4/3/18 – Leviticus 11, Leviticus 12 Mark 12:13-27 Psalm 30:1-7

Mark 12:15-17

Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

This question was a trap.

The motivation is revealed in verse 13 – “Later they (the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders who wanted to arrest Jesus but didn’t dare) sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.”

Some questions are designed to trap you. When people find out you are a Christian, there are some questions people will ask, and they are not asked out of a genuine desire for an answer, but to catch you off guard.

But notice, Jesus turns the question around.

The question of paying taxes was a controversial one. If He’d said pay – they could have accused him of siding with the romans. Let’s face it, nobody like to pay taxes but imagine how much worse it was paying them to an occupying force. If He’d have said don’t pay, then He’s in trouble with the authorities.

There’s question we will face today that are like that – where either answer can be troubling.

So what does He do? He gets them to answer it for Him. He suggests that they are complaining about the negatives of Roman rule, but they are also enjoying the benefits.

But He also does give an answer – pay your taxes. We should be upright and righteous in the world we live in. We shouldn’t be looking for shady ways to keep ahold of money, we shouldn’t look to be dishonest. If you enjoy the benefits of services paid for by tax, you should contribute to it honestly.

Also – give to God what is God’s… as well as paying our taxes we should be people who tithe. There’s no point in honesty with the government if there’s dishonesty before God.

Ps 30:5

For his anger is but for a moment,

and his favour is for a lifetime.

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

Which is longer, a moment or a lifetime?

The anger of God is towards those who have not confessed Christ as Lord – they are enemies of God. For some, that’s a lot more than a moment.

But that anger disappears in a moment when we come to believe. And from that time on, His favour rests on us – not just for our lifetime but for eternity.

All of the time before that, it’s gone. It’s like the blink of an eye – a tiny moment. We become someone else – someone on whom the favour of God rests.

That moment, when we confront it may bring with it tears. But that’s not for long – joy is on the way.

If you’ve not made Christ your Lord, that can change in a moment. It may be a hard moment – it’s never easy to admit you are wrong and to turn around. But in a moment, the old life can pass away. And when it’s gone, it seems like nothing, just a moment. The weeping, the emptiness, they are gone and you face a new day – come that’s filled with joy.