Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Tuesday of Holy Week
Matthew 22:17-22 "Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money." So they brought Him a denarius. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" 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." When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.
JESUS WITHSTANDS ATTACK, RETURNS FIRE
On Tuesday of Holy Week the enemies of Jesus brought out the big guns. They assaulted Jesus with questions designed to turn the people against Him, and possibly to get Him in trouble with the Roman overlords. But Jesus deftly blocked their attacks with a simple and powerful tool -- God's Word (see Matthew 22:15-23:39). The account above is a great example of Jesus' brilliant teaching.
If Jesus said, "Pay your taxes to Rome," the people would turn against Him. If Jesus said, "Don't pay your taxes to Rome," Rome would come down on Him as a rebel. But Jesus saw through their duplicity and asked for a denarius.
The first commandment said, "You shall have no other gods." Furthermore it explained that no image was to be worshiped alongside God. But the Roman denarius had both an image of Caesar and an inscription that said, "Tiberius, son of the god Augustus." This coin was offensive to a religious Jew in the highest degree.
They must have thought they had Him when Jesus held up the coin and said, "Whose image and inscription is this?" I imagine Jesus saying this with disdain. Read "Whose BLASPHEMOUS image and inscription is this?" "Caesar's," they replied with a inward, triumphant smile.
But Jesus turned the tables on them in an instant. Essentially Jesus replies, "Oh, it's Caesar's image and inscription? The coin belongs to him? Well then, give him his tax money, but give God your worship."
