01 Apr Rightfully His
Read: Mark 12:13-27
Last Sunday Pastor Ken preached on Jesus the Cornerstone from Mark 11:27-12:12. This Sunday he’ll be preaching from Mark 12:13-27, where Jesus addresses more of the religious leaders’ attempts to try and trap him in his words. As you prepare your heart for our corporate gathering, let these words from Dr. Akin encourage you and move you to further consider the state of your heart before God.
Heart Preparation
The moment of truth has arrived. All eyes were on Jesus, and people held their breath to see what He would say. He begins by exposing their hypocrisy, something He was well aware of (11:15), with a question: “Why are you testing Me?” This is the same word Mark used in 1:13 when Satan “tempted” our Lord in the wilderness. There is demonic intent in their motivation to destroy Jesus, like the efforts of the Devil to get Him off track from His mission. And as Satan failed in the wilderness, the Pharisees and Herodians will fail in the temple.
Jesus asked for a denarius, the required tax and a day’s wage for a typical laborer in Israel. Ironically, He does not have one, but they do! He then asks, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” On one side of the coin was a bust of Tiberius Caesar with the inscription, “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus.” The other side had an image of Tiberius’s mother Livia with the words, “Pontifex Maximus,” meaning “High Priest.” The Jews found this to be idolatrous: a man claiming to be a god and a woman a priest— blasphemy!
Jesus then said some of the most significant words in history. Their impact on Western civilization is mammoth: “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They never saw it coming! By His reply Jesus acknowledges the legitimacy of human government. He is no anarchist. God has ordained the family, the church, and human government. It has the right to levy taxes, and we have the responsibility to pay. It has the right to make laws, and we have the responsibility to obey. Other writers in the New Testament, especially Paul and Peter, reaffirm and expand on this statement of Jesus, even though they lived when the lunatic Nero (AD 54–68) was emperor (see Romans 13:1-7; 1 Peter 2:13-17).
Christians have legitimate responsibilities to the government, and as long as those obligations do not interfere with our ability to honor and worship God, we are to fulfill them. It is our Christian duty.
Jesus also said, “Give back . . . to God the things that are God’s.” He refused to be trapped by an either/ or proposition. Once more He “amazed” them with His teachings. If the coin has Caesar’s image on it, then it belongs to him. So give him what is rightfully his. However, as humans, you all bear the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). You must give to God what is rightfully His— your entire life. We have a duty to the government, but we have an even greater duty to God, who has created us and redeemed us. As 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.”
In Acts 4:19-20 Peter and John say, “Whether it’s right in the sight of God for us to listen to you rather than to God, you decide; for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” And again in Acts 5:29, “But Peter and the apostles answered, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’” Kent Hughes says, “The statement by our Lord was not only astounding the instant it was uttered, but is even today universally acclaimed to be the single most influential political statement ever made in the history of the world” (Mark, 2:103). With one simple maxim Jesus put everything in proper perspective. He put Caesar in his place, and He placed God where He rightfully belongs in our lives as well. All the people could do was stand back and look on in amazement!
Excerpt from Christ-Centered Exposition: Exalting Jesus in Mark, by Daniel L. Akin, pp. 275-277.
Song List for Sunday
- When the Stars Burn Down, Shane and Shane Arrangement
- Your Great Name, Shane and Shane Arrangement
- How Great Is Our God, by Chris Tomlin
- Good, Good, Father, Shane and Shane Arrangement
- O Great God, by Sovereign Grace Music