Day 95: Jesus is God
Please read the Bible verses for today:
Matthew 22:15-22
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar
15 "Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words." (Matthew 22:15) We have read, 'The Authority of Jesus Questioned,' (Matthew 21:23-27), 'The Parable of the Two Sons,' (Matthew 21:28-32), 'The Parable of the Tenants,' (Matthew 21:33-46) and 'The Parable of the Wedding Banquet,' (Matthew 22:1-14) in which Jesus tried to convict the teachers of the law their sin of denying Jesus as Messiah, Son of God. Each story was poignant, convicting to the heart, but the teachers of the law refused to be touched by Jesus' words. Here we see, after all that Jesus has spoken to them directly, they decided to stay on their path of evil. This is a perfect example of why God hates pride.
16 "They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17 Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” (Matthew 22:16-17)
We see here that the teachers of the law left Jesus' presence, but sent others in their stead to try and trap Jesus. My, One Bible Volume Commentary" says, "The Sanhedrin, not having the power of life and death, tried to entrap Jesus into an answer which might be made an excuse for handing Him over to Pilate on a charge of rebellion and treason. The Pharisees, who concocted the plot, did not appear in it openly, but sent their disciples, and the Herodians, who, from hostility to Jesus, were quite willing to join in the attempt to destroy Him." So, here we see the Sanhedrin moving from trying to trap Jesus themselves, to finding someone devoted to Rome to trap Him so Jesus should die a death of crucifixion.
18 But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19 Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, 20 and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. (Matthew 22:18-22)
I love how Jesus knows their thoughts and heart's motivation. He knew their intent right away, even though the teachers of the law thought they were being so crafty to send someone else to ask the questions. I love too that Jesus said it straight to their face- "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me?" All lies and evil plans that were planned in the dark are brought out into the light. Nothing remains hidden with Jesus. He sees it all and isn't afraid to bring it out into the open.
I love my Jesus! He is so wise and strong! He foiled their plan of entrapment! I simply love it. It's like watching a murder mystery and watching the detective unfold the criminals plot slowly, wisely, and with much confidence. I'm sure it didn't give Jesus pleasure to say what He had to say to them. I'm sure that His heart was broken over their decision to turn their lives from Him. All I can say is, Jesus is God.
Pray with me:
Jesus, thank you for showing me that you are patient, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) Thank you that you waited for me to open my heart and give my life to you. Jesus, I want to live for you- take away my pride and arrogance that gets in the way for truly living as your servant. I desire to be pure in heart, and mind. I want to love you with all my heart, mind, strength. In Jesus' Name, that is above all names, Amen.
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