Slices
Prepare
‘I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made’ (Psalm 139:14). Praise God for the profound truth that you are beautifully made in his image.
Bible passage
Paying the poll-tax to Caesar
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 poll-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.
Explore
After Jesus challenging the hypocrisy of the religious leaders through our recent parables, we now see these same men trying to outwit Jesus. Their authority has become increasingly undermined. They want Jesus gone; arrested and executed. So desperate are the Pharisees that they combine forces with their political enemies, the Herodians, in a clever attempt to trap Jesus.
It appears that there’s no good answer to the riddle: ‘Is it right to pay the poll‑tax to Caesar?’ For the Pharisees, an agreement will incite the crowds, who resented the Roman Empire’s constant meddling and oppression; for the Herodians, a disagreement meant a seditious attack on Rome.
Imagine Jesus taking the denarius, turning it over in his hands, the silent expectation of the growing crowd. I wonder, as he asks the question, ‘Whose image is this?’, whether an unspoken question is also being asked: ‘And whose image do you bear?’ The answer is brilliantly subversive, separating out payment of taxes to Rome from whole‑hearted worship of God. Caesar’s image is stamped on the denarius, but God’s image is stamped on each of us. We pay taxes to our government, but we worship the God that created us in his image.
Respond
‘Lord Jesus, we are bearers of your divine image. Give us grace to honour you in our worship, recognising the inherent value we have as children of God. Amen.’
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 38,39; John 14
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Mission Partner Brighton and Hove City Mission’s Youth and Children project, as they work in partnership with the local church. They are seeking to impact children and young people across the city with assemblies and specially designed Christian projects requested from schools.
A child has started following Jesus. Help them keep growing.
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