By Pastor Dave Holland
“So, the spies questioned him: ‘Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’”
“He saw through their duplicity and said to them, ‘Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?’”
“’Caesar’s,’ they replied.”
“He said to them, ‘Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’”
Luke 20:20-25 (NIV)
The religious leaders thought they had finally trapped Jesus.
If He opposed paying taxes, the Romans could arrest Him for rebellion. If He supported paying taxes, the Jewish people would turn against Him. It seemed like the perfect no-win question.
Jesus refused to play their game. Instead, He lifted the conversation from politics to worship.
Like most people, I don’t enjoy paying taxes. Every year I search for every possible legal deduction imaginable. Most people do the same.
The Jews of Jesus’ day felt even more strongly. Every adult was required to pay a Roman denarius simply for the privilege of living under Caesar’s rule. To faithful Jews, the tax was more than a financial burden—it was a painful reminder that they lived under a pagan empire.
Jesus asked for one of those coins.
A denarius was a small silver coin bearing the image of Tiberius Caesar. Around his portrait was an inscription declaring him to be the son of the divine Augustus. To devout Jews, those words bordered on blasphemy.
The irony is striking. The very men trying to trap Jesus immediately produced the coin from their own pockets.
Holding it before them, Jesus asked, “Whose image is on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they answered.
Then came one of the wisest statements ever spoken: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
But Jesus was saying far more than, “Pay your taxes.” If the coin bore Caesar’s image, where is God’s image stamped?
Genesis gives the answer. God created humanity in His own image. The coin belonged to Caesar because it bore Caesar’s likeness. You belong to God because you bear His image. That fact changes everything.
God is not merely asking for a portion of your income. He is asking for your whole heart.
Catholic mystic Thomas Merton once wrote, “We are what we love. If we love God, whose image we bear, we discover the very purpose for which He created us.”
Our culture constantly asks, “What’s in your wallet?” Jesus asks a far more important question: “Who’s on the throne of your heart?”
There is only room for one king there.
This discussion reminds me of an elderly couple I once knew in Nebraska. They lovingly cared for their five-year-old great-grandson. Every afternoon Gary’s deep voice lulled the child gently to sleep as they read him Bible stories and prayed with him before his nap.
Eventually, Great-Grandpa Gary needed open-heart surgery. As Grandma Carolyn explained the operation, the little boy asked. “Gamma…when the doctors look inside Grandpa’s heart, will they find Jesus in there?”
The greatest question is not whether Jesus is in our wallet. It is whether He is in our hearts.
That belongs to God.
Dave Holland pastored churches for thirty-eight years before retiring in Destin. His new book, Resurrection Jesus, is now available. You can get a copy of his books from his website, DaveHolland.org, or at Amazon.com. Pastor Dave is available to preach and teach at churches and conferences. Contact him at DavidvHolland54@gmail.com.
