Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods. (Matthew 22:21)
When I was a young Christian making my way through the Bible for the first time these verses in Mathew 22 were deeply impacting for me. At the time I was awestruck by Jesus amazing ability to avoid the traps of all his enemies. Not only did Jesus successfully avoid the traps laid before him but in doing so he also trapped his accusers with their own words, and demonstrated his superior authority.
Jesus words also bring to light an internal struggle that God-seeking men have battled throughout history, one that continues even to this day. That is the struggle between mere religious activity and true devotion to God. The Pharisees opposed Jesus and wanted him gone. But why did they want him gone? Did they think they were serving God by doing so?
If you look closely at the Pharisees actions and words we can see that they really had motives that were not pure. They followed many rigid religious rules, not necessarily to please God, but often so that they would be respected and honored by others. They sat in a position of importance and authority in Israel. Jesus presence revealed them for who they were and jeopardized their authority. They wanted him gone. The Pharisees let selfish motives get into their religious activities and they no longer were able to truly serve God. In the end they decided they must lay a trap for Jesus in order to get rid of him.
Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not? They asked Jesus. Jesus answer cut right through all of their duplicity. His answer was a spiritual answer to an earthly question. It showed everyone present that God is a God who seeks the heart of men and nothing else. We can give God all manner of money, perform small and great deeds for him, but in the end, what he truly wants is the heart of every person. May God help us all to avoid mere religious activity especially if it is mixed with selfish motives. May he help us to live lives of true devotion and service to him.