THE RIGHT ANSWER
Opening Prayer
Jesus, I want to love You more. Show me how to live for You through Your Word.
Read Mark 12:13–17
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
Footnotes:
a Mark 12:14 A special tax levied on subject peoples, not on Roman citizens
New International Version (NIV)
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Reflect
Do you know anyone suffering for their faith?It is hard for us to imagine the situation the Jewish people lived in when Jesus walked the earth. Though still in their own homeland, they were under Roman rule and had to abide by Roman law rather than their own. It was a struggle to know how to live out God’s law without breaking the law of the land.
This is a daily struggle for many Christians around the world. Following God can bring us into direct conflict with religious or secular rulers. I lived in Romania after the fall of Communism and was privileged to hear the stories of many believers who had wrestled with this issue. Sometimes they had disobeyed quietly, under the radar – they tell many miraculous stories of how God kept them hidden. Sometimes they were caught and made to suffer.
In this instance, Jesus found a clever way of avoiding a straight answer. He knew that the Pharisees were simply trying to trick Him into saying something that could get Him arrested.
Those of us living in the West are increasingly finding that secular laws threaten our rights as Christians. Compared to so many in other places, we are not in any real danger yet. Now is the time to learn to be listening to God for wise responses in tricky situations.
Apply
Are there ways in which the culture has affected your faith in Christ? It’s so easy to allow our surrounding influences to impact us. Ask God to show you His way clearly today.
Closing prayer
My Lord, I pray for those who have to decide daily whether to obey Your law or the law of the land. Give them grace and strength.
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