The man of St Matthew

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

God and the Emperor: Mt 22,15-22

Matthew now begins to follow Mark closely (Mk 12,13-17) but as usual there can be subtle and important differences. Look carefully for example at 22,15-16. How is Matthew different to Mk 12,13?
The Pharisees have had many encounters with Jesus in this Gospel. Why has the evangelist brought in the Herodians as well this time?

The way of God is found in the psalms, Ps 25,9-10. How true are the questioners?

Where lies the trap in verse 17?

Notice how Matthew in verse 18 has altered Mk 12,15.

What is the effect of Jesus' response in verse 19?

And how then do the questioners fall into the trap in verses 20-21? Remember where this is happening. See Dt 5,8 for a clue.

How does Jesus escape the trap with his saying in the second part of verse 21? How are we to understand this saying given the setting of the story?

Note how verse 22 concludes the episode with Matthew's own comment.

Now look at my response.

The Sunday Gospel

This encounter concerning tribute to Caesar is the Gospel for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The OT reading comes from the second part of Isaiah, Is 45,1.4-6. Who is Cyrus? How then does this reading interpret the Gospel?

Then look at my response.

We can now continue to Jesus' confrontation with the Sadducees, Mt 22,23-33.