230. Render Unto Caesar

Genesis 1:26-27, Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26

Key Verse: So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:27

Well, the religious angle wasn't working very well for the Pharisees. Jesus just wasn't saying anything that could clearly enough be defined as blasphemy. So, getting desperate, they put their heads together and decided to take another tack. "What if, we could maybe get Him to say something against Rome? Yeah, that would do it! Then, the Romans would take Him off our hands and we'd be done with this Jesus problem. Hmmm, but how?  Hmmm." 

"Well, let's see, maybe if we were to ask Him a question about taxes. Yes, that would do it! No good Jew likes to pay taxes to the Romans, but no one would dare to say that publicly. If He were to say, "Pay your taxes," the people will be disgusted with Him because they're looking for someone like Him to throw off Roman oppression, but if He says, "No, of course you shouldn't pay taxes," then we can report Him to the authorities as one who is leading a rebellion and the Roman's will put Him in jail and then, who knows, maybe even kill Him."

Thinking they had come up with the fool proof, logical solution to their problem, the religious leaders tried once again to trap Jesus publicly, so that they could bring charges against Him. Mark and Matthew both mention that this time, the religious men were accompanied by Herodians, who were more political than religious. They thought that they were prepared.

Approaching Jesus once again, in the temple courts where He has continued teaching and ministering to the people since arriving in the city, one person poses what was thought to be the perfect question. First, the question is laid with much false praise that doesn't impress Jesus in the least. Then, "Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" (Matthew 22:17) Note the moral concern in the question: "Is it right?" As if they had ever been truly concerned about what is "right before!"

If they had truly been concerned about what is "right," then they would have been living all along according to the wisdom of the answer Jesus was about to give them and would have known the foolishness of their question. Jesus, as a good Jew, responds with a question of His own. Borrowing a coin from a bystander, He asks, "Whose portrait is this?" (Matthew 22:20)

"Caesar's," they replied. (Matthew 22:21)

"Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Matthew 22:21) Caesar deserves the taxes because his image is imprinted on the money, but whose image is on man? From the beginning it has been taught as a fact that we are created in His image. His image is imprinted on us and it is just as wrong not to give ourselves back to our creator as it would be not to pay our taxes. We are His and He continues to work in us to make us more like Him every day so that everyone will be able to tell who our Father is. When we hold back from letting Him do His work we are rejecting the family resemblance that He wishes to create and this disowns Him as our Father. This actually then becomes even more serious than taxes because it is our very selves that are being affected.

Choose to give yourself to Him. Choose to yield to Him as Lord of your life. He's making you family!

Hymn: "We Are God's People"