Luke 20:19-25

Luke 20:19-25 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people. Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” He saw through their duplicity and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

The teachers of the law and the chief priests did not believe Jesus was the Christ, God's Chosen One. However, they feared and despised Jesus because he held the adoration and affection of the common people who flocked to his ministry. He was a hero who represented hope to his followers. Consequently, the religious leaders constantly tried to undermine Jesus' ministry by discrediting him before the people or getting him into trouble with the political authorities. The tax question they put to Jesus was devised to do one or both. If Jesus said it is the rightful duty of the Jewish people to pay taxes to the Romans, the people would despise him, for they hated this obligation. If He said they should not pay taxes to Caesar, He would be considered an agitator, a revolutionist, by the Romans. Jesus knew the duplicity of his questioners, and He answered their query with wisdom and shrewdness. He was not going to fall into the trap they set for him.

I often see this duplicity in the world. People sometimes claim to believe Jesus was a wise man, a man of love, a man worthy of respect and honor, but their hearts are far from their words. Jesus said, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'" (Mark 7:6) When the world makes movies about Jesus, analyzes his life, or depicts him in plays and other art forms, they often portray Jesus as a religious man with delusions of grandeur. To them, Jesus believed He was the Christ, but He was not. Jesus thought He was the Messiah, but He was not. To them, He is mostly the Don Quixote of that era. (Don Quixote is a humorous fictional character in Spanish literature who jousted windmills, believing they were real foes. But he actually was fighting unwinnable or futile battles.) To the world, Jesus is a caricature. As with the elite of Christ's day, the world will never accept Jesus for who He is: the Christ, the Son of the living God.

But just as Jesus recognized the hearts of his enemies in his day, He knows the hearts of all who call on his name and whether they truly accept him for who He is. Is He the Lord of our lives? If He is the Christ, He should be the Lord of our lives. Our lives should be His, not ours as we serve him and not ourselves. Each person who comes to Jesus must ask if this is true. Are we faithful or duplicitous? Are we his children or unbelievers who pretend to honor him, saying to him with a deceiving heart: Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. We always must be aware of our own hearts, for the Bible says our hearts are deceitfully wicked. If our stated intentions do not come from pure hearts, we might say the right thing with our lips while our hearts betray us by desiring something else that does not please God. Daily, we should commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord. Commitment requires faith, prayer, and time spent with God and his word. Seek him today while He can be found. Give to God what is God’s.