no “gotchas” with Jesus

And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

Luke 20:26

You can’t “gotcha” Jesus. It is impossible! Just ask the scribes and chief priests who tried it. His truth and wisdom shut down their deceit and hatred every time. In this episode recounted in Luke 20:19-26, they tried their hardest to get Jesus into a political trap. The hot button topic they wanted to see Him flub up: paying the very unpopular Roman tribute tax. They felt that any answer He gave would hurt His growing popularity. To refuse the tax put Him in trouble with Rome and would be grounds for handing Him over to civil authorities. To agree with the tax was to anger the oppressed Jews. It appeared to be the perfect trap. Except… this was Jesus!

They ask the question with false complimentary attitudes, calling Jesus Rabbi and saying He was teaching “rightly” without partiality. But Jesus was not impressed by their flattery. He perceived their intent right at the very start and used an object lesson to silence them.

He asked for a Roman denarius to be shown to Him. That was the coin needed to pay the tribute tax to Rome. He asked them to tell Him whose likeness was on the coin. Of course everybody knew, it was Caesar. He then shut them up with this simple observation: “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Give to God what belongs to God.” And with that, He turned their trap back on them.

In so teaching, Jesus demonstrated principles that Christians still must use to discern the role of civil government even now. Taxes still exist and may feel oppressive. Governments do not always support the best things. Today Jesus would hold up a dollar bill here in America and say to us: “Give to Washington what belongs to Washington. Give to God what belongs to God.” And with that, the highest priority of the kingdom helps us live well under the authorities God ordains to rule over us.