What Jesus Says About Paying Taxes

Some people, even today, think they do not have to pay taxes. Often the very poor do not make enough income to pay a portion of it in taxes. One day Pharisees and Herodians came to Jesus to ask Him if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Jesus was and is all God and all man. That is a hard thing to understand; something we have to accept as truth by faith. Because Jesus was all God, He knew these men wanted to trap Him, and He said, "Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at." So they brought Him one. "Whose image and inscription is this?" He asked.

"Caesar's," they said.

Then Jesus said, "Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:13-17).

Think About It
The Herodians and Pharisees usually had nothing to do with each other. But both groups felt threatened by Jesus--the Pharisees because He exposed their hypocrisy and the Herodians because they had already lost political power and were afraid of Jesus' authority. The Jews hated to pay taxes. Don't we all? Yet, that is what we must do. Jesus wisely used a Roman coin as an object lesson and amazed the people who tried to trap Him.

Pray About It
Lord God, help us to be responsible citizens and followers of Your way. Help us to honor you with our money. Amen.

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