READ: Luke 20
THINK: Luke 20:19 – 26 continues with another incident where certain scribes try to trap Jesus into saying something blasphemous or at least saying something that could lead to a trumped up charge against him. Even after repeatedly failing to do so, they are undeterred. This is not unlike the political and cultural atmosphere we have in our world today. We witness a continual game of “gotcha” where adversaries seek to discredit or even ruin one another. Words get twisted, taken out of context, and misrepresented. Private conversations become public. Those caught in the middle often apologize profusely, as spin doctors busily explain. Jesus, however, is impossible to trap! No matter what he is asked, his brilliant answers turn the tables leaving his enemies completely defeated.
John Maxwell sums up this passage in his Lessons on Leadership: “One day the scribes sent spies to trap Jesus, asking whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. They knew that if he said yes they could label him a traitor. If he said no they could report him to the Roman authorities. They thought they had a perfect plan to silence this radical leader.
In a classic reversal, Jesus turned the tables on them. So Jesus answered their question with another question. Whose image was on the coin they showed him? He meant that any object stamped with a person’s image belongs to the individual pictured. This coin carried Caesar’s image so they were to surrender that coin to Caesar. On the other hand, God had stamped HIS image on them! They had been made in his image and should therefore surrender themselves to God.”
ASK: Have you surrendered your life to Jesus? Is HIS image stamped unmistakably on your life? This is a lifelong process and we need to daily commit our lives to HIM!
PRAY: Ask GOD to give us the wisdom to live in growing obedience and surrender to HIM!
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