Luke 20:20-26 - Truthfulness
Scripture:
Luke 20:20-26
20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.
20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.
21 They questioned Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.
22 "Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
23 But He detected their trickery and said to them,
24 "Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They said, "Caesar's."
25 And He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
26 And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.
NASU
Thoughts:
All of us have probably found ourselves in Jesus' place here at one time or another. Being asked a divisive question in front of a crowd that is anything but neutral on the subject! A question that when answered truthfully, is guaranteed to offend someone.
The Jewish crowd around Jesus would have been bitter about paying taxes to Rome. Rome was -- for the moment -- a peaceful occupier of Israel, one of its conquered territories. The Jews would therefore have felt no allegiance to Rome as a whole, but were forced to pay Roman taxes in a system that was rife with corruption. Were Jesus trying to please the crowd around Him, He could have played to their sympathies and agreed with their feelings that they should not have to pay the taxes.
However, Jesus also knew the deceitfulness of the spies (verse 23), knowing that they were hoping to trap Him in His words (verse 20). Saying what would have been popular to the crowd, would also have been rebellious against Rome for which He could be arrested by the Roman governor (verse 20). The spies flatter Jesus by saying He is impartial (verse 21), but they hope that He will be more concerned with having a following.
Given this tight spot, Jesus might have been tempted to just dance around the question, as we often are. Rather than say what is true but unpopular, in a spot like this we look for a way out by painting the question before us as so complicated that no one can really answer it. We bury the question underneath a few feet of intellectual mud!
But Jesus doesn't do any of the above. He astonishes them with a simple, truthful answer that cuts through the controversy and cuts to the heart (verses 24-26). Why wouldn't they pay taxes to Caesar with his own money? Since his image was on the coin, it reflected that the coins really belonged to him. And in the same way, God has created us in His image (we have His image on us), so we ought to give ourselves to Him.
Prayer:
Lord, when I face these kinds of circumstances, give me confidence to speak the truth in love! Let me overcome the desire to be accepted and to avoid "rocking the boat." Let my desires to represent and please You, be greater than any others.
Forgive me for when I've failed here. Empower me to do and speak what's right.
Amen
