Time and time again throughout the Gospels, we see the Jewish religious leaders trying to trick Jesus into saying something that would incriminate Him, but Jesus was always a step ahead of them.
In chapter twelve of Mark’s Gospel, they were at it again by
posing this question to Jesus,
“Teacher, we know that you
are an honest man. You are not afraid of what others think about you. All
people are the same to you. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us,
is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?” (Mark
12:14 ERV)
You see, in Jesus’ day, Rome was in control and their manner
of ruling was founded on arrogance, greed, pride and violence. The people of Israel
carried a venomous distaste for the Romans and were rigorously intolerant of
the empire.
The Romans had conquered their land and eroded their freedom
and to the Israelites, having to pay taxes to these people was unconscionable.
Jesus saw right through the religious leaders’ hypocritical
scheme as they salivated at the mouth awaiting His answer.
Jesus knew that these men
were really trying to trick him. He said, “Why are you trying to catch me
saying something wrong? (Mark 12:15 ERV)
Jesus was no fool, He was not fooled, and He let them know
it.
On the one hand, to deny Caesar was to incur the wrath of
the state and certain death and on the other, was to incur the wrath of the
people and certain ostracising if He were to defend Caesar.
So, what does Jesus do?
They may have thought that Jesus was ignorant of their tactics,
but He was not, so Jesus answers their question with an assertion.
Bring me a silver coin. Let
me see it.” They gave Jesus a coin and he asked, “Whose picture is on the
coin? And whose name is written on it?” They answered, “It is Caesar’s picture
and Caesar’s name.”
Then Jesus said to them,
“Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
The men were amazed at what Jesus said. (Mark 12:15-17 ERV)
Caesar’s coin belonged to Caesar so giving it back to him
was the right thing to do and all that belongs to God must be given to God.
And just like that, Jesus masterfully avoids their trap,
leaving them amazed at what He said.
We too should be amazed as we ponder upon Jesus’ words…
“Give to God what belongs to
God”
What belongs to God; do you know?
The earth and everything on it belong to the Lord. The world and all its people belong to him…for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. (Psalm 24:1 ERV; 50:10-12 NIV)
Both Psalms answer the question clearly; no explanation is needed.
“The earth is the
Lord’s, and everything in it.” (NIV)
There’s but one Kingdom, however God does give persons the
power to rule (see Romans 13:1). He establishes governing authorities but is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth (ref.
Daniel 4:17).
So, obedience to the governing bodies can only be in the
context of everything belonging to God.
Beloved, it is our duty, first and foremost, to honour God,
for He is our Governor. Even though we belong to different churches, and belong
to different nationalities, we all belong to God.
While we have earthly citizenship and are in the world, as
Christians we are not of the world (see John 17:15-16), for we belong to
something far greater, we are citizens of God’s Kingdom.
As Kingdom belongers, our lives must be deeply informed and
guided by the thought, language and morality of the Kingdom, as we live our
faith in the world.
Amen †
Shelley Johnson "
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