The Gospel of Matthew
God and the Emperor: Mt 22,15-22.
Matthew changes Mark so that it is the Pharisees who are taking the initiative by sending their disciples. As the exclusive religious party they are likely to be reluctant to pay taxes to Caesar. Matthew follows Mark and adds some Herodians. As followers of Herod, they are more likely to be willing to pay taxes to Caesar.
Their opening words to Jesus in verse 16 therefore reeks of insincerity. Teaching the way of God echoes the Scriptures, Ps 25,9-10.
The trap in the question is that it seems Jesus could either satisfy the Pharisees or he could satisfy the Herodians, but not both .
In verse 18, Matthew has changed Mark so that Jesus calls the questioners "hyprocrites" directly.
In Verses 19 and 20 Jesus turns the tables on his questioners. They are in the Temple which forbids images yet they have on them a coin which proclaims the Roman Emperor to be God. Dt 5,8 is the second commandment which forbids idols.
Jesus' saying in verse 21 must be read within in its context. It is Jesus' way out of the trap. It also makes a statement about being clear about priorities.
To develop anything about Church and State from this marked contrast would need reading the New Testament more widely.
The reaction of the questioners in verse 22 is just amazement at Jesus escaping the trap. There are no signs of increased tension at this point.
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The Sunday Gospel
The reading from the prophet Isaiah concerns the Persian Emperor Cyrus who following his capture of Babylon permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem. This is described in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Its application to this Sunday's Gospel is that Cyrus has become God's agent, even though Cyrus has probably never heard of the God of Israel. It brings together God and Caesar in 22,21.
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