dutifully show up to be counted for the Roman census in the Gospel of Luke’s nativity account. Jesus obeys the Roman rules.