So many Christians quote the passage below (Mark 12:13-17) and say Jesus was teaching that you have to pay taxes, and that taxation is valid, because Jesus even gave his blessing here to Rome’s taxation. But is that really what He was saying?
Paying Taxes to Caesar
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, totrap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances,[c] but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to paytaxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius[d] and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
Rome’s occupation of Israel was God’s judgment on them, along with this tax. Additionally, the individuals attempting to trap Jesus were in rebellion to Christ, they were carrying Roman coins with blasphemous sayings on them into the temple. They were deserving of God’s judgment. I don’t think God’s use of Caesar to judge Israel is something that should be taken to legitimize such taxation or even a less brutal form of taxation. It certainly can’t be taken to mean that taxation by threat of violence is something that ought to be desired.
Jesus telling these individuals that they ought to pay the tax is not the same as saying that this particular tax is righteous. And Jesus wasn’t saying that future governments can implement whatever tax they might dream up. He just didn’t even speak on that, because He wasn’t addressing Caesar, but the taxpayers. When Jesus said they they were to render unto God the things that are God’s, He would also have told Caesar that he needs to render unto God the things that are God’s. It may be Caesar’s image on the coin, but God owns everything.
You see this scenario play out in the book of Philemon where Paul sends the slave Onesimus back to Philemon, his slave owner. This isn’t the Lord blessing the institution of Roman-style slavery or human ownership. It is taking things one step at a time, knowing that the gospel applied to culture will kill slavery eventually. It did destroy slavery in Rome, and it will destroy unjust taxation someday.
For a much more thorough examination of this passage, from someone much smarter than me, check out this article.