Give Caesar his cut... give God His cut.

Jesus says, in Matthew 22:19-21: "Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose image is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar’s", they replied. Then he said to them, "So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s."

It is interesting that Jesus asks the question, "Whose image is on this coin? And whose inscription is on it?" Everyone in Israel knew who Caesar was, and what he looked like. He was, after all, the effective ruler of Israel at that point in history. Jesus surely didn't need to know the answer to this question... unless he was proving a point. And it is a point many of us miss.

They answer this ridiculous question by stating the obvious - "It's Caesar's picture and inscription". Jesus then replies "...so give back to him (Caesar) what is his"! Then Jesus drives the point home by saying, "and (give to) God what is God's". Jesus' audience was one of incredible intelligence and education. The Pharisees made a connection in this statement that we miss 2000 years later. But that 2000 year-old "point" was made this past week in Blazers - and it was life-changing!

We asked the Blazers group "Show us a Blazer", much like Jesus asked to be shown a coin. One of the students stood up and we had them stand in front of the group. The rest of the group was asked "Whose image is on this Blazer?" After a few moments of silence, one of them got the right answer... "God's image!" Exactly! The Bible says that we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). God also stamped his 'inscription' on us by writing His law on our minds and hearts rather than on tablets of stone (Jeremiah 31:33). By saying "... and (give to) God what is God's" Jesus asks an implied question: "What is that which is God's?" Remember the image / inscription point he made with Caesar's coin? Based on that, we have to ask ourselves "Well... where is God's image?" By answering that question in Blazers, we understood what Jesus was saying.

Jesus correlated the image and inscription of Caesar on that Roman coin to his 'ownership' of that coin - "so give back to Caesar what is Caesar's". And we can now make the correlation that WE belong to God because He put his image and inscription on US! Incredible, isn't it!?

The Pharisees meant to catch Jesus with their question, and now Jesus had caught them with his answer. They wanted to make Jesus out to be a Roman criminal who didn't pay his taxes. Instead, Jesus made them out to be "Kingdom criminals" by pointing out that they weren't offering themselves completely to God - the one whose image they bore. Now that we understand this, Jesus is still saying "now give to God what is God's".

Teenagers are pressured to 'give themselves' to so many things of the world. Entertainment, sports, school, popularity, boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, even church groups, are all competing for the focus of today's Jr. High'ers. But we were reminded who we REALLY belong to. We belong to the Lord, because He has put his image on us and He has put His Word - His inscription - on our hearts.

So yes, we give to Caesar what belongs to him. But more importantly, as teenagers and adults alike, we give God what belongs to Him - our entire lives.