Luke 20:20-26
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent. [1]
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This is a sad episode. The last couple of passages have shown just how corrupt the religious leaders were in their thinking and their attitude toward the temple and toward Jesus. In their desperation, they resort to deceit, trying to trap Jesus by buttering him up and then forcing him to take sides on one of the most controversial issues of the day.
But Jesus refuses to fall into their trap, turning it back on them, convicting them for not giving to God what is God’s. By saying this, he points to something far beyond the tithe, the temple tax, or anything that has to do with money or offerings. And this little exchange cuts right across the centuries into our lives as well, speaking a powerful message to us, and one that contains both invitation and challenge.
Let’s look at Jesus’ question: “Whose image and inscription are on it?” He’s referring to the image of the emperor (Tiberius Caesar) and the inscription which was on the coin (“Son of the Divine Augustus”). So the image and identity of the coin marked it as belonging to Caesar.
But now let’s think about ourselves. Our worship series this summer as been “Transformed Into His Image.” We’ve focused on God’s desire to change and transform us more and more into His image, so that we look more and more like him. We’ve focused on the moral attributes of God and how God wants to work those attributes in us. Whose image is on us? Jesus Christ. And whose inscription? We are inscribed and identified as His. Baptized in His name, we are labeled as “Sons and Daughters of the Divine Triune God”
So then what does it mean to give to God what is God’s? The primary thing in our life that belongs to God is ourselves. We are marked with His image and description. We belong to Him.
So here’s the invitation: I belong to God. My identity is in Him. His image and inscription define my life. And there’s the challenge: Give to God what is God’s. He calls me to give myself to Him today. To surrender. To pray “They Will be done.” And mean it.
So my prayer today is one of thanks that God has marked me as His own. What grace! And then my prayer is that I would live this day, giving myself to Him. In the things I do, in my interactions with others, in my serving others. I pray that my life would show whose image and inscription I bear.
[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Lk 20:20–26). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
