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| Matthew 22:19-21 |
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Lesson # Matt. 22:19-21 Study Material - Matt. 22:19-21 You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Matt. 22:19-21 19 Shew [epideiknumi] me [moi] the tribute [kensos] money [nomisma] . And [de] they brought [prosphero] unto him [autos] a penny [denarion] . 20 And [kai] he saith [lego] unto them [autos] , Whose [tis] is this [houtos] image [eikon] and [kai] superscription [epigraphe] ? 21 They say [lego] unto him [autos] , Caesar's [Kaisar] . Then [tote] saith he [lego] unto them [autos] , Render [apodidomi] therefore [oun] unto Caesar [Kaisar] the things which are [ho] Caesar's [Kaisar] ; and [kai] unto God [theos] the things that are [ho] God's [theos] . KJV-Interlinear Matt. 22:19-21 19 'Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.' And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?' 21 They said to Him, 'Caesar's.' Then He said to them, 'Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.' NAS The illustration was a very simple one. Jesus asked for a coin and was provided with one. It was a Roman coin with the impression of Caesar on it. Taxes paid to Rome had to be paid in Roman currency.. Rome stood for oppression, but they also stood for a foreign power that ruled a region that was incapable of ruling its self. This was a lesson that the Jewish people never learned. Jesus Christ controls history. He gives when giving is appropriate, and He takes when taking is appropriate. 'The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.' The Jewish people had been so negative toward God and His plan (that plan which called for His one and only Son to come to earth and take upon Himself the sins of the world), the plan which they rejected, so they demonstrated their inability to rule themselves. They pursued various bad policy decisions such that several centuries prior they were conquered by foreign powers. What bad decisions? First, they rejected Gods Word. A breakdown in the function of their volition. Second, they rejected the various establishment principles which God had set forth to protect mankind. They were anti-military so they were conquered. They were anti-marriage, so they came up with all sorts of excuses for not marrying or for easy divorces. We have noted this in other studies of the various regulations created by the priesthood. Their rulers were corrupt. Their laws were corrupt. Their society was corrupt, and the remarkable thing about all of this, they did not see their flaws. Even in the time of Christ, they were still arguing over whether there was a resurrection or not, whether they should pay the taxes to Rome or not. They rejected Jesus now, and in less then 40 years, they would all be dead or in exile, and the temple they had made the focal point of their careers would be gone - destroyed. Stone is never more important than Bible doctrine. Now back to the coin. The things of this earth belong to the earth. Man cannot make things which belong to heaven. Man can only make up rules which pertain to the function of the jungle - rules, laws, taxes. God gave us establishment principles as a parallel set of divine rules in order to make the jungle sustainable or to give is some form of stability. Without Gods establishment rules (volition, marriage, family, nationalism), then there would be chaos in the world, crime and tyranny, and the world would have long ago destroyed itself. We have seen many examples of ruthless tyrants in our current day in Africa, in the Middle East, in Asia. Those countries have no stability within them. They have little if any economies. They are poor, starving regions, filed with crime and atrocities. Gangs of thugs, tribal chiefs, and others try to take whatever they can, and care nothing for building a society in which all can prosper. The coin of Rome represented freedom to a degree. The Jewish people were not enslaved. These Pharisees were not in chains. But God was teaching them a lesson which they never learned. In the world you have to support the laws of establishment. People have to make good decisions. People need to have stability in society. People need to organize within regions (countries) for their common protection and prosperity. The Jewish people had failed in ruling themselves, so God placed them within the boundaries of Rome in order to provide protection. They had the right and freedom to pursue their spiritual learning and growth, but they rejected that. They instead pursued the very pattern of life that saw their country fall to outsiders. In life we have three areas of responsibility. First we are to be responsible to God and must hear Him out. Second, we are to be responsible to ourselves, and grow up spiritually. Third we are to be responsible to others and render assistance to others to the best of our ability. In view here are taxes. A country does not have money of its own. A country is nothing without its citizens. A country does not make money, nor generate revenue in society. The people do all of that. From their various business and employment activities, the population creates an economy. But with large groups of people there needs to be a common organization to help them to get along and to coordinate various common needs - roads, law enforcement, courts, and so forth. This is the government function. A government is not a person but its policies are carried out by people and material. It needs revenue in order to get its responsibilities carried out. So here we are. Back to taxes. Granted many governments get too big and they waste a lot of money, but we all have to support our governments by paying taxes - whether we like it or not. Money is of this world and to the world it returns. Our life is of God and to God we will return one day. So we need to render that which came from God, back to God by carrying out our responsibilities, which we named above. At the end of our life we will leave this world and all we had, but we carry with us our soul and all its content. Best to report to the pearly gates with a soul loaded with spiritual growth (gold, silver, and precious stones), than to report there loaded a wasted life of no spiritual production (wood, hay, and stubble). Live your life responsibly here on earth. But, there is nothing here on earth that can be more important than Bible study. So at the same time, render that which belongs to God (your soul), to God and you win both ways. 
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
