Matthew 22:17-21

Matthew 22:17-21 ...Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. Once again, the Scribes and Pharisees tried to catch Jesus with the words that He said. But once again, Jesus knew their wicked hearts and carefully avoided their trap. The problem was this: If Jesus said to pay taxes to the Romans, all of the Jews would be mad at Him. But if Jesus said not to pay taxes, the Romans would be mad at him. What was He to do? So Jesus reminded them that God had areas of authority and that the government had areas of authority. But both were different but equally important. The government’s responsibility was to protect and to keep everyone safe. God’s responsibility was in spiritual matters. Both were important and were due respect, but in different areas. Jesus was smart. He knew how to avoid carefully worded traps. That was because Jesus was the Son of God, and knew everything. He knew the future and He knew what those wicked men were thinking and what they were up to. And Jesus knows our hearts too. He knows what we are up to and which way we are headed. He knows when we want to please Him and when we are doing our best. Jesus knows and Jesus cares.