Magnify Jesus: September 28 = Life of Christ #193 (Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26) Religious Leaders Question Jesus About Paying Taxes

Religious Leaders Question Jesus About Paying Taxes
Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26

When do you pay your taxes: Early, late, or never? Why?
Who can guess how many times the word or numeral “one” is printed on a one-dollar bill?
Which taxes do you hate paying the most? Which ones are you less bothered by paying?
We don’t know totally what heaven is like, but what would make heaven especially “heavenly” for you?

Jesus Questioned about Paying Taxes to Caesar

Matthew 22:15–22; Mark 12:13–17; Luke 20:20–26

^{Lk 20:20}They [^{Mt 22:15}the Pharisees] watched closely and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, so they could catch Him in what He said, to hand Him over to the governor’s rule and authority. ^{Mt 22:16–17}They sent their disciples to Him, with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth. You defer to no one, for You don’t show partiality. ¹⁷Tell us, therefore, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

¹⁸But perceiving their malice [^{Mk 12:15}hyposcrisy] [^{Lk 20:23}craftiness], Jesus said, “Why are you testing Me, hypocrites? ¹⁹Show Me the coin used for the tax [^{Mk 12:15b}Bring Me a denarius to look at].” So they brought Him a denarius. ²⁰“Whose image and inscription is this?” He asked them.

^21a“Caesar’s,” they said to Him.

^21bThen He said to them, “Therefore, give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s^†.”

^{Lk 20:26a}They were not able to catch Him in what He said in public, and ^{Mt 22:22b}they left Him and went away, ^Lk
20:26b[and] became silent.^{^[1]}

^{^[1]} Knight, G. W. (2001). A simplified harmony of the Gospels (pp. 192–193). Holman Bible Publishers.

Watch Paying Taxes to Caesar on @YouVersion.: The religious leaders send spies to catch Jesus saying something wrong. They want to hand him over to the Roman government. Asked about whether people should pay taxes to Emperor Caesar, Jesus sees through their trick & his answer amazes everyone.

God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
Why ask the question in Luke 20:22?
What's the trap here: If Jesus said, "Pay Caesar," what would have happened to his crowd support? If Jesus had said, "Don't pay," how would the rulers have responded? What would the social or political consequences have been if Jesus simply said “Pay Caesar”? “Don’t pay”?
What's so insightful about Jesus' response?
What does Jesus mean by his answer in Luke 20:21? What should we give to God? What is he teaching about the relationship of church and state? Which obligation is primary? Why?
I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
In your life, what belongs to Caesar? To God? How well are you giving to each?
In giving yourself to God, are you in the 15, 28, 45, or 100 percent "tax bracket"? Why?
How do you deal with someone who wants to argue a point in the Bible? What if the person has honest questions and you don't have the answer?
You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.