Begin with prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you.
Read Mark 12:13-17 in your Bible.
As you are reading, ask the questions of who, what, when, where, why, and how as well as any repeated words or phrases. We’ll go through these together. Look for a verse(s) that stand out to you the most. The one that grabs your attention.
Now let’s go through these questions together.
Who? Who is speaking, who is being mentioned?
Jesus, religious leaders, Pharisees and supporters of Herod
When?
Continuation from the previous verses. Keep on going.
Where?
Jerusalem
What? What is happening in these verses?
The leaders came to ask Jesus a question if it was ok to pay taxes to Caesar.
Why? Why is this being mentioned? Why is this/will be happening?
They were trying to trick Jesus so that they could either arrest him or have his followers reject him.
How does this happen/take place?
Jesus is smarter than them and answered their question with wisdom.
Repeated words or phrases?
N/A
Before we continue any further, what verse(s) stood out to you?
Verse 17 is the verse that stuck with me in this reading when Jesus said, “…give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
What does this mean?
These leaders are trying to trick Jesus. They are trying to find a way for Jesus to lose his supporters or find a reason to arrest him. If Jesus said pay the taxes only, he would lose his followers because the Jewish Zealots did not recognize the Roman authority, and they either didn’t pay the tax or did it unwillingly. It would also indicate that God was no longer sovereignty over Israel. But if Jesus said don’t pay the taxes then he would openly declare himself an enemy to Rome. So Jesus answered them wisely by asking them who was on the coin. Since Caesar’s face, his image, was on the coin and the the Jews used the coin, they are obligated to pay the tax that Caesar was asking for. But Jesus continues to tell them that which belongs to God give to God.
What does this mean to me?
Initially when reading this passage, I would think that this was all related to money. Pay your taxes to your government and pay your tithe to God. That may all be true, but there was a deeper meaning here that I find interesting. Jesus asked them who’s image was on the coin, to which they answered Caesar’s. Consider this, Genesis 1:26-27 talks about how God made man in His own image. God’s image is on you and is on me. So when Jesus said, give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s. This wasn’t just about money.
God’s image in stamped on you and me. So we are to give God our lives. Living for him in a way that would be glory and honor to his name. The question becomes, are we giving to God what belongs to him? Have you truly given him your life in all that you say and do? This is what Jesus meant.
What verse spoke out to you and what is God trying to show you through it? Write it out in your journal. Then say a prayer and have a conversation with God about it.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, thank you for reminding us that we have been stamped with the image of God, and that we belong to you. Lord, I choose to give you what belongs to you and that’s me. Have your way in and through my life that would be glory and honor to you, so that others may see you and follow you themselves. In Jesus name I pray, AMEN.
Candy McKee 