Finishing out their question from Mark 12:14, about whether or not it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, those trying to trap Jesus weren’t fooling Him with their “trick question”.
Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
Mark 12:15-17 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.12.15-17.NIV
Now, there were times when Jesus seemed to know things through divine knowledge: whether He knew things because He is God, or perhaps (while He lived as a human being) God the Father or the God the Holy Spirit told Him. In this case, though, the “trick question” seems kind of obvious, so even a wise person who wasn’t God might have seen through that one! (Having said that, we must be careful to not let our pride or our ego distract us from being discerning. Scammers and skeptics prey on not only feelings of fear or urgency, but also on smooth talk and flattery.)
Jesus doesn’t merely know that this is a trap, though, He calls it out. He calls it what it is. And, I think that He would have been within His rights to just stop there, and choose to not answer. However, Jesus (being God) had a wise answer: one that prevented His critics from getting Him into trouble. Having said that, Jesus still spoke the truth even when it wasn’t popular with everyone (which is often the case, since the truth usually offends someone).
Looking at Jesus’s answer, let’s consider that there are those in this world whom God has allowed to be in authority. Some leadership in the world today is not particularly righteous (as has been the case for millennia), but we cannot ignore the reality taught by Romans 13:1-2 (see also Romans 13:1-7, for a wider picture). If a person, a party, or a government has any authority, that is only possible because God “established” that authority. God is the ultimate authority. As a result, when and where He chooses to delegate portions of that authority to sinful human beings (which includes all of us), we must still acknowledge that there is a purpose for God’s decisions, and that He is wiser than us.
So, if you don’t like what a government is doing today (whether your country’s government, or some other government), and even if you can point out how laws and actions are clearly contradictory to the commands of God, remember that God can work through even bad things, and sometimes He has big results planned, even from situations that we really wish He would change. This doesn’t make bad things good, but it can accomplish great things in God’s plan. (Having said that, I hope that we can still remember 1 Timothy 2:1-6, and pray for those in authority.)
For instance, do you believe that Christians who are living in persecution around the world sometimes have greater faith than those who can meet and worship together with far more freedom? If you believe that, and are in presently in the latter group, would you be willing to pray for more persecution, if it would help you focus more on God than on worldly distractions? (I’m not saying whether that’s a good or bad idea; I’m just trying to make a point.)
I may not like paying taxes every year (although I definitely dislike preparing taxes), but if God established our current leaders in government, imperfect as they are, I can do my part in God’s plan, trusting that God can take care of my family and me, even if a chunk of my income goes to various taxes.
Remember that God is sovereign over everything and everyone. Paying taxes in Jesus’ day was just moving currency from one person or group to another, just like we often use electronic bits and bytes today to move representations of funds. Ultimately, though, when we pay taxes, God doesn’t have any less ownership over everything in this world (and throughout the universe, for that matter). We just moved it around according to the direction of an authority that He delegated. Similarly, when human governments make bad decisions, God doesn’t have any less authority over all of humankind. He’s not shocked or surprised. This is all part of His plan, so while we should act when and where He leads us to do so, there’s no value in worrying about other people’s bad choices.
So, serve God first, then follow the authority that He has established in your life as you are able. Most of the time, we can serve both the government and God at the same time, as long as we remember who is in first place!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for November 23, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 