Matthew 22:15-22 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 22:15-22 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap him in what he said. Verse 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. Verse 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?" Verse 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, "Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? Verse 19Show me the coin used for the tax." And they brought him a denarius. Verse 20Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" Verse 21They answered, "The emperor's." Then he said to them, "Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." Verse 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.
Devotion
“Show me the money!” Jesus said it long before the phrase was popularized by Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the movie “Jerry Maguire.” Those trying to trap Jesus showed him a denarius, worth about a day’s wage for common laborers at the time. “Whose head is this, and whose title?” Jesus asked; in other words, “Whose image do you see?”
We may wonder at times whose image is on our work, our labor, our value. Sometimes we may feel our worth depends on what we earn, what we do for a living or on someone else’s assessment of us.
Go look in a mirror. Do you see the mark there on your forehead? Baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ, your value is tied to the One whose image is on you. Therefore you are precious and priceless to him.
Prayer
Gracious God, you call us by name and place on us the forever mark of your Son’s cross. Help us to live lives worthy of the image we bear. Amen.