NOTES for Mar 12:13-17

The Pharisees come to Jesus to catch Him in His words. By asking Him to decide whether a devout Jew may pay Roman taxes, they confront Him with an insoluble dilemma. Whom should a believer obey: God or the secular authorities? To them these spheres are absolutely incompatible. But not to Jesus, Who “shows no partiality” and is free from established clichés.

The Lord's reasoning is strikingly simple. Instead of quoting Holy Scripture, referring to sages, or relying on the opinions of respected people, He asks them to bring Him a denarius and builds His remarkably precise answer directly upon the coin used to pay the tax.

At times we find ourselves in the role of these Pharisees: we ask God questions without expecting Him to have an answer, while the solution may lie directly before us if we are not afraid and set aside every prejudice.