Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

 

 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  so they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him. 

 

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

 

- Mark 12:13–27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem.  And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A men planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD'S doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.

 

  Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  so they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  My study Bible explains that the Herodians were Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great and therefore willing servants of Rome.  This question is design to entrap Jesus in either way He might answer.  A "yes" answer would turn the people against Him, for whom the Roman taxation and occupation were onerous.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  My study Bible explains that as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  We should keep in mind also that our lives aren't divided into the secular and the sacred -- God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  Paying taxes and other civil duties aren't detrimental to holiness.  

 

 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  The Sadducees represent landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem.  My study Bible explains that they held many high offices in Israel, and so controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin.  They were different from the Pharisees in that they were politically prudent and adapted to the presence of the Romans.  According to my study Bible, the Sadducees interpreted the law even more rigidly than the Pharisees and differed from them also in that they rejected belief in angels and in the resurrection from the dead at the end of the age.  The Sadducees completely disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem.  

 

 In today's reading, we get both the question from the pro-Roman Herodians and one from the landowning, aristocratic Sadducees.  In both of these testing inquiries of Jesus, we observe a materialistic perspective, and one that we might say is not very spiritual.  That is, the first question is designed to trap Jesus around questions of money and taxes.  Jesus' response focuses in upon the coin or currency itself, as if to shape a perspective on a clear vision of what it means to pay and owe taxes to the state -- and what our duties are to God.  The contrast regarding which authority has domain over which area becomes the crux to Jesus' answer.  Whose image is printed on the coin, minted by the realm of Caesar?  So to return the taxes to Caesar is fitting.  But what belong to God?  And where is God's image?  Our whole lives are under the domain of God, and we are made in God's image, therefore our primary loyalty is to God.  We perhaps should keep in mind that these coins weren't allowed in the temple as they bore the image of Caesar, who was worshiped as a god (see Jesus' cleansing of the temple, including the tables of the money changers, in Monday's reading).  The Sadducees. landowning aristocrats, so to speak, of the Jewish society, with inherited positions and control of the temple, also posit a question with a rather materialistic perspective.  Because they didn't believe in resurrection, nor did their Scriptures include anything but the Torah or Law (the first five books of the Old Testament), they lack a spiritual orientation (neither did they believe in the existence of angels) and general perspective on the reality of the spiritual realm.  Thus, Jesus says to them, "You do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God," and they are therefore mistaken.  He explains of those in the resurrection, "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken." So their materialist perspective renders them mute and blind, in a sense, to the true reality of life as it exists in the fuller picture of God's creation, including the angels, the spiritual realm, the resurrection -- and the transformation possible for human beings in the resurrection.  Their blindness extends to their understanding of Scriptures, for they do not understand the meaning of God's words to Moses at the burning bush:  "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."   Additionally, we're given to understand, through Christ's words, that where the Sadducees with their materialist perspective see only death, the true God proclaims life:  "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  In our modern age, it's quite tempting to adopt such a "down to earth" (so to speak) "materialist" position.  We can just accept the rules as they're taught to us through Scripture, follow them, and leave every other question to either unknowing, or as in this case, scoffing or ridiculing.  But Christ's fuller picture shows us the power of God, and the depth of meaning of the Scriptures, for it shows us the true fullness of life -- and that life is not limited simply to a worldly perspective.  Our real job in life isn't just to collect fortunes and do well materially; neither is it simply to produce offspring or expand the material or political power and property we have in life.  Our job is faith, and that includes the fullness of life as abundance we can't necessarily see, but nevertheless must keep in mind.  For if there is a resurrection, and if God is truly the God of the living, including Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all who come before and after us, if angels do live and work among us, if Christ is who He claims He is, then we are all in a world of unimaginable beauty and transcendent goodness -- which calls us to live according to that greater sense of God's kingdom.  In the course of the past two readings, we've had opportunity to discuss prayer and seeking God's will in Monday's reading and commentary (as in the Lord's Prayer, we pray to our Father in heaven, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven"), and also the topic of prophets and prophecy in yesterday's reading and commentary.  These men who question Jesus, the Herodians and the Sadducees, understand neither, as they are bereft of these teachings through their exclusion of them.  It was Herod Antipas who had John the Baptist beheaded at his wife's request and through his own extravagant oath at a party; the Sadducees wish to retain their power and places but will be scattered at the Siege of Jerusalem.  Perhaps we should consider, in terms of Jesus' fuller picture of life, what this does to add to our own choices and considerations in our lives, how we are blessed, and how we must see all that we do in this perspective and through the lens of the life of the Kingdom.  For all that we do has a greater impact and importance than we think; we walk even among the great cloud of witnesses who belong to it all and among whom all live to God.

 

 

 

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

A silver denarius

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?"  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, while teaching in the temple, Jesus began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

 

 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?"  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible says that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  His answer is a defeat to their cunning, and it shows that a believer can render to the state its due, while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, my study Bible tells us, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

 

 I always find Jesus' assertive rebuffs and answers given to the religious leaders who come to test Him quite intriguing.  This is because they are illuminating as examples of how to respond to those who quiz with the intent of entrapment or denigration of faith.  In our lives, we might find challenges to the things we believe, and often beliefs will be ascribed to us that we don't actually hold.  Similarly to the question in today's reading which is posed to Jesus, we might be offered dilemmas -- and assumptions contained therein -- that don't at all reflect the fullness of our values and beliefs.  In this case, Jesus is openly teaching in the temple, and so He has deliberately come to Jerusalem to make His Triumphal Entry, and to do as He is doing.   Without openly declaring so Himself, He is there in the temple at Jerusalem as a messianic figure.   He has already expressed this in the cleansing of the temple (see this reading).  So, as these men seek to trap Him in a "yes" or "no" answer, Jesus gives us an example of responding to such questions given with these types of motives.  He doesn't accept their dichotomy, the choices offered through the question.  Instead He asserts His own teachings, and does so using the brilliant example of a coin of the realm, a Roman coin printed by the state authority that controls Israel.  To paraphrase His response, "Whose face and inscription are on that coin?," Jesus asks.  Clearly the coin is printed by Ceasar's government, for currency exchange within the Roman system of administration.  Under an emperor such as Caesar, whatever is imprinted with his image or insignia is an extension of himself, his authority, and his power.  But by the same token, as those who are created by God, we also bear an image and inscription within ourselves, and so we belong to God, as my study Bible points out.  In His teaching and His response, Jesus not only refutes without falling into their trap or accepting their potential responses, He also teaches us about who we are.  He gives us a teaching that is essential to Christian faith.  As we are created in the image and likeness of God, and Christ Himself became Incarnate as a human being, so we are saved through His Incarnation in that we are to follow and become like Him -- to grow in that image and inscription of the name of God within us.  For this is eternal salvation, that we may come to dwell with God, and be a part of God's kingdom.  Every ruler, every state, mints coins and currency that bear the stamp of authority and belonging to its realm.  So we also bear God's image.  In this one instant, in these few words directing these men to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and unto God what is God's, we receive the gospel message and the power of salvation from our Lord, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.  And in the presence of all the people, all these men who seek to entrap Him can do is to marvel at His answer.  Would that we all could be so eloquent, using so few words, as Jesus is, and know what we are to be about as His followers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. 

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus told the people this parable, as He was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  This is a continuation from yesterday's reading (see above) in which Jesus had told the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers to the people, in which those wicked vinedressers were clearly meant to be the religious leaders.  The chief priests and scribes sought to lay hands on Him to have Jesus arrested and put to death.  The governor is Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, whose power and authority is Rome's. 

 

 Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. My study Bible notes that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and it shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As this denarius coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to the emperor, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises, my study Bible says, only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

 

How do we discern the things that are Caesar's from the things that are God's?  Perhaps we might better consider this question if we ask ourselves what we render to either one.  What is it that we render to God?  When Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment in the Law, He replies that there are two:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).  If we read those commandments carefully, we're given a text that teaches us what we should render to God:  our heart, our soul, and our mind.  And to love one's neighbor as oneself is also something we render to God, for this makes us God's community.  To follow the commands of God is to render unto God the things that are God's.  In Monday's reading and commentary, we pondered the question of authority, with which the religious leaders quizzed Jesus.  We considered this statement in the Epistle of James:  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).  If every good and perfect gift is from God, then clearly we must render unto God our thanks for all that we have, for this also is rightfully God's.  What must we render unto the state, or "unto Caesar" as the text says?  In Christ's time, let us keep in mind, the Romans were hated by most of the Jewish people, and collaborators were despised.  The coin, with Caesar's image on it, was considered to be defiling in the temple, for Caesar was worshiped as a god.  So Jesus is clearly not talking about a government which any of the people in the temple would agree is all "good" or even desirable.  There was great unrest among the people, including many movements seeking to overthrow the Romans, or at least to assassinate their leaders and authorities who held power and used it in ways considered to be abusive and even unbearable.  But even with such a worldly authority over them, Jesus still recognizes that there are things in the world which are required of us, and that there will be worldly authorities -- even those which we find abhorrent -- which nevertheless we may find ourselves living under in our societies.  The Romans printed their coins just as our governments print our money.  But the things we render unto Caesar do not include our hearts and souls and minds.  Those things belong to God, and as such we seek God's guidance and blessing for all things in our lives, the choices we make, and how we conduct ourselves within the society.  Paying taxes is something every government will ask, and so we might ask ourselves about other ways in which Christ proposes we use our assets in this realm of "mammon," or money, material things.  In chapter 16, Jesus tells the disciples, "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home" (Luke 16:9).  This is understood as a prescription for helping others, particularly the poor, by sharing wealth with them (see the parable of the Unjust Steward, in Luke 16:1-13).  So there are ways in which even that which is Caesar's might be used in service to what is God's (the "everlasting home" of God's kingdom).  So what Jesus is advocating here is a perspective on life that does not divide our world into the sacred and secular in stark ways that allow only for black and white thinking.  As my study Bible puts it in commenting on this story as told in Matthew 22:15-22, God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  It notes also that -- as the statements from Jesus in today's reading tell us -- paying taxes and similar civil duties are not detrimental to holiness.  In discerning, therefore, the things we are to render unto Caesar and the things we are to render to God, let us conclude that in a properly prayerful life, we place these decisions into the hands of God, and seek God's will for us for all things.  For if even what is to come at Christ's Passion can be used by God for the ultimate good and redemption of all the world, imagine what God can do with all things in our lives.  Let us take our direction from Jesus, and follow His way.

 

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  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.

 

- Matthew 22:15-22 

 

Our recent readings take place during Holy Week, the final week of Christ' earthly life.  Yesterday we read that Jesus answered and spoke to the religious leaders in the temple again by parables and said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  Tell us, therefore, what do You think?  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"  My study Bible explains that this question on taxation is a trap.  If He answers "yes" it will turn the Jewish people against Him.  But if He answers "no" that will bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But, once again, Christ will have His own answer for this question.  Herodians are those followers of Herod's Court, Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great, the dynasty that ruled for Rome.

 

  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.   My study Bible says that this answer by Jesus defeats the cunning of the religious leaders, and shows that a believer can give the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  Jesus illustrates His point with the coin which bears the image of the emperor and so is properly paid to him; but so, as well, each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  The conflict comes only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  The differences between  things that are Caesars and things that are God's doesn't imply a division of the lives of believers into the secular and sacred.  God is Lord over all of life, including the secular, my study Bible tells us.  But we fulfill governmental requires that are not in conflict with our first responsibility to God (see also Acts 4:19, 5:29).  To pay taxes and fulfill similar civil duties is not detrimental to holiness.

One thing we can notice about Christ's response to this "trick" question designed as a trap:  He doesn't accept the premises of the question put to Him.  That is, while the question is posed in order to elicit an either/or answer, Jesus asserts His own premises, making it clear that paying taxes is part of the rule of government which establishes the economic system and prints its money.  But while the coin may be precious to Caesar, our lives and souls are governed by God.   In another comment about money and what we do with it, Jesus teaches the parable of the Unjust Steward, and then comments, "For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.  He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.  Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" (Luke 16:8-11).  In other words, while Christ would never advocate a materialistic lifestyle, He does teach that we can do good things with our money ("unrighteous mammon"), in making "friends" by sharing with the needy.  So Christ establishes that there are proper ways in which to use our wealth to do good works, as well as improper ways in which compassion and generosity go unexpressed.  With wealth we may also employ people to do good works with their skills and labor, contributing to good things in our world and caring for their families.   My study Bible emphasizes that Christ teaches there is no separation in our lives of the sacred and the secular; all is under God.  In a verse that is often misquoted St. Paul says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10).   It is not money per se that is evil in and of itself, but the "love of money."  That is, valuing wealth in and for itself.  St. Paul subsequently instructs Timothy, "Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life" (1 Timothy 6:17-19).  Let us consider also, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning" (James 1:17).  Let us consider that all of our blessings come from God, and that Christ is asking us to place every blessing in service to God, using what we have to bless the world, for in so doing we render to God the things that are God's.

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. 

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible comments that this question on taxation is designed to trap Jesus.  A "yes" answer would turn the Jewish people against Him, but a "no" would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  Christ's answer, my study Bible says, defeats their cunning and shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

So what is Caesar's and what is God's?  What are we to make of Jesus' answer today?  There is first the understanding about the image on the coin.  Images are important considerations in Christianity.  In Greek, this word for "image" is εἰκόνα/eikona, meaning "icon."  An icon in this context is a picture of someone meant to evoke that person's presence.  For example, if we see a photograph of a loved one who is far away, and we kiss the photo, we don't do so because we love the photo, but because in so doing we are kissing the person, expressing our love in relationship to that person and not to the photograph.  This was well-understood in the ancient world, as Caesar's image imprinted on the coin, as well as the inscription or title which Jesus also names, were representative of Caesar himself.  Everything that bore his stamp or image was an extension of his person -- and this is what Christ is getting at here when He responds, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  So, in such a context, we must think about what belongs to God.  Of course, we're also told in Scripture that we are created in the image and likeness of God.  Εἰκόνα is the same word used in the Septuagint (Greek) version of the Old Testament, the version Jesus quotes in the New Testament.  So, while the coin is minted by Caesar and created with his image on it, we have been created by God and God's image placed in us.  This is something we need to consider in prayer and worship, for Christ came to show us that image, to be an "icon" of God ("He who has seen Me has seen the Father" - John 14:9).  Therefore we are taught by the example and word of Christ to become "like Him," to fulfill that image -- and this is also the purpose of the Spirit sent to us.  St. Peter writes, "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).   We human beings are clearly capable of choosing that to which we want to be conformed, and this is a very important reason for proper worship.   Worship is a form of community participation; it is that which we worship to which we will tend to "conform."  Here Jesus contrasts Caesar and God.   Our earliest Christian martyrs were those who would not give worship to Caesar, who was also called a god.  Possibly our current cultural understanding is so steeped in politics that it is hard for us to understand that paying taxes to Caesar was simply honoring an obligation to the state, and not a form of worship.  We might find questions posed to us today of a similar "tricky" nature.  Sometimes we're asked to support an extreme perspective that has harmful effects, but if we object, we're accused of some hateful behavior.  Or perhaps we object to warfare and violence, but in so doing we're accused of supporting an oppressor.  The question posed to Jesus is tinged with the politics of the time, and the hostility of the Jewish people to colonization and the harsh conditions it imposed, including taxation.  But Jesus offers us a different perspective, refuting each side of the dilemma.  The struggles of the time fueled messianic expectation of a political messiah who would be king.  Indeed, at the Crucifixion, the crowd preferred to save Barabbas the rebel to Christ.  But Jesus avoids the "trick" dilemma posed here.  His answer, instead, provokes us to consider whose image and inscription is in us, first, and what and whom we worship.  How do we render unto God the things that are God's?  Jesus quotes the two greatest commandments in which are summed the whole of the Law and the Prophets:  To love God with all one's heart and soul and strength and mind, and neighbor as oneself (Luke 10:27).   This active love is participatory worship, and creates the bedrock of our reality, the recognition of true image into whose likeness we're asked to grow.  He asks us to go deeper than the heated questions of the day, and to find first what we must love, and live that love.

For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it

 

 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He come sin the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

 

- Mark 8:27-9:1 

 

Yesterday we read that the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him.  But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign?  Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."  And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side.  Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat.  Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."  But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread?  Do you not yet perceive nor understand?  Is your heart still hardened?  Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears, do you not hear?  And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  They said to Him, "Twelve."  Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"  And they said, "Seven."  So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"  Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town.  And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked Him if he saw anything.  And he looked up and said, "I see men like trees, walking."  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up.  And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.  Then He sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell anyone in the town."

 

 Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, "Who do men say that I am?"  So they answered, "John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets."  He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"  Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the Christ."  Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.  My study Bible says that, "Who do you say that I am?" is the greatest question that any person can ever face.  This is because it is the question that defines Christianity.  Peter answers correctly, and this answer prevents the Christian faith from being seen as simply another philosophical system or path of spirituality.  In Matthew's Gospel, Peter answers fully, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."  Such a position, as unique Son of  God, excludes all compromise with other religious systems.  This recognition of Christ, my study Bible says, cannot be achieved by human reason, but only by divine revelation through faith (1 Corinthians 12:3).  Christ means "Anointed One," and is equivalent to the Hebrew title, "Messiah."  Additionally, it is noted that Christ first draws out the erroneous opinions that men say about Him.  This is done in order to identify incorrect ideas, as one is better prepared to avoid false teachings when they are clearly identified.  

And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.  He spoke this word openly.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.  But when He had turned around and looked at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying, "Get behind Me, Satan!  For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."  After Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus now reveals the true nature of His messiahship.  This is the mystery of His Passion.  My study Bible explains that it was expected that the Messiah would reign forever.  Therefore the notion that Christ would die was perplexing to Peter and remained scandalous to the Jews even after the Resurrection (1 Corinthians 1:23).  Unwittingly, Peter has spoken for Satan, as the devil did not want Christ to fulfill His mission and save humankind through suffering and death.  

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  This central teaching of Christianity is a reflection of the Passion and Resurrection, and our participation in these realities.  My study Bible notes that the cross, a dreaded instrument of Roman punishment, is also a symbol of suffering by Christians in imitation of Christ.  It says that we practice self-denial for the sake of the love of God and the gospel.  To accept this suffering is not a punishment, nor it is an end in itself, but a means to overcome the fallen world for the sake of the Kingdom and to crucify the flesh with its passions and desire (Galatians 5:24). 

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."  My study Bible comments that the central paradox of Christian living is that in grasping for temporal things, we lose the eternal; but in sacrificing everything in this world, we gain eternal riches that are unimaginable (1 Corinthians 2:9).  

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?  For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He come sin the glory of His Father with the holy angels."  Christ's questions emphasize the foolishness of sacrificing one's salvation for the accumulation of wealth or power, for these cannot redeem a fallen soul, nor benefit a person in the life to come.  

And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."  My study Bible says that this is a reference to those who would witness the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-10; in our next reading), as well as those in every generation who will experience the presence of God's Kingdom.

 

In today's reading, Jesus makes this powerful central statement, reflecting on our need for Christ and our salvation:  "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."   But what is our soul, and why is it of such significance?  My study Bible defines soul as follows:  "A living substance, simple, bodiless, and invisible by nature, activating the body to which it brings life, growth, sensation and reproduction. The mind is not distinct from the soul but serves as a window to the soul. The soul is free, endowed with will, and the power to act. Along with the body, the soul is created by God in His image. The soul of man will never die  (Genesis 1:26; 2:7; Matthew 10:28).  In Genesis 2:7 we read that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being."   "Living being" is also translated as "living soul."  What we understand, then, is that the soul is inseparable from life itself, that which constitutes and gives us life.  The eternal soul, therefore, is not simply something we should preserve, protect, and cherish for the sake of a life which we understand continues after our physical death in this world, but the condition of the soul also defines how we will experience life as a human being, fully in this world.  Therefore, the priceless nature of this soul, as defined by Christ, applies to every single day of our lives, and the choices that we make in life.  We should therefore not relegate this statement to something that applies only to an afterlife, or to the final judgment at Christ's return.  For we are surrounded by those holy angels mentioned in Jesus' statement, and the power of the Cross inspires us even in the ways in which we live our daily lives, just as Jesus indicates when He says, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."  Whatever we desire in our lives, whatever plans we make and follow for the shape and direction of life, the soul is present and with us, activating us, giving us life, and the true care and nurturing of the soul thus becomes the condition within which we experience and frame our lives.  When we set our lives on the path that Christ lays out, when we choose to shape our lives by living "for My sake and the gospel's" we choose a path that gives us purpose and meaning.  Every choice and direction becomes a way to set a pattern, to consider what values we add to ourselves and our lives -- and what values we communicate to others.  We live for a higher purpose, and we can take on qualities that we see in Christ.  It is His example that has inspired countless people to the qualities of leadership Jesus embodies, in particular the willingness to sacrifice what is temporary and fleeting to what becomes a part of us, what we can pass on that makes the world good, giving a quality of life that materiality alone cannot give.  It takes courage, foresight, and a deep appreciation of what is truly good -- in short, what makes life truly "civilized" -- to make such choices.  But when we bear the gospel into the world, and Christ with it, we have a higher good to fulfill, a greater power and strength and depth of meaning, and a purpose and image to manifest that helps to create life "more abundantly"  The easy way is not the best way.  But with Christ we are promised that we should first seek the Kingdom, and all else is added unto that.

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent. 

 

- Luke 20:19-26 

 

Yesterday we read that, after He was confronted regarding His authority (in the temple in Jerusalem), He began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours."  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, 'Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder." 

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible tells us that this question on taxation is really designed as a trap for Jesus.  If He answered "Yes" to this question about Roman taxation, it would turn the Jewish people against Him.  If He answered "No" it would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But Christ's answer defeats their cunning, and moreover, my study Bible says, it shows that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  As the coin bears the image of the emperor and is therefore properly paid to him, so each one of us bears the image of God, and therefore we belong to God.  Conflict arises, my study Bible says, only when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  

 

What is the image of God in us?  What does this mean that we are created in God's "image and likeness"?  "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:26-27).  There are quite a few interesting things to note about that passage (such as the plural Us for God, for instance).  The first thing we might notice are words of authority; in this case "dominion."  There is also the creation of "male and female" indicating what it means to be man (ἄνθρωπον/anthropon in the Greek of the Septuagint) or humankind.  That Greek word for "image" is εἰκόνα/eikona, from which we get the word icon.  "Likeness" is from ὁμοίωσιν/homoiosin; it implies a similitude, a thing that is "like" something else.  While we may think of these words, icon (or image)  and likeness in visual terms as we commonly use them, they don't imply that here at all.   An icon is something that represents something; to look at an icon in this sense of the word means that we are given the presence of that person.  It is in this same sense that St. Paul writes that we are each temples of God:  "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are" (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).  More acutely reflecting Christ's teaching in today's reading, St. Paul also writes, "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6:19).  This is what it means to bear the image of God, in the language of St. Paul, and in the meaning of Jesus, that we are not "our own."  To be "like God" again makes reference to some quality or qualities of sameness.  How are we similar to God?  The capacity for dominion or authority conveys a similitude, it also implies a capacity for independence or authority, for creativity and making decisions, choices.  But to bear this likeness, to be an icon, means that we belong to something.  It is as if we are imprinted with a seal or a flag that bears reference to the higher thing that is above us, just like the coin that Jesus references.  The coin that bears the image of Caesar means that it is part of Caesar's authority and power, and so are we with God, whether we know that or not.  In our "image and likeness" we have a stamp upon us, we belong to something or rather Someone; in this sense He is also our Father.  But what makes a good and true Father?  Simply put, God loves us and is the true image any human father should aspire to, the parent that gives us the fullness of what that can be.  God is gracious, giving, God loves us, God teaches us, and more than anything else, God longs for us to be in communion with God, in the circle of God's care and love, closer than we know closeness to be.  See the parable of the Lost Son or Prodigal Son at Luke 15:11-32.  God wants us to be true to that icon and likeness, and for us to grow in that icon and likeness.  And so, we have Christ, God who became one of us, who shows us what God is like.  "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him. . . . He who has seen Me has seen the Father" (see John 14:7-9).   Christ gives us the fullest example of bearing the image of God into the world, and teaches us also that we are to "follow Him."   In this way there is the fullness of communion, for as He gave Himself for us, so we give (render) ourselves back to God, so that we may also grow more true to the image we bear, and grow in that likeness.

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  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.

 

- Matthew 22:15-22 

 

In yesterday's reading, Jesus gave the parable of the Wedding Feast, as He continued to respond to the religious authorities in the temple at Jerusalem.  He said:  "The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready.  Come to the wedding."'  But they made light of it and went their own ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious.  And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.'  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good.  And the wedding hall was filled with guests.  But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment.  So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?'  And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  For many are called, but few are chosen."

 

 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk.  And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men.  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.  The Pharisees seek to entangle Jesus by asking a kind of trick question, which works as a trap.  If Jesus gave a "yes" answer it would turn the Jewish people against Him (as they suffer under the oppressive taxation of the Romans).  But a "no" answer would bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But yet again, the Word Himself is the master of all communication.  His answer defeats their cunning, showing that a believer can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  More to the point, as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is more properly paid to him, each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises, my study Bible explains, when the state demands that which is contrary to God.  It notes also that the distinction between things that are Caesar's and things that are God's does not imply the division of a believer's life into the secular and the sacred.  Instead, we are to know that God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  However, we fulfill governmental requirements that don't conflict with our first responsibility to God (see also Acts 4:19, 4:29).  To pay taxes and fulfill similar civil duties is not detrimental to holiness.  

 

 In Christ's time, we know the demand that was there to overthrow the Romans.  Indeed, many looked to an image of the prophesied Messiah who would be a worldly king, establishing again a throne of Israel and overthrowing foreign rule, with a powerful kingdom which could conquer all enemies.  So the question is more powerfully relative to Jesus than we might at first think.  While the Pharisees seek to entrap Him -- either with the ruling Romans or with the people of Israel -- Jesus is also the Christ, and the nature of this Messiah is not the one anticipated nor possibly even "demanded" by the people in this political sense.  So the question about Roman taxes has not only religious but also politically revolutionary overtones.  We should also note that among those who come to quiz Jesus are both the disciples of the Pharisees, together with their allies the Herodians:  that is, those who support the dynasty of Herod the Great which rules for Rome.  We know that the people (stirred up by the religious leadership who wants rid of Jesus) will demand that Barabbas, a violent rebel, be freed instead of Jesus at His Crucifixion (Matthew 27:15-26), so again, we can't overlook how powerfully relevant these issues really are to Jesus and very nature of His messianic ministry -- and particularly the central role of His Passion.  It makes us reflect upon the nature of what it is for Him to be the Suffering Servant who was prophesied by Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1–4; 49:1–6; 50:4–11; 52:13–53:12).  While there are certainly injustices done by the Romans -- and much more to follow even to the Church -- Jesus makes us think hard about what forms of revolution or rebellion are really about.  How do we correct injustice and throw off oppressive rule?  Of course, at the time of Christ there had never been an empire quite like the Roman Empire and Constitutional rule of law was not something that existed in the forms we know today.  So national expectations of wealth from conquered territory (including in the form of slavery which was virtually universal) also played a role in the ways that people thought about violence and the change of rule.  But let us consider what Jesus seems to be teaching us.  First of all, there is the sense of civic duties that exist for us all, regardless of what type of government we have.  We tend to think very individualistically compared with perspectives in the Bible and the historical perspectives of peoples everywhere.  Christ's response frames this question in both a communal and individual framework.  Whose business is it to govern?  Who mints the coin, who rules trade and exchange?  But both communally and individually, what's our duty to God?  How is our soul loyal to God, and at the same time we have civic duty to function among the wider community?  While faith in Christ calls on us for a type of radical conversion (that is, the loyalty of heart and soul and mind and strength in our love of God), how does that work out in terms of our relationship to neighbor, to community?  The faith of Christ in this sense turns political revolution as solution to spiritual problems upside down:  everything begins with the soul, with an internal loyalty and radical commitment to love of God first coupled and enacted through love of neighbor.   This itself can create radical change within us as individuals, as so many have found in the experience of their faith, but it is a kind of internal transformation and revolution against the things that get in the way of our love of God and its realization in our lives.  It is an overthrow of loyalty to the purely worldly and material with a commitment to put faith first in God's love and how we live it.  In this understanding, our internal change or transformation is also a "rebellion" against the one whom Jesus calls the prince or ruler of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11; Ephesians 2:2), the one who thrives on sin and all its forms including abuse and injustice and cruelty.  In this understanding, we might discern that abusive and oppressive rule is a product of sin, of "the evil one" (Matthew 5:37, 6:13).  We "render therefore to Caesar" practical and reasonable civic duty, but to render unto God what is God's demands of us no stone left unturned in an ongoing internal repentance, a commitment to knowing God and living as God's children that deepens as we mature and grow in faith.  This just might be the greatest power for transformation we can give to the world, for it goes to the real root of worldly problems.  Let us start there when we look for the change and good we desire.

 

 

 

 

 

Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's

 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

- Luke 20:19–26 

 

Yesterday we read that, after disputing with the religious leaders over His authority regarding His Triumphal Entry, and also to preach and to cleanse the temple, Jesus began to tell the people this parable:  "A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard.  But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.  And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.  Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do?  I will send my beloved son.  Probably they will respect him when they see him.'  But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'  So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others."  And when they heard it they said, "Certainly not!"  Then He looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone'?  Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder."  And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them. 

 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  This verse refers to Jesus' telling of the parable of the Wicked Vinedressers, in yesterday's reading, above.  

So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "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."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.  My study Bible explains that this question on taxation is a trap designed to catch Jesus one way or the other.  A "yes" answer will turn the Jewish people against Him.  A "no" answer can bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But the way that He chooses to answer is a defeat of the trap, and those who designed it.  What it shows is that a believer can render the state its due, while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  My study Bible explains that as the coin bears the image of the emperor, and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God, and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises in the instance when the state demands that which is contrary to God.

Jesus' brilliance in dialogue is always striking, and it teaches us something powerful about argument.  As the religious leaders "spar off," so to speak, against Jesus, what we witness is not a battle with munitions and soldiers and armaments of all kinds, but rather a battle for truth.  This is because it is essentially a battle at the deepest levels of human capacity for awareness and understanding, and it's a battle for truth at the deepest root of what truth is.  This is, in effect, a kind of spiritual battle, and it's one where the battleground is hearts and souls and minds.  It is a battle in the place where we are to love God, according to what Jesus has called the "first and great commandment" -- "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  He coupled it with the commandment to love neighbor as oneself, and proclaimed that upon these two hang all the Law and the Prophets.  See Matthew 22:36-40.  But this place of the heart, soul, and mind is the place where this conflict between Christ and the religious leaders is really taking place, and so, at this stage, it takes place in debate, in words, in Christ's expression of the truth that finds loopholes in all of their arguments, and reasons beyond their capacity to grasp in the first place.  This is a battle waged by the very Person who is Logos Himself, and it is a battle for the hearts, minds, and souls of all people.  It is the very thing for which He has come into the world.  It is the light that He has brought into the darkness (John 1:5).  This is a battle for truth of the deepest kind, that lies most deeply within a person and unites a cosmological order.  In the modern world, we are used to the bandied use of words that whittles their meanings down to nothing.  We're used to loose language, that today expresses one thing, and tomorrow another.  We hear theories and slogans of all kinds that are often deceptive -- used to imply conclusions that the words themselves don't actually mean -- or twisted meanings that seem to link a political or social movement with some "good" things we know from the past, but used in fact to contradict the very things the words refer to.  If equality once implied a democratic meritocracy, or the measure of a person based on the content of their character, today we might hear slogans and theories claiming to be democratic but demeaning the whole concept of character at all.  Such assertions have even been made supposedly while evoking great figures of the past whose very words extolled the virtue of character as measure of a person, while effectively denouncing that very thing for which they advocated.  When language is used in such way for manipulation -- effectively telling lies in order to coerce others to follow for another's political or social gain -- then truth is absent.  It is a way to mess with hearts and souls and minds, and to destroy meaning itself.  But Christ is the Logos:  He is the spoken truth, the word, the logic and reason, the wisdom, the One who puts things in order and gives us the things of God that form the deepest substance of truth and reality.  Jesus says of Himself, "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6).  And in this debate in the temple what we have is essentially the Logos who comes into the world and teaches the truths that we need to hear.  He evades the traps of the religious leadership by brilliantly staking out His own ground upon which this battle takes place:  there is another way to answer the question which they can't possibly anticipate.  Let us note that for every parry and thrust of these debates in the temple, all the people are listening.  They are the ones whose hearts and minds and souls form the real battleground where this challenge for truth takes place.  It is Jesus who has taught us that to know the truth makes us free (John 8:32), and we must also carefully understand its opposite:  those who seek to mislead, to twist meaning beyond its truth, to misuse meanings and language, always seek to make others slaves in some sense.  One popular term for performed magic on a stage is "sleight of hand," and the manipulation of words is used in this same way, to distract from what is really happening.  If it is the truth that makes us free, it is clearly lies that bind us in chains and keep us in darkness, so that we cannot make choices which are best for us.  This is why we trust in Christ, the Logos, who comes into the world to bring us light and truth so that we are no longer slaves to that which seeks to manipulate, to lie, to coerce, and to make us servants to that which only seeks its own power, and not the well-being and welfare of human beings that Christ the Physician -- the One being condemned for healing on the Sabbath -- brings to us.  He is the One who has declared that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).  This is the One who proclaims the reality of God -- who is love, and healing, and the bedrock of truth; He is the One in whom we can trust.  My study bible explains that Logos can mean "wisdom," "reason," and "action" as well as "word," and all of these are attributes of the Son of God.  He speaks to us the realities of the Father (John 14:7), teaching us the truth that we are loved, worthy of salvation and effort of all kind to heal and to retrieve in loving embrace of our Creator.  Let us put our trust in Him, even when -- and especially then -- when all else seems designed to confuse and distract.  For worship belongs only to God, and all else is a false idol.