Oh, those pesky Pharisees never gave up trying to trick Jesus, did they?
But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.”
As usual, Jesus gets right to the point. And do you think He really needed to see the money? No, this was just an object lesson for all the onlookers.
So they brought Him a denarius.
And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?”
I love when Jesus asks an obvious question like this – you know it’s a setup!
They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:16b – 21)
BAM! Jesus lays the smackdown on them (again)! Those guys just never got it – they tried multiple times in multiple ways, but Jesus got the best of them every time…
So, do we render to God “the things that are God’s”? What is God’s? Everything – yes, that’s right, but perhaps there is something deeper here. The coin they showed had Caesar’s image on it. Perhaps what Jesus is saying is that we should give Caesar that which has his image on it, and in the same way we should give God that which has His image on it.
We are made in God’s image: “For in the image of God He made man.” (Genesis 9:6b) We are to render (meaning “offer” or “give”) ourselves to God. The question was meant to trap Jesus, but instead He used it as a lesson more valuable than a gold coin!
#LoveMatters