and to God the things that are God's

Paying Taxes to Caesar
…16They brought one. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" And they said to Him, "Caesar's." 17And Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were amazed at Him.

Its an interesting little anecdote about belonging, not money

I have heard ministers and laymen alike stuff this story up and just recently a non christian has had a turn of making the message one of money

Its far simpler than all of that.

The Pharisees wanted to force Jesus into saying that the Jews should pay Romes taxes.

They came and said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15"Shall we pay or shall we not pay?"

The issue is if Christ says yes, He will cause the Jews to think He supports Rome,
if He says no, then He is against Rome, then arrested as rebellious

The funny thing is Jesus isnt interested in the money or Rome

He holds up the coin and states whos image is this, its the image of Rome, its roman and belongs to Rome

The word image is a strong word.

In Genesis its clear to the Jews mankind was created in Gods image.

Jesus draws a distinction between money and things of this earth and who they belong to and our identity in whos image we were created in, Gods.
Jesus is effectively saying "if you belong to God in whos image you were created in, render yourselfs to God

Those who choose God are to commit themselves to God, not their finances, commit themselves to who's image we were created in
God does not need your money, never has

So Jesus wasnt talking finances at all, Jesus was distinguishing desires

You are wrong.

You see, Jesus knew that God allowed man to rule themselves. So where man does not surpass God's laws, then man must obey man.

"Pay Caesar's things unto Caesar."

But where man's law goes beyond his bounds, then one must obey God as ruler rather than man.

a reply to: Raggedyman

Corinthians
10:26
FOR THE EARTH IS THE LORD'S, AND ALL IT CONTAINS

Psalm 24
Psalm of David The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in

The pharisee's repeatedly tried to trick Jesus and always failed, he had no time for Bankers look at how he threw the money changers out of the temple it is the only time he ever showed violence, those money changers would have had guards but he of course threw them out as well, look what he would do to the bank's of today he overturned the money changers tables and scattered there worthless coin,

The earth and the fullness thereof belong's to the lord not the bank's or the elite and they are simply thieving from there brothers and sisters, he has put it this way "They have had there reward on earth" if they did not displease the lord and were not doing wrong he would never have said "It is easier for a cammel to pass through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven".

Time and again it was about Sharing, Breaking Bread, feeding the Four Thousand, If you have two coat's and your brother has non then give unto him the one you are not using, Love they neighbour as THYSELF, Go sell all you own and give it to the poor then come and follow me (Join your brothers and stop exalting yourself over them for he that exalts himself shall be cast down but he that humbles himself shall be exalted).

God does not need your money, never has

Tell that to Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5.

Yeah good point
Problem is that wasn't about the money
They lied

Yeah good point
Problem is that wasn't about the money
They lied
Imagine what God has planned for the wealthy tv evangelists

a reply to: LABTECH767

Matthew 4
8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Everything on Earth is the devil's though?

John 18
36 Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place."

a reply to: LifeisGrand


Ummm...The way I've always thought about the..."give unto Ceasar the things that are Ceasar's"...is that Jesus is admonishing to actually give those things back...or to give them up...let them fall by the wayside...that the things of the world not detract you from taking up your staff and leaving that life of material gain...and following him...

That's how I see his answer...which is in keeping with all the other times he taught the same message...

The discussion was basically about "you cannot serve two masters"...




YouSir

a reply to: Raggedyman

Ummm..."Few there be that find it"...


YouSir

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

I agree, it was the Devils world
Hence Christs words

It still is, some have chosen God and now live between

As You Sir said

Can't serve two masters, God wants us, He served us when He came, now we can if we choose serve Him

Let what's not important fall,away

a reply to: 3NL1GHT3N3D1

Those were word's of abandonment not of the people but of the world which had betrayed it's maker, He Came into his own and it knew him not.

The devil, vile accuser and adversary of god is not the owner of the world though it does serve as his prison, he will be even more imprisoned then released for a while, remember also the parable of the Tares and the Wheat, it refers to both the word of God and how it is interpreted in the heart of and by Men and also in a very practical way the Earth itself, the Earth does not belong to the Devil therefore, he neither created it nor own's it but he did sow his own seed among the human race within it, evil spirits and evil people, we are therefore corrupted by his filth and have a choice, we can only serve one master or in the saying of the alpha and omega we are neither hot nor cold and he will spit us out (Curse and reject us to damnation for we will then still be holding the fertile corrupton and seed of the devil even if we are half good which is why we can serve only God or no one, money, greed and self righteousness are the ways of the devil's children, the earth was given freely to us by god, it is the devil whom invaded and corrupted it essentially stealing both it and also all else that was ours from us.

But we get the last laugh in Christ because he is making a better world for us and as long as we choose him he is also going to remake us free of the devil's corruption even if we currently carry it inside us.

His own sacrifice on the cross was to appease the Law and lift the curse of Sin which is death, he died in our place and took all our sin's past, present and future onto himself the only thing we have to do is choose to believe and to serve him as best we can, non of us are perfect though which is why when the mob was about to stone Mary Magdelain he picked up a stone also but he FACED the mob not the accused woman and asked them something with authority in his voice "Let whomsoever is free of sin among you cast the first stone", he looked at them with the eyes that pierce into the very soul and they felt he knew them, in shame the dropped there stones and walked off slinking back from whence they had come with something to think about, as they left he said simply "Then neither shall I", this was his law, blessed are the merciful for they shall recieve mercy, do not judge or you shall be judged (And if you are free of sin then you are safe but whom is) it is he and his angel's not us that shall sort the chaff from the wheat, the devil's squatters in the earth from his own children.

a reply to: LABTECH767

You might want to back that up with scripture

Some sounds a little strange

a reply to: Raggedyman

Could you be specific, a new heaven and a new earth because the old one's have passed away.

Or is it that you would like it to fit your idiology rather than that which christ tought to his apostles who then passed it on to they whom they taught, I would also like to point out that the bible has been continuously mis-interpreted since the time of Constantine, it never has and never will justify earthy monarch's by the dual arguement that Christ reigns forever and of HIS kingdom there shall be no end, those who are lifted by his sacrifice to salvation recieve a CROWN of life and join him as family, they are rulers over the earth as the devil has no right, so he is the King of King's as well as the King of all annointed that came before him since he was also before them, the first and the last the very word of God made incarnate through the Virgin Miriam's (Latin = Mary) womb.

Let's be fair you set out by your own admission to attack other's view, Christ did not say the world belonged to the Devil, he did say the Devil has a kingdom and that God is a Spirit, that he saw Lucifer cast out of heaven like Lightning.

He also said this.

www.biblegateway.com...

So the Vineyard, the earth Belong's to God, the Devil and those that do as there greed bid's them are the wicked tenant's and God is the father whom will come and destroy the wicked tenant's and give the vinyard to other's, Jesus is the Son whom was murdered.

So much for the bankers and those that claim they own god's land, he only ever gave one part of it to anyone and that was Jacob at Bethel as he had promised his father and grandfather, he told Jacob that it was an inheritance for Jacob's seed for all generation's.

He never gave Ireland (Eira) to the Irish, England to the English, America to the previous or current occupant's or the middle east to anyone other than Jacob and his descendant's, of course through christ those saved become dual heir to the kingdom with there saviour the lord Jesus Christ and that includes the New Earth and the New Heaven with Christ as there eternal king and God as there father, now how can the devil called by Christ the Father of Lies (whom claimed to own all the kingdom's of the earth but is a liar) be owner of what god own's, can you not see the contradiction in your statement, the Paradox in your interpretation, it is placing the devil on a pedastal when in fact the risen in Christ those raised by him shall be so much more powerful than the devil ever was or ever could be.

a reply to: LABTECH767

You do need to revisit that part of scripture:

It was not Mary Magdalene that was about to be stoned, and Jesus did not pick up a stone or look at anyone with "eyes that pierce"...

...he just said, "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone", then he looked down and started drawing something in the dirt -
- and it was not until everyone but the woman had left that he looked up and spoke to the woman.

a reply to: lostgirl

You are certainly correct about Mary Magdelain she is the woman that Jesus cast seven demon's out of, I am guilty of perpetuating the myth based on a misinterpretation of the bible which has exists in Christendom for a very long time now.
Here is a good little page on it.
www.gotquestions.org...
And tradition not cannon within the Catholic church may be in part responsible for this error in the west which you have not been tainted by.
forums.catholic.com...
The woman's name was never mentioned however I have read that part of the scripture but like I always say I am not a chapter and verse type of person and do not have an idetic memory but here is my argument.

Does a man stand there holding a stone after speaking to the Lynch Mob and actually get listened to by a large crowd whipped up into a blood lusting frenzy of irrational hatred or does it take a little more than a simple voice, do you think as I do that he stood between the woman and the crowd facing them or do you think he walked over joined them facing the woman and then said let he that is without sin cast the first stone.

Thank you for an enlightening and cosntructive comment about mary magdelain, I may have waxed lyrical and it may not be word for word but I stand by my argument about how Jesus stopped the stoning, he stood up for that woman and saved her as after all he was going to die for her and those what were going to stone her as well as for all of us (So long as we believe that and have faith or at least try to for it is the truth but we will be measured by how we measure).

a reply to: LABTECH767

I wasnt denying your argument, just a few contexts that I was unsure of

"He let it out" or leased it, rented the land out

Its interesting, leaves me a few more questions now, then again its a parable, the message is simple I guess.
But it does make me think while God is sovereign, in this he is not totally sovereign over the vineyard... yet