Mark
12:13-17
Religious
Leaders Question
Jesus
about
Paying Taxes
12:13
Later they sent some of the
Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus
to catch him in his words.
-
- 14
They came to him and said,
"Teacher, we know you are a
man of integrity.
-
- You
aren't swayed by men, because
you pay no attention to who
they are; but you teach the
way of God in accordance with
the truth.
-
- Is
it right to pay taxes to
Caesar or not?
-
- 15
Should we pay or shouldn't
we?"
-
But
Jesus knew their hypocrisy.
"Why are you trying to trap
me?" he asked.
-
- "Bring
me a denarius and let me look
at it."
-
- 16
They brought the coin, and he
asked them, "Whose portrait is
this? And whose inscription?"
-
- "Caesar's,"
they replied.
-
- 17
Then Jesus said to them, "Give
to Caesar what is Caesar's and
to God what is God's."
-
And they
were amazed at
him.
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It
is meant to change the way
that we think, and the way
that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
What
Christ Says about Paying
Taxes
Rome was
ruling over Judea at this time so
paying taxes to Caesar was not
optional.
And, the
taxes went to things that the
Jewish community loathed such as
a high & decadent lifestyle.
Also, a
portion of the taxes paid by Jews
went to support the pagan
temples.
Jesus knew
what the taxes paid to Rome were
financing but he would be trapped
by either a "yes" or "no" answer.
He could either be loyal to Rome
or to the people of Judea, but
not both.
Caesar's
picture was on the denarius
(about a day's wage) so Jesus
said that this money belonged to
Rome.
God's
picture is on the hearts of
people which means that our lives
belong to Him.
Our pastor
at church says every Sunday;
"Let's give back to God now." and
I have a feeling he is not just
talking about our Sunday
offering.
Let's give
back to God with our hearts and
souls and hands and feet. Doesn't
God deserve our very
best?
-
Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First Baptist
Church in Lancaster, SC. He is
ordained from Rich Hill Baptist
in Lancaster. The website is at
http://www.makingchristknown.com
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
e-zine for
content?
This
article about the questioning of
Christ by religious leaders may
be freely reprinted or
distributed in its entirety in
any e-zine, newsletter, blog, or
website. The author's name, bio,
and website links must remain
intact and be included
with every reproduction of this
report.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
|
