Sunday, October 12, 2008

Render to Caesar

What is Jesus saying in this object lesson, verses 13-17?

  1. Pharisees and Herodians step in to set up Jesus in a trap
  2. They try to butter Jesus up in verse 14
  3. Next, they set their trap, with no time in between
  4. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, to representatives of the non-Jewish government?
  5. Jesus immediately calls out his opponents in their set-up
  6. Don't bother answering a trap question directly, but call out your opponent
  7. Jesus quickly follows up with a question of his own, one that puts his opponents on the defensive
  8. Jesus builds upon the answer to his question to humble his opponents
  9. Paying taxes is not disloyal to God, but holding back my heart from Jesus is disloyal!

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