15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16 They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.
Dear God, I would love it if Jesus had stopped speaking at the end of verse 18 and waited for their answer: “Why are you trying to trap me?” I wonder if they even knew. Did they know why they were doing it? Were they really, legitimately concerned about Jesus being a heretic, or were they just following the mob mentality that the chief priests and Pharisees were pushing?
I am convinced that a lot of the mistakes I make in my life are the result of me not really understanding my motivations. I will hurt someone else because I was hurt. I will make a decision out of fear rather than thinking it and praying it through. Selfishness and self-preservation kicks in and I lose perspective on what I am doing.
Father, I have all kinds of things that happen to me every day that give me an opportunity to display your grace and wisdom or my selfishness and foolishness. As I go into this next week, help me to not fall into the trap that the disciples of the Pharisees did in this story. If they had stopped and prayed to you for guidance they might have avoided being so foolish. So help me to remember to stop and pray for your guidance, and use your wisdom to guide my actions and my life.
Emails to God 