The Pharisees sure thought they had Jesus this time. They come and spit out flattering words about His truthfulness and then throw Him a loaded question: "Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?" (Mark 12:13-27)
Hmm... They want Him to declare whether He sides with the Romans (Yes, pay up) or the Jews (No, don't support this godless terribly oppressive government). But Jesus is a master teacher and uses a coin with Caesar's picture to illustrate the higher principle of authority: "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." He, in essence, hands the question back to them to figure out - for homework.
Hmm... They want Him to declare whether He sides with the Romans (Yes, pay up) or the Jews (No, don't support this godless terribly oppressive government). But Jesus is a master teacher and uses a coin with Caesar's picture to illustrate the higher principle of authority: "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." He, in essence, hands the question back to them to figure out - for homework.
The wisdom of the Master Teacher leaves the Pharisees speechless and us delighted.
Father, make us again like children who are eager to learn from our Teacher. You have the words of Life.
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