20 And thev watched him, and sent forth spies, wnich should feign them- selves mst men, that they might take hold of his words, that so they might deliver him unto the power and au- thority of the governor.
21 And they asked him, sajdng, Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly :
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute imto Cesar, or no ? 4 ^
23 But he perceived their crafti-
ness, and said imto them, Why tempt ye me?
24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Gsesar's.
25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Ceesar the things which be Cssar's, and unto God the things which be God's.
26 And they could not take hold of his words before the people : and they maryelled at his answer, and held their peace.
JjVke, chap. XX. VBR. 20 — 26. 331
Let us mark, for one thing, in this passage, the chak of goodness under which some of our Lord's enemies approached Him. We read that they " sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men." We read further that they attempted to impose on Him by flattering words : " We know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither ac- ceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the way of God truly." Those words sounded well. An ignorant bystander would have said, ** These are sincere inquirers after truth ! " But all was hollow and unreal. It was the wolf putting on the sheep's clothing, under the vain idea of deceiving the shepherd. Their words were "smoo- ther than butter," yet there was " war in their hearts." (Psalm Iv. 21.)
The true servant of Christ must expect to meet persons of this description, as long as the world stands. There never will be wanting those, who from interested or sinister motives will profess with their lips to love Christ, while in heart they deny Him. There will always be some, who "by good words and fair speeches," will attempt to deceive the heart of the simple. The union of " burning Ups and a wicked heart," is far from uncommon. There are probably few congregations which do not contain some of those whom Solomon likens to "potsherds, covered with silver dross." (Rom. tvi. 18. Prpv. xxvi. 23.)
He that would not be often deceived in this wicked world, must carefully remember these things. We must exercise a wise caution as we travel through life, and not play the part of the " simple who believeth every word." (Ptoy, xiv, 15.) We must not lightly put confidence in eyery new religious volunteer, nor hastily take it for
332 EXFOsrroRT thoughts.
granted that all people are good who talk like good men. Such caution at first sight may appear narrow-minded and uncharitable. But the longer we live the more shall we find that it is needful. We shall discover by experi- ence that all is not gold that glitters, and all are not trae Christians who make a loud profession of Christianity. The language of Christianity is precisely that part of re- ligion which a false Christian finds it most easy to attam. The walk of a man's daily life, and not the talk of his lips, is the only safe test of his character.
Let us mark, for another thing, in these verses, the consummate wisdom of our Lord's answer to Sis enemies. We read that a most difficult and subtle question was proposed to Him for solution. "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar or no P " It was a question eminently calculated to entangle any one who attempted to answer it. If our Lord had replied that it was not lawful to pay tribute to CaBsar, He would have been accused to Pilate as a rebel against the Roman power. If our Lord had replied that it was lawful to pay tribute to Cassar, He would have been denounced to the people as regardless of the rights and privileges of the Jewish nation. An answer which would not involve our Lord in difficulties, seemed at first sight impossible to be found. But He who is truly called " the wisdom of God," found an answer which silenced His adversaries. He bade them shew TTJTn a penny. He asked them whose image and superscription was on that penny P " They answered and said, Caesar's." At once our Lord made that penny the groundwork of a reply, at which even His enemies were obliged to marvel. "Render," He said, "unto Caesar the things
LTJKEy CHAP. XX. VBR. 20 — 26. 333
which be GsBsax's, and unto God the things which be God's."
They were to " render to Caesar the things which were Caesar's." Their own lips had just confessed that Caesar had a certain temporal authority over them. They used the money wl^ch Caesar had coined. It was a lawful tender between man and man. They probably had no objection to receive gifts and payments in Roman coin. They must not therefore pretend to say that all payments to Caesar were unlawful. By their own admission he exercised some dominion over them. Let them obey that dominion in all temporal things. If they did not refuse to use Caesar's coin, let them not refuse to pay Caesar's temporal dues.
They were to " render to God the things which were God's." There were many dues which God required at their hands which they might easily pay, if they were inclined. Honour, love, obedience, faith, fear, prayer, spiritual worship, were payments to God which they might daily make, and payments with which the Eoman government did not interfere. They could not say that Csesar made such payments impossible. Let them see to it that they gave to God His dues in spiritual things, as -weH as to Caesar his dues in temporal things. There was no necessity for collision between the demands of their temporal and their heavenly sovereign. In temporal things, let them obey the powers, under whose authority they allowed themselves to be. In spiritual things let them do as their forefathers had done, and obey God. The principles laid down by our Lord in this well- known sentence are deeply instructive. Well would it