Jesus’ aggressiveness provokes the total mobilization of his enemies. The Pharisees are determined to destroy him. They invent an excellent trap. If Jesus recommends paying tribute, he renounces his messiahship; if he decides against it, the Romans arrest him. But Jesus’ answer traps the trappers. Since God and the emperor are not equals, we must give to the emperor only what he deserves in the sight of God.

The Pharisees’ question, of course, is our question. We ask just as reverently and faithlessly as they. They wanted to annihilate Jesus’ influence. We want to preserve the influence of old- fashioned patterns and habits. They and we are equally reactionary.

Jesus’ answer turns out to be not an answer but a question. “What is God’s?” Is not everything God’s? We are forced to make decisions well beyond our capacities. Jesus helps us by not helping us. He forces us to take steps, to be independent, judging between the emperor and God.

Not only the answers of ancient oracles, but also the answers to modern prayers, the call of the “guiding voice” and the lack of answers and the silence of the “voice,” with few exceptions, serve the goal of making us independent. We are only told in a general way and often in a puzzling form what we should or should not do. Then we have to think and interpret and decide ourselves. If we receive detailed instructions, we are still in Grammar school. There, the subject is “obedience.” In God’s High School obedience is replaced by cooperation, and in His College we are forced to create independently, and we create disaster because we have learned only obedience, and prefer disobedience, like rebellious little boys and girls. The first counter-attack of the Pharisees (and us) has failed.