The king’s son was to be married. The king planned a feast to honor the event and invited many guests. When the day arrived the guests didn’t come. He sent for them again and they still didn’t come. In fact, they went so far as to abuse the servants that were sent. The king, being mighty, struck back and dealt with the abuse. Then, he extended his invitation to both good and bad. The story is in Matthew 22.
The Pharisees which were the big churchmen of the Jews caught on to the parable that Jesus had told them and they were not pleased. Jesus was saying that they were the ones who were rejecting the invitation. Because of their rejection, the invitation was extended to the publicans and sinners. This is why they wanted to come up with a way to rid themselves of Jesus. He was really messing up their religiousness.
What follows next is an interesting exchange. The Pharisees sought to trap Jesus with a question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” The Pharisees were expecting a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer and either one would have landed Jesus in hot water. ‘No’ would have caused a problem with the Roman government; and, ‘Yes’ would have alienated a number of the folks who followed Jesus around.
But, it’s impossible to outsmart God. Although, there are probably people to this day that try to slide by God in the hope that he won’t take notice. Anyway, Jesus called for a Roman coin and asked who was on it. Of course, it was Caesar. His response was to give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar AND give to God that which belongs to God.
So whose likeness does man bear? Genesis 1:26 and 27 is clear about whose image it is. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” The meaning is clear. Other OT verses are Genesis 5:3 and 9:6. New Testament verses are I Corinthians 11:7, Colossians 3:10, and James 3:9. Just like the coin bears an image, man bears the image of his maker. The answer that Jesus gave knocked it out of the ballpark.
The Pharisees which were the big churchmen of the Jews caught on to the parable that Jesus had told them and they were not pleased. Jesus was saying that they were the ones who were rejecting the invitation. Because of their rejection, the invitation was extended to the publicans and sinners. This is why they wanted to come up with a way to rid themselves of Jesus. He was really messing up their religiousness.
What follows next is an interesting exchange. The Pharisees sought to trap Jesus with a question, “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?” The Pharisees were expecting a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer and either one would have landed Jesus in hot water. ‘No’ would have caused a problem with the Roman government; and, ‘Yes’ would have alienated a number of the folks who followed Jesus around.
But, it’s impossible to outsmart God. Although, there are probably people to this day that try to slide by God in the hope that he won’t take notice. Anyway, Jesus called for a Roman coin and asked who was on it. Of course, it was Caesar. His response was to give to Caesar that which belongs to Caesar AND give to God that which belongs to God.
So whose likeness does man bear? Genesis 1:26 and 27 is clear about whose image it is. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” The meaning is clear. Other OT verses are Genesis 5:3 and 9:6. New Testament verses are I Corinthians 11:7, Colossians 3:10, and James 3:9. Just like the coin bears an image, man bears the image of his maker. The answer that Jesus gave knocked it out of the ballpark.
