Dave's Diary

Prayer

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this simple prayer based on Psalm 123:1

I lift up my eyes to You, O Lord,
to You who sits enthroned in heaven,
as the eyes of a servant look to the hand of the master,
as the eyes of child look to a Loving Father.
Have mercy on me, and speak to me, O Lord. Amen.

Reading

Matthew 22:15-22

Seeking to trap Jesus, this unholy alliance of Pharisees and Herodians first laid the flattery on thick, and then set Him up with a controversial and politically loaded question, “Is it right to pay the poll-tax to Caesar or not?”

If Jesus said, “Yes”, they would have used this as ammunition and spread the word that He was colluding with Rome and denying God’s sovereignty over Israel. If He said, “No”, they would have run to the Roman authorities to accuse Him of treason against Caesar.

Instead, because the “poll tax” at the time was a silver denarius per year, Jesus called for a silver coin, pointed to the image of Caesar on the coin and said:

‘(G)ive back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.

This answer dripped with divine wisdom.

Because Caesar’s image on the coin was viewed as idolatrous by the Jews at the time, the Temple authorities would not receive Roman coins in the Temple offering. Faithful Jews were required to exchange their Roman currency for Jewish shekels. This was the reason for the “money changers” in the Temple courts (Matthew 21:12). So these denarii were “Caesar’s coins” and Jesus said Caesar must therefore have the right to demand them.

Jesus had given them an answer while still avoiding their trap. And in doing so, Jesus also laid down a solid principle for His followers. Human authorities serve a God-given purpose and they will always have some kind of funding model involving taxation. Much as we may resent paying our rates or taxes because of a lack of service delivery, or because of some kind of political disagreement with them, we ought not to rebel against such authorities for mere financial motives. If anyone had reason to, it would have been the oppressed Jewish population of Jesus’ day. But even to them, Jesus said, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s”. Christian disciples are to pay their taxes with honesty and integrity.

On the other hand, even though doing so may leave us with far less income than we would desire, we are also still to “Give back to God what is God’s”. If paying taxes represents civil obedience, faithful worship (which includes tithes, offerings, prayer, praises and daily obedience to God) represents our true allegiance to God and His Kingdom. Christian disciples are to give the LORD the sacrificial worship, financial generosity, and obedience He deserves.

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn one or more of these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ:

• I will not allow money to rule over me.
• I will pay my taxes with integrity.
• I will give generously to the Kingdom of God!

Holy Spirit, please help me to stay faithful to the call of Jesus on my life today. Amen.