St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verse: 21a; Caesar.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Tribute to Caesar) Part 9.  

They had crafted their question with precision so that every word would weigh upon a given response.  Was it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?  Christ was not concerned with local politics.  He was not steeped in regional or national politics.  His was the concern of his father, the kingdom of heaven.  His concern was the politics of the universe and the whole human race not that of the local, regional, or national leader.  Yet the Herodians sought to test him with this question on tribute.

He knew not Caesar.  He knew not the local coinage.  He only knew that which his Father had given him to know and see and do.  He had a mission and a purpose given him by his heavenly father and there were those who sought to impede his progress.  There were those who sought to trap him.  But they were not successful.  He knew about their scheme, their plan and he went along with what they were doing.  So he asked them for the coin of tribute and he asked who's image and inscription it was upon the coin.  They said to him, "Caesar's." 

They were in his world and he was in theirs.  They did not know him but he knew them from eternity.  He saw them but they did not see nor hear him.  They were blind, deaf, and dumb to the word.  So he played their game, answered their questions, and gave them what they thought that they wanted to hear.  His was the universe, theirs was the grain of sand on the earth.  His was the augh and majesty of the Father, theirs was the pain and death of the flesh.  They knew not nor sought not.

Who do we know today?  Do we know our Father?  Do we know Christ the redeemer?  Do we know the life he has given us?  Do we know the light of life that is within each of us?  Can we get in touch with the living energy that is ours for eternity?  Or are we only here for today and gone tomorrow to the darkness?  What do we see when we close our eyes?  Is it darkness or is it the light of life?

Christ is with us if we only seek to find him.  He will come if we call him.  He will provide if we ask for his help.  He will protect us if we know him and believe in him.  He is the living Son of the Father.  He is the Son of Man.  He is the Son of God our Father, the creator of the universe.  And he is the origin of the love that we seek to fill our needs.  For nothing on this earth can satisfy the need that is within us except that which comes from God.  He awaits your call.  He will rejoice at your voice.  He will reward you with riches if you only believe in him and seek his wisdom and knowledge.  God loves.  God is!

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.  

St. Matthew, Chapter 22, verse: 17b; Is it lawful.

Our paragraph topic is:  (Tribute to Caesar) Part 5.  

And there it was the question of the season.  The question that they knew would cause Christ to stumble, the question that would cause him to hesitate because he was a man of God and did not care for the person of man.  Yet Caesar was the emperor and they knew that all had to bow to Caesar and pay tribute.  So they waited with glee to hear what would be the response of this man of God who called himself the Christ.

Yet still with all their learned knowledge and their wisdom, they did not understand the words that they had studied, the words that they had heard, the words that came forth from the mouth of Christ.  They were blind and deaf and without understanding of the knowledge that comes from the children of God so they asked the question:  "Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?"  

How he must have felt for them at that moment that they asked him this question.  What volumes it must have told him about the persons that were before him at that moment and what they wanted from him.  How shallow they must have seemed as he gazed upon them and through them to see the emptiness within, that they did not or could not comprehend the nature of the question that they asked of him.

He was the Christ, the Son of God, who came down from heaven to walk and talk among the children of God.  He came to experience first hand the nature of who we are and the life we live.  He wanted to be an example to us, to show us how life should be and is in heaven without hatred and lust, and murder and slander, false witness, and all the other sins that have came from the fall of man and the triumph of evil on earth.

Yet there were those who were under the influence of evil and wanted to continue the reign and dominance of evil for all eternity.  But Christ came to bring an end to death, an end to the dominance of evil.  He came to be a light in the darkness, a door open to those who sought a new life, a life without the influence of evil.  Oh what a glorious day it must have been to walk in the presence of the Lord, to experience his light, his mercy, his love, his peace.  Heaven awaits those who have not seen but still believe.  For the soul hungers for the presence of the Lord and nothing can satisfy that hunger except his love.  

Read the sign of the times! Read the Highlighted New Testament Bible and lift the scales from your eyes that you may see, that you may know, that you may find the truth of who you are in Christ. Read it as though you would read a good book, from cover to cover, and see for yourself. Do not study it in parts reading one passage nd then skipping to another, but read it for understanding. Read it for knowledge. Read it for faith. Read it that your eyes may be opened, that your ears may hear, that your heart may be filled with the light of Christ .   The Holy Spirit awaits you. Christ seeks to know you. Open the door and let him in.