Tag Archives: tax

So what’s with the coins? (Matthew 22:18-21) May 21, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Luke 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 22:18-21
Jesus: You hypocrites! Why do you show up here with such a transparent trick? Bring Me a coin you would use to pay tax.
Someone handed Him a denarius. Jesus fingered the coin.
Jesus: Of whom is this a portrait, and who owns this inscription?
Students: Caesar.
Jesus: Well then, render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

The students meant to trick Jesus with what they thought was a difficult question, but Jesus caught them in their own sad violation of their petty traditions. You see, you have to look a little deeper into the story to understand just how foolish the student was to ask this question at this time and in this place. Jesus was in the temple the scriptures tell us when these scholars tried to trap Him.

The devout had some interesting rules about the temple. No coinage could be used in the temple except the shekel. In fact, the very devout would not allow Roman coins brought into the temple because they bore the image of Caesar. To many of the Jews. Just bearing the likeness of Caesar made the coin itself an idol and many refused to handle the coins and chose to barter for goods use raw precious metals rather than use stamped coins as a means of transacting business.

So when Jesus asked for a coin with which they paid their tax, it shouldn’t have appeared in the temple. That would have been an act of sacrilege for the coin to be there. How would they find it so soon and why would they even think to do what He said and bring it into the temple courts? So there is strike one.

Strike two, God tells us He is the one who puts people in places of authority. David and the psalmists continually talk about the power of God to cause kings to rise and fall. He alone allows kingdoms to stand. Sometimes He even allows corrupt governments to act on His behalf as He did with the Assyrians and Babylonians as punishment against His chosen people because of their failure to follow His commands.

So if God allows these kings and emperors and governments to hold power of His people, He expects His people to be good citizens. Paul tells us that, too. It’s better to be punished unjustly for doing good than to be punished justly for wrongdoing. What does it say about our godly character if we deserve the suffering we get because of wrongs we commit against others? But if we suffer for doing what is right and good, then we cast ourselves in company with Christ, our Savior. Is there any better company we could keep?

Strike three, Jesus’ answer takes the question with which they knew they could trap Him and turns it upside down as He usually did with those who opposed Him. Jesus never said much to denounce Rome or its government if you’ll read through His words. He really didn’t seem to care if the government we live under is a dictatorship, a democracy, a republic, a theocracy, or someone drawing straws to see what should be done next. He doesn’t seem to care about types of government on this world because He lives and operates in a different plane.

I think God really doesn’t care much for politics. He doesn’t care about Democrats, Republicans, or Independents. What God cares about are those who choose to live in His kingdom. We can begin to live in His kingdom in this world. When we do, the type of government doesn’t matter. The church flourishes under dictators. It grows in communist countries. God can’t be held down when kings sit on thrones. In fact, the slowest growth in Christendom seems to be in democratic states. Kind of interesting, isn’t it? When we live in a place where we can choose our own leaders, we can have our own way, we are more like to not choose God’s way. It is a fascinating corollary.

So what do we learn from these students’ encounter with Jesus? First, don’t ever think you are smarter than God. You’re not. You never will be. Don’t even try. Just give it up. Second, don’t worry about who is sitting in the seats of power. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be good citizens. We need to vote for the person God lays on our heart. We need to pray for our leaders. We need to understand the incredible stress our leaders are under to try to make sense out of governing the 7 billion people that occupy this globe. It isn’t an easy job. They need our prayer and support. God let them sit in those seats whether you like them or not. God is still in control of this place, so remember that if you bad-mouth them, you are bad-mouthing the person God allowed to sit in that seat!

Finally, keep God first. It was a little thing to have Caesar’s coins in their pockets in the temple. But for these young men, it was like cheating at solitaire. It spoke of their character. They knew they weren’t suppose to have the coins or they wouldn’t have thought to bring up the subject in the first place. Jesus trapped them in their petty rules because they lived by rules instead of relationship. Make your relationship with God and others more important than a list of rules you need to keep. You’ll find that you still keep the rules, you’ll just have a lot more joy and peace while you do it and you won’t even think about keeping them. It will just happen because you love them, like you love yourself.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

It’s tax time! (Matthew 17:25-27) April 22, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Jeremiah 22-26

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 17:25-27
Jesus: Simon, what do you think? When kings collect taxes and duties and tolls, from whom do they collect? Do they levy taxes on their own people or on strangers and foreigners?
Peter: The foreigners, my Lord.
Jesus: Well, then, we children of the King should be exempt from this two-drachma tax. But all in all, it’s better not to make any waves; we’d better go on and pay the tax. So do this: go out to the lake and throw out your line. And when you catch a fish, open its jaws and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take this to the tax collectors, and pay your taxes and Mine.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

While I was serving in the military, we often joked about our paychecks. And we had a lot to laugh about. Those of you who are old enough, might remember those payday lines when the pay officer dealt out cash on the Friday closest to the end of the month. I was one of those pay officers every once in a while as a new lieutenant. I was very happy when the Army said everyone had to receive their pay by check and then by direct deposit. Cash paydays were awful for the pay officer for a lot of reasons.

Counting out thousands of dollars in the right denominations of bills so everyone could get the right amount of cash was the first obstacle. An armed guard stood on each side of me to make sure no one got the bright idea to stage a robbery. Of course, these were soldiers from the same unit as the guys getting paid, so if one of them decided to pull a heist, I’m not sure how quick any of us would be to shoot each other.

But then the paying process! A soldier came into the room and the first sergeant looks him up and down to make sure his uniform is in shape. (No offense to the women in uniform today, but back then I was in an Infantry Battalion and there were no women there, so all the pronouns are masculine.) We already had our inspection for the day, but the first sergeant just wanted to make sure one more time. If there were no ‘gigs’ in his uniform, he reported to me to receive his pay. I checked his LES (leave and earnings statement), counted out the amount he should receive, counted it again on the table in front of him, then had him count it back to me on the table in front of him. Then he picked it up and asked to be dismissed.

But depending on what time of year it was, someone in the chain of command (of course I couldn’t because I was the pay officer that day) would ask if he wanted to join the NCO club if he wasn’t a member, or AUSA, or give to the Army Emergency Relief Fund or some other organization that happened to have its campaign going on that particular month. And it seemed some campaign happened almost every month. Right after the pitch for the campaign stood the clerk with the duty rosters with the first sergeant standing by his side. The same door you came in and the door you hoped to leave by. You looked at the first sergeant, you looked at the duty roster, and understood giving to the campaign of the month meant less duty. So you contributed.

Amazing how almost every unit had 100% contribution to those campaigns back in those days. Those were interesting times. But one of the other things we joked about were the taxes, Social Security, and Medicare fees that came out of our paycheck every month. Didn’t that mean we were paying ourselves? Sounds a little ludicrous, doesn’t it?

Here’s another one of those lessons Jesus gives Peter that helps us understand who He is and what He does for us in this upside down world.

Peter has been confronted by the keepers of the temple safes. Those guys that tried to trap Him in a hundred different ways to finally find some fault they could use to discredit Him in front of the people who thronged to Him. They go to Peter. “Hey, Peter. Doesn’t Jesus pay attention to the requirement to pay the temple tax? Every real male member of the Jewish community pays 2 drachma to the temple each year to support the temple for the administration of the worship of God. Doesn’t He pay attention to the rules? It’s tax day and He hasn’t paid His fair share yet. What’s wrong with Him? Is He rebelling against God and the temple?”

Sounds like a bunch of temple politicians, doesn’t it?

Peter doesn’t know what to say. It slipped his mind, too. So he goes to Jesus. “Pssst. We goofed. The priests say we haven’t paid our temple tax yet. I know I forgot to pay mine. We’ve been so busy. You didn’t by chance pay the 2 drachma tax for any of us did you?”

Jesus makes His point pretty quickly. Peter already declared Him as the Son of the living God, then Satan used Peter as a scapegoat to try to tempt Jesus to take a shortcut to accomplish His mission. Peter learned His lesson about jumping too quickly with his pronouncements, sort of. Except he just told the temple tax collector that Jesus certainly knew the rules and would certainly be paying His tax. And here he stood. So Jesus lets Peter begin to hear more of the truth of this separate kingdom to which they both belonged.

The children of the king didn’t pay taxes. Caesar’s kids didn’t pay taxes. Herod’s kids didn’t pay taxes. So what about the Father’s Son? Should the Son of the living God pay a tax to people who were charged with maintaining His house? That’s kind of what Jesus was asking Peter. But like all those soldiers that pay part of their own wages by paying taxes, Jesus tells Peter to go fishing, watch a miracle happen, then pay both their taxes. He didn’t have to, but He did.

Why? Because He wanted to show us that we are still in this world. He was in this world, but not of it. He didn’t have to pay the tax, nor did Peter. They and we are children of the King. The King’s children don’t pay taxes, but to show the world His support to the King’s house, that He follows the rules laid out by the King for those subject to the laws of this realm, He too followed them. Just like soldiers pay their salary, Jesus and Peter paid for the support of their house, the temple. How do you support your house, the church? 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.