Seeds for 12/20/2023 - Matthew 22:15-22

Scripture: Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Him in His words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought Him a denarius, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then He said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left Him and went away.

Observation: Beware frenemies bearing compliments. Jesus sniffs this out easily. So, what to make of His reply?

The set-up is brilliant with the Roman coin: “Who image is this? And whose inscription?”

There’s no other answer. It’s Caesar’s image, plain as day.

Having walked them right into it, Jesus gives them a parallelism from which to extrapolate. “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Give back to Caesar what bears his image and to God what bears His image.

Of course they knew He was referring them back to Genesis 1:26-28.

Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

So God created mankind in his own image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

According to Genesis, we are stamped with the very image of God. We are given the purpose and responsibility of governing the world on God’s behalf in a way that is consistent with His character.

More important than parsing out what they did or didn’t owe to Caesar was the question of what they owed to God. They owed a few coins to Caesar. They owed their very lives to God. Were they giving back to God what was God’s—themselves? Are we?

A useful simplification is found in the formula “time, talent, and treasure.” It all comes from God. Are we giving back to God what He has placed His image upon—ourselves, manifested practically in our time, our talents, and our treasure?

Application:

• How are you, or can you, return to the Lord an offering of your time, your talents, and your treasure?

• What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?

Prayer: Lord, you have made me in your image and crowned me with glory and honor. Show me how to return my life to you in practical ways. Amen.

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“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)

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