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T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S (b ) The Coin of the Realm, vs. 21- 25. ' The Jews, themselves, were fully sat isfied th a t it was unlaw ful for them to pay trib u te to Caesar. From th eir stand point it was a sin in God’s sight, yet they sought to conceal th eir h atred of Rome, and by flattering words pay homage to Jesu s’ bravery and integrity of character and even endorsed His teaching. Their words sound like those of Nicodemus when he spoke out of his h eart, and said: “We know th a t thou a rt a teacher, sent from God.” Their tongues are dripping w ith th e honey of deceit, as th ey ask th e question, “ Is it law ful fo r us to give trib u te to Caesar or no?” How shrewd it was! Were he to say “Yes,” He would ally H imself w ith th e Government they hated, and they could go ou t and revile Him among the Jews, bu t if He said “No,” they could repo rt Him to th e officials of th e Gov ernm ent as an enemy. Satan never laid a more subtle trap th an th a t. How little they knew of Him! They did not know John 2:24-25,
If you use Caesar’s money, how can you honestly refuse to pay th e tax? You are a citizen of th is country and enjoy the privilege and protection of its laws. Why should you not pay your share? Caesar in his domain is to be honored. H is image on the coin says so. And God has His domain and au tho rity and should be honored. Jesus did not tell them to accept Caesar’s religion.
' Here our Lord sets His seal upon the divine au tho rity of hum an government — a lesson greatly needed in our day and in our lawless land. “ C u r s e , no t t h e king ; n o , n o t in thoughts,” (E ccl. 1 0 : 2 0 ) “ T h o u s h a l t not sp ea k e v il o f the o f t h y p e o p l e . ” (Ac ts 2 3 : 5 ) The wicked “are no t afraid to speak evil of dignities” (2 Pet.: 2 :1 0 ). “ Let ev er y soul b e subjec t t o t h e p ow er s .” (R o m 1 3 : 1 ) “ F e a r G o d . H o n o r t h e k in g .” ( 2 : 1 3 - 1 7 ) There is ano ther lesson here th a t it is im portant to note. There is an image stamped upon every human being. Man was made in God’s image, but by reason of sin th a t image has been m arred. It has been defaced bu t not effaced. We have attrib u tes akin to God. We can love nd we can hate. We have the power to say, “I w ill,” or “ I will no t.” We have a n atu re which craves th a t which only God can give.
“ B u t Je su s d i d no t c o m m i t him se lf u n t o them , becau se he kn e w a ll m e n , a n d n e e d e d no t t h a t any sh ou ld t e s t i f y of m a n , fo r he k n e w w ha t w a s in m a n . ” - Nor Heb. 4:13., “ Neithe r i s ther e an y c re at u re t h a t is not m an if es t i n h is s ig h t ; b u t a ll t h in g s ar e nak ed a n d o p e n e d un to th e ey e s o f h im w it h w h o m w e ha ve t o d o .” nor did they know the admonition of Paul, (1 Cor. 10:9) “ Neithe r l e t u s temp t C h r i s t , a s s o m e of th em al so tem p te d , a n d w er e d es tr o y ed of ser pents.”
There was a certain value in the de narius. It could meet certain demands. We were made fo r God, and only in God can we ever find rest. We must render unto God th e things of God. We are the “half-hinges,” and need to be yoked up w ith God. God saw fit to take upon Himself th e .image of a man and lived amongst us as a man, and He will never lay down th a t form. W hat an honor He has conferred upon mankind! and we shall be w ith H im and like Him, if we are H is now by faith. (2) THE LAW OF THE LORD, 21- 1-4. This lesson has a very logical relation to the one preceding. W hat is th e real
He said, “Shew me a penny” and asked, “Whose image does iit bear, Cae sa r’s? ” There was an old saying, “Whose coin is cu rren t, is king of the land.” The denarius, or penny, was the head-tax assessed on th e whole popula tion. This ta x was farmed out to the publicans and was very unpopular. (Acts 5:37.) His verdict was simple: “Render unto Caesar th e things which be Caesar’s and unto God th e things which be God’s.”
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