Luke 20:20

Luke 20:20 says, And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.  The scribes and Pharisees sent spies to watch Jesus, listening for anything that He might say that they could take to the governor to accuse Him of.  The religious leaders would rather turn to the governmental authorities who held them in captivity than to submit to the authority of Jesus.  These were the leaders of God's chosen people.  We need to pray that we as people who call ourselves followers of Christ never become the same way today.  Verse twenty-one adds, And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly:  These spies, who were really only looking for something to charge Jesus with to the authorities, asked Him about His teaching that a person should only follow the way of God, which they flatter Him by saying He taught correctly.  They seemed to think that they were the ones who decided whether what Jesus taught was right or not.  We need to make sure that we don't reach the point where we think that what we believe determines whether it is what God says is true or not.  Verse twenty-two continues, Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?  These spies then asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar.  It seems that people have always thought that the best way to discredit someone is by questioning monetary beliefs, especially those that relate to the government and taxes.  Verse twenty-three states, But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me?  Jesus knew what they were trying to do, and asked why they tempted God.  We will never fool God with false motives.  Verse twenty-four adds, Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s.  Jesus told them to show Him a penny and asked whose image was on it, and they said Caesar’s.  We as Christians have never been told by God to attempt to avoid paying taxes.  Verse twenty-five continues, And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.  Jesus said that they were to give to Caesar the things that were his, and to God the things that were God's.   Sometimes, those who profess to be Christians don't want to do either, but want to keep everything for their own personal use.  This is not what God's word teaches us.  Verse twenty-six concludes, And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.  These spies could not find a reason to accuse Jesus, especially before all those who were following Him, and they marvelled at His answer and held their peace.  They did not accept His answer as the authority on the subject, but simply marvelled at His answer because it kept them from being able to accuse Jesus of anything before Caesar.  People today may marvel at the word of God, not because they believe it, but simply because they can find no reason to discredit it.