Luke 20:19-26 – Give honor to whom honor is due

The Pharisees, high priests and the elders knew that Jesus was talking about them in the parable He spoke earlier.  Because of His popularity, they couldn't do a thing about it. So they devised a trap to ensnare Him. In Matthew 22:15-22 we see the same account being recorded. In Matthew's reckoning, we are told that the Pharisees sent some of their disciples to team up with the Herodian in their scheme to trap Jesus. The Pharisees were members of a religious sect, whereas the Herodian were more political in their orientation, seeking to find favour with the Romans. Here we see two rival groups united by a common cause to get Jesus. They sent spies who pretended to be righteous, to try and nail Jesus when He should say the wrong words. They flattered Him glowingly, describing Him as a righteous person, a true teacher who taught God's truth correctly and impartially. What they had said were all true. Unfortunately they didn't believe a thing of what they themselves had described of the Lord. Hence, what they had said were mere flattery.

Then they asked the trick question, "Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar, or not?" If Jesus had answered them with an affirmative, He would incur the wrath of the populace. If He had answered in the negative, He would run foul with the Roman authority. Of course the Lord detected their trap. And with a master stroke He left them dumbfounded. He asked for a denarius. And He asked them whose inscription was on the coin. They responded rightly by saying it's Caesar's. His reply was "Render to Caesar what's rightly his and to God what's rightly God's." That silenced them. For they realized that their trap didn't work. Luke tells us in verse 26, that they themselves were amazed by the answer of the ingenious Master and were silent.

Christ advocates proper balance when it comes to government and our belief. We need to pay our dues to the government for the law and order, and all the amenities we enjoy as a citizen of our nation. But we must also realize that we are citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom. It's only right for us to respect our government whom God had set above us but we mustn't neglect our duties to God our Heavenly Father. So let us be good citizens and render to our government what we need to do as citizens of our nation, and to God what we need to do as citizens of heaven.

As Paul had taught in the letter of Colossians, if we have been raised with Christ, then set our eyes on things above where Christ is seated. Don't just merely focus on the things below but also set our sight on things eternal.