A first-century denarius depicting Emperor Tiberius stays in a protective case on my desk as a reminder of Jesus’ teaching about allegiance.

Had they existed in the first century, would Jesus have carried a cell phone? When the emperor broke the law, used his office to enrich himself, lied incessantly, built triumphal arches to himself, killed foreign rulers, put up gold statues of himself and demanded blasphemous loyalty, would Jesus have kept a cell phone on his person to receive real-time notification of every abuse of power?

In Mark 12 we find out what Jesus had—and didn’t have—on his person. Religious provocateurs, trying to get Jesus into trouble, asked if one should pay taxes to the emperor. Say yes, and Jesus could lose followers yearning for freedom from Rome. Say no, and Jesus could be in trouble with Roman authorities.

The emperor was “divine”

The emperor during all of Jesus’ adulthood was Tiberius (AD 14–37), whose image appeared on millions of denarii—Roman coins about the size of a US dime. Blasphemous and narcissistic titles on the coins declared, “Tiberius Caesar Son of the Divine Augustus.” Many Jews hated such idolatry. When Jews revolted against Rome a generation later, they promptly started to heat Roman coins and overstrike them with Jewish symbols.

Writing THE TWELVE CAESARS in AD 121, Roman historian Suetonius describes Tiberius as having been cruel and sexually perverse in his later years (probably coinciding with Jesus’ public ministry). The emperor pursued and even killed political opponents. Merciless toward anyone who disrespected images of emperors, Tiberius executed people for merely “carrying a ring or coin, bearing [Caesar] Augustus’ head, into a lavatory or brothel.”

Satirists in Rome ridiculed Tiberius, proclaiming,  “Saturn’s golden age has passed / Saturn’s age could never last / Now while Caesar holds the stage / This must be an iron age.”

Promoters of the empire declared that the reign of Caesar Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) was the revival of a mythical golden age of peace, harmony, and limitless abundance under the reign of the god Saturn. Augustus, and now his adoptive son Tiberius, were making Rome great again! Ending wars and bringing prosperity! Bring on the gold! Build grand monuments to the emperor!  

Feigning nonchalance about those who ridiculed him, Tiberius declared, “Let them hate me, so long as they respect me.” Suetonius says, “as time went on, Tiberius’s conduct justified every line [the satirists] had written.” When Tiberius finally died in AD 37 (a few years after Jesus’ ministry), people in Rome ran about yelling, “To the Tiber [River] with Tiberius.” The relieved population “offered prayers to Mother Earth and to the Infernal gods to give him no home below except among the damned.”

Jesus didn’t carry a Roman coin

When asked about paying taxes to such a ruler, Jesus needed a coin to answer. Turns out he didn’t have one of the offensive Roman coins in his possession! But the provocateurs did, exposing their compromise. Pointing to the coin, which probably portrayed Tiberius, Jesus said, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” You bear the image of God, he seemed to say. Give your whole self to God. Let Tiberius have his blasphemous money.                                         

Makes me wonder about that cell phone in my pocket, the one I’m tempted to check multiple times a day to read headlines about corruption in high places or to see yet another offensive image of a would-be emperor.

I’m not going to discard my phone, but I want to limit its spiritual power. The emperor wants to capture my soul by seduction or outrage. “Let them hate me, so long as they respect me.”

I do not respect, but as a Christian I pray. As a historian, I want to be aware of malfeasance in government and find ways to respond. I will give a malevolent ruler just enough attention to be a responsible citizen, and give allegiance to Jesus.

God, don’t let the emperor colonize my soul.