Mark 12:13-17
13 Later the religious leaders sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to trap him with his own words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of honor. You don’t let other people tell you what to do or say. You don’t care how important they are. But you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it right to pay the royal tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew what they were trying to do. So he asked, “Why are you trying to trap me? Bring me a silver coin. Let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin. He asked them, “Whose picture is this? And whose words?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.”
They were amazed at him.
For the Adults;
The Pharisees and Herodians thought they had Jesus trapped with their question. Jesus would anger the masses who had just greeted him on Palm Sunday if he said to pay the tax. However, if he said to ignore the tax, the religious leaders could run and tattle tale to the governor, Pilate. We know after we saw Jesus turning tables in the temple that he is not afraid to wreak a little havoc when necessary, but here Jesus chose a different tactic. And as usual, Jesus was way ahead of those who tried to trap him.
“Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. And give back to God what belongs to God.” Jesus was so wise that he had satisfied the crowds and the religious leaders while raising the standard of expectation for all those who attempted to “play” at religion. The most important part of his response, perhaps the one that amazed them and shut them up, was to “give back to God what belongs to God.” It’s one thing to honor our governmental entities - which we should always do, but it is an ongoing, never-ending struggle for each of us to truly give God all that belongs to him! No Pharisee or Herodian could stand up and truly say they were already giving God everything he was due - and neither can we!
COVID-19 has affected all of us - even the church. Should the church obey the government and give up meeting together - even in the smallest units? Should the church continue meeting because we feel God should be given the glory in spite of what any government entity tells us? This was a difficult decision for us as a pastoral staff. In the end, truly caring for the health of the people in our church and fostering strong relationships with our government officials and law-enforcement officers led us to move to an online service. We are doing our best to “give back to Caesar” while most importantly giving all we have to God.
I hope these online devotionals, our online adult Sunday Schools and Bible studies, and our Treehouse Club At Home Edition videos (Episode II coming Wednesday at 10 am) has helped us carve out time to give back to God what belongs to God. Let’s not get caught up in either/or arguments that often divide. Let us instead put God first as we do our best to honor those he has put in power over us.
How can we give God what belongs to God?
For the Kids
Enter:
Did something make you really laugh today?
Did anything make you really sad today?
For what are you most grateful?
For what are you least grateful?
Hear:
Read the passage.
Pause:
Sit for a few moments…see if you can sit longer than yesterday!
Wonder:
Who is in this story and what happens to them?
How might this story relate to our lives today?
How can we give God what belongs to God?
Bless:
Affirm what was discussed about the story.
Revisit the things the kids brought up during the “Enter” time.
Pray together:
Praise God, Give thanks, Pray for others, confess sins, Praise God!
Example:
Dear God, we praise you because you made the sun rise in the morning and set this evening. We thank you for each new day that you give us. Please bless the leaders in our city, state, nation and world as they figure out how to fight this virus. Bless the law-enforcement and health care personnel that must continue working and keeping others safe. Forgive us when we have made mistakes and thank you for our family and this time together!
Amen!