Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 20:19-26 "BUT HE PERCEIVED THEIR CRAFTINESS..." Luke 20:23"
Day 250 – Luke 20
Text: Luke 20:19-26
“BUT HE PERCEIVED THEIR CRAFTINESS…” Luke 20:23
Jesus saw through the question immediately. He knew that these spies were up to no good, even though they employed the nicest words to address Him.
They had actually called Him “Teacher”. They sought to use flattery on Jesus. They applauded His handling of the Scriptures. They commented that He had “taught rightly” (Luke 20:21).
They also noted that Jesus did not “show personal favouritism” (Luke 20:21). Jesus did not show any special favour to the chief priests and scribes. He also did not confer any special favours to His brothers and sisters! No one benefited in any way, no matter how closely associated they may be with Him. He had proven Himself to be a blameless and upright Person.
They even went so far as to say that He had taught the way of God in truth (Luke 20:21). This was a great compliment indeed, if those words came from a heart full of appreciation.
Jesus knew that those words were spoken only out of flattery. They were not genuine or sincere words spoken from the heart! As their compliment came to an end, they posed a really tough question. A taxation question is always difficult to answer! To raise this up with people who resented the Roman laws of taxation, this question might well be impossible to answer without angering either the Romans or the Jewish population!
Jesus perceived their craftiness but He was not afraid to give them an answer. He said,
“Why do you test Me?
Show Me a denarius.
Whose image and inscription does it have?”
Luke 20:23-24
What courage! What skill! Jesus showed no hesitation in His answer. Once again, He wanted to engage the hearers in His teaching. He asked for a coin and then posed His questions.
Those were innocent enough questions. What kind of gambit was Jesus playing? The spies did not know where Jesus was going when He raised these questions. They took the gambit and replied, “Caesar’s” (Luke 20:24).
“RENDER TO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR’S…” Luke 20:25
The tension in the atmosphere must have risen considerably as they waited for Jesus to complete what He had begun to say to the crowds. He surprised everybody by His classic statement.
There were basically two parts to His answer. The first part was clear enough. Jesus was no rebel! He could never be charged for making seditious remarks. Man had duties to perform. One of those duties had to do with the civil government.
Caesar represented the civil government! The government had a right to impose taxes on a country. That was an undisputed right of the government. How else would they run the country if there were no taxes levied?
How should a citizen regard the civil government? He must do his part in paying taxes. He must render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s!
The spies knew that they could not charge Jesus with sedition if this was His reply. There was a hidden question in this statement to the thinking person.
Had the inquirers rendered to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s? Had they been upright citizens? Had they paid the taxes due to the Government? If they were to be examined, would they be found wanting?
Few Jews would want to pursue this line of thought! Few Jews truly liked the rule of the Romans! They wanted to have as little to do with the Romans as possible. Yet Jesus said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s…” These were powerful words indeed! How could they fault words like that?
“AND TO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD’S…” Luke 20:25
The second part of the statement was even more staggering! The spies did not ask about the spiritual matters. They did not bring the subject of God in at all. They may not have, but Jesus did!
He added the second thought. He said that man’s other duty was to give to God the things that are rightfully His to demand! What would God demand from man? Let us consider the famous words of Micah the prophet,
“He has shown you, O man,
what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?”
Micah 6:8
Micah’s words were reminiscent of the teachings of Moses…
“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God
require of you, but to fear the Lord your God,
to walk in all His ways and to love Him,
to serve the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul,
and to keep the commandments of the Lord
and His statutes which I command you today
for your own good?”
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
The chief priests and scribes and the spies must have paled at the words of Jesus.
“They could not catch Him in His words
in the presence of the people.
And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.” Luke 20:26