We recognize that Y’shua Jesus didn’t hesitate to call the hypocrites out for what they were doing. The saga could have ended, but we ought to hear what else Y’shua said. I believe it is insightful for our own spirituality. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Matthew 22:21-22 CEB
[21] “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”
[22] When they heard this, they were astonished, and they departed.
Give Each Their Due
Jesus cut to the chase. He wasn’t eating time with them. They seemed to be misinformed, or at least, were pretending ignorance of spiritual laws, so He voluntarily enlightened them. ‘Give to each their due,’ He said. In that answer, the state and religion were separated unless one’s state is one’s religion.
Hmmn
Self-Check
Are we giving God God’s due? How so?
Application
Part of Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth was to establish God’s Throne for all people. Without being wholly conscious of what they were doing, the young Pharisees and Herodians had drawn the lines of demarcation. In their question was an open invitation to battle. Y’shua’s response was clear: the gauntlet was thrown, and the young Herodians and Pharisees needed to figure themselves out.
I can’t help but remember Joshua saying something similar to the Children of Israel. ‘Choose whom you’ll serve, this day’, he said, before declaring, ‘As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.’ We might wonder where Y’shua’s family was. A few chapters prior, Y’shua declared His family as those who obey YHWH, His father. Or choice therefore determines whether we’re part of Y’shua’s family.
To give to God God’s due, therefore, would include recognition of Y’shua as the Son of God. To give God God’s due meant offering the tithe (‘temple tax’) as a response to God’s own generosity and faithfulness to us. To give God God’s due meant loving one’s neighbour and observing all the commandments. For the Pharisees and Herodians, to give God God’s due probably meant total repentance.
What does it mean for each of us today? We need to be careful that we’re not worshipping at the altar of state politics instead of worshipping God. In this season of foment and global conflicts, it is so easy to get sidetracked. Choosing to focus on God is our only refuge. God deserves all our worship.
Point to Ponder
Hear Joshua’s words conflated in Y’shua admonition,
Choose today whom we will serve: Caesar, the god of mammon, with policies and programmes that will fail us; or Y’shua, the Son of the Living God.
He died, went to Hell and back, then rose victor over death for you and me. He sits at God’s Throne, pleading for our salvation. What’s our choice when the Adversary draws nigh?
*As for me and my family, we choose to serve Y’shua*.
—
May all we seek be found in Christ
