And he said to them ¨Whose is this portrait and inscription?¨ They say ¨Caesar´s.¨ Then he said to them ¨Then pay what is Caesar´s to Caesar and what is God´s to God.¨ Matthew 22:20-21 (Byington)
In Matthew 22 verses 15 through 22, the Pharisees were beginning to get all worked up about how they could stop Jesus from getting into the religious scene and disrupting things. They already had all their doctrines and rituals, their hierarchy and social structures set up. The religious leaders knew their position in things and were comfortable and did not want changes being made. Things were supposed to be a certain way and if they continued in that way, all was good for them.
Then along comes Jesus pointing people in a completely different direction. People went to Him and He just did not help the system or direct people to follow the acceptable norm. Jesus drew the attention towards His message and towards God´s Kingdom. There was little room in the teachings of Jesus for the kingdoms of man, because He was making so much of this ¨other¨ kingdom.
So those who felt responsible for the leading of the people decided to put Jesus to the test. They wanted to get Him to slip up or to put His foot in His mouth so that they would have a way to get the attention back on their own track.
They laid a trap for Jesus using a monetary and legal issue. Had He been an ordinary man, their trap may have been a good one. We all know too well our own obligations to the financial obligations we have and we also know that we are to respect the rules of whatever country we live in. But Jesus saw the true direction of their hearts.
Human beings were put here on earth by God. There is a place, a very important place inside of the heart and soul of each individual which belongs to and should be dedicated to Him. We owe it to Him, we owe EVERYTHING to Him! So when these individuals approached the Son of God, He could see without making any forced effort, just where the direction of this part of their heart was going.
First Jesus rebukes them for their duplicity, and then He turns the question around on them. When they respond by saying that the seal and image of the money were of the ruler of the people, He tells them to give what tribute they owe to him and to give to God what God deserves.
This is a familiar story and many of us enjoy it every time we hear it or read it. However, if we allow ourselves to enjoy it without the significance resting its full weight upon us, we could lose out on all its benefit and instruction.
Jesus was not concerned about the small issues that stem from the bigger ones. Jesus always tries to get us to look past the superficial and get ourselves adjusted first to God. He wants us to have it clear that God is the center, the meaning, the reason and the end to which all things must be directed. We say end to point us towards Him, but in Him there is no end at all. Instead we find only other beginnings as we dive into His wisdom and His infinitude.
Dear Jesus, we sense, even if we cannot see clearly, that we owe everything to You. Please help us to realize more and more the significance of our debt to our Creator and Redeemer. Give us an overpowering sensation of our lack of worth so that we may lean more heavily upon You. Let us seek the grace and love of the One who has loaned us everything. Help us keep clear that it is our very heart, our very self that is what was given and to offer this up in payment. Thank You for the down payment You made with Your own life, now guide us through the steps of making our continual contributions so that the Lender is receiving that what belongs to Him.
In Your name we pray,
Amen
Searching For Christ 
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