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, NKJV.
Gracious God, we thank You for the wisdom with which You have endowed those who are called by Your name. Our prayer is that we will use Your wisdom to bring You glory. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
The Pharisees never learned that you cannot out-wit the Source of all wisdom. They just kept trying, and failing. This time they wanted to trip the Savior up, with a question that bordered on the topic of church and state. Should the Jews pay taxes?
Because they were so bent on rejecting Jesus as the Messiah, the Jews never realized that He was, “in the beginning,” and that He knew all about the way things are done in the kingdoms of this world. He knew that the only perfect state, or kingdom, or domain, is that over which God is King (1 Samuel 8: 4-21). But He also knew how to be in the world and yet not be of the world (John 17: 15). He would be the first to teach us how to live as good citizens in the world, without compromising what we believe.
So ignoring the flattery of the Pharisees as He usually did, He gave us a great principle to live by, ““Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” As Christians in the world, it does not have to be one or the other – it can be both. We can be good Christians and good citizens. We can be faithful with our tithe and with our taxes. We can live what we believe and also enjoy the benefits. We can, and should, give to everyone his dues!