Mark 12:17 “And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.”
Mark 12:17 is an answer by Jesus to the question posed by religious leaders “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? They wanted to know “Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” To that question came the brilliant and astonishing answer “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Looking at a coin with Caesar’s image he responded, “Give Caesar the things that are his.” In other words, He said, “Yes, pay your taxes.”
What makes this verse so much more astonishing is the next part as He tells them to give to God the things that are HIS. They were not expecting this answer.
Church father Tertullian wrote, “‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s;’ that is, give to Caesar his image stamped upon his coin, and give to God His Own image stamped upon you; so that while you render to Caesar the coin which is his due, you may render your own self to God.” (Pulpit Commentary)
Jesus taught we have responsibilities to our government and then He added that we have responsibilities to God.
A citizen of heaven should be a good citizen on earth and a citizen on earth should be a faithful citizen of heaven.
While giving a tribute (tax) to the Roman government Jesus calls the questioners to give themselves in totality to God. In essence, He exposed them for not being loyal to Caesar and not being loyal to God. No wonder they were astonished at this teaching!
So, are you paying your taxes? I trust you are.
So, are you presenting yourself to God as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him? I trust you are.
Continue Strong as good citizens of Earth and Heaven,
And remember to DATE The Word