Luke 20:21-26 (KJV)
And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:
Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?
But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?
Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.
And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.
And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.
I think we are so prone to make an issue of the “things which be Caesar‘s and the things which be God’s” that we miss the point and the context. The thing was that they were trying to catch Jesús in His words and the lesson is that they were not able to do it.
First, He did not directly answer the question whether it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar.
Second, He did not define what is Caesar’s and what is God’s.
The outcome was that they could not take hold of His Words.
The lesson is one of being wise as serpents and harmless as doves.
When speaking to the people of God, Jesus spoke plainly and then explained Himself. When speaking to others He used parables so that they could not see or hear. In other words, they could not “take hold of His words.” (They could have found out what He said. He did not hide the truth; He just did not give it to them.)
I think a major lesson is not to be argumentative when you are not taken as an authority. If the audience does not accept you as an authority, don’t give them something to take hold of. Tell them the truth, of course. But you don’t have to tell them something to start a fight over.
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Luke 20:25 (KJV) Wise As Serpents
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