Tell us, is it against the law to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?”
But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a silver coin and let me see it.”
They brought him one and Jesus asked, “Whose image is this, and whose name?”
They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God, what is God’s.” And they were greatly astonished.
REFLECTION:
The Pharisees thought they had found a way to trick Jesus into saying something that would cause damage and ruin to his name.
Instead, Jesus teaches them a valuable lesson hidden in his response: “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God, what is God’s.”
On the surface, it appears that Jesus is simply saying that they should pay the required tax to Caesar using the coins engraved with Caesar’s image,
and give to God what rightly belongs to him. The issue here, of course, is that everything – and the Jews knew this – belonged to God.
Yes, including the very coin that had Caesar’s likeness on it. How prudent and wise am I in my use of the resources that I have?
Am I a spendrift or am I frugal? Do I save for a rainy day or do I squander all the money I get as soon as I get it?
Sit down and take a good and close look at how you make use of your financial resources and make the decision to use them wisely.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020