Whose Image is on Your Coin?

 

 

Whose image is on your coin?

And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. 14 And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? 15 Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. 16 And they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar’s. 17 And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled at him.

 

Many have heard this tale and believed they understood it but, as with all scripture there are many layers. You see, scripture is not a historical prose but a host of words, some history, and examples of how it all weaves a tapestry of enlightenment. Was there actually a Good Samaritan? Maybe, maybe not. The idea of one man reaching out to a victim while others ignored him is poignant. But why a Samaritan? In this parable Jesus chooses a person that any self-respecting Jew would not give the time of day to. And the stricken man? How many homeless people, standing on the corner of a busy street have you ignored because you have subscribed to the idea that they are professional beggars who go home to large homes in expensive cars or somehow deserved their fate?

 

Let’s look at the coin cited by Jesus. First the setting. It is made clear that Jesus had been teaching in the Temple Precincts that week, in fact, during His trial he pointed this out to His accusers. So, it is logical to assume that was the setting.

 

Now look at the political situation He found himself dealing with. Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? These supposed pious Jews were at the Temple, being all clean and holy. They were there to pay, pray, and, obey. Kinda like the Mormon Temple today. But!

 

The temple had its own currency, only special coins were accepted. Roman coins with the image of the emperor were NOT accepted. Therefore, money HAD to be changed into the correct currency and the money changers charged an extremely large fee.

 

The word denarius is a Latin adjective that means "of ten" or "containing ten.” A silver coin the size of a dime that was worth ten assarii and was the most frequently mentioned coin in the Bible. It was commonly referred to as a “penny.” And the 1/10th thing lingers until this day. Our “penny” is one perCENT of a dollar ergo we call it “one cent!” Jesus probably referred to a denarius minted by Tiberius during his ministry. Bottom line, and Jesus was making another point also. All these “holy” men were standing there in the Temple Precincts and it all boiled up down to political loyalty vs spiritual loyalty with their pockets filled with denarii. Jesus knew he them for what they were and could easily make his point when he told one of them to bring him a coin that he may see it. He did not say, “Hand me a penny,” He said, “Bring it to me because he didn’t intend to touch illegal money in the Temple vicinity. They had some shekels but not near as many as they had denarii for that was where their loyalty lay. They were already defiled. Then he asked whose image was stamped onto the coin and they admitted Caesar’s (a graven image) and basically confessed to even having them. Thus they paid homage to Caesar, a Roman God in YHWH’s Temple. It was already a bad day in Church for them. 

 

Why am I bringing all this up. If you are a believer then you must believe. You can’t adjust your beliefs to accommodate man’s opinion in an effort to appease a reprobate mind. While no one likes a heated argument trying to defend their faith, standing by scripture is our first line of defense against the Devil, and you can’t do that by agreeing that the Devil might not be real.

 

This is key to the fall of America. We agree that it may be allowed to abort small fetuses so long as we call them zygotes. We accept gay marriage even when we know marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman. We allow public schools to assume our role of parental rights that even extend into the home by standing firmly on the idea of separation of church and state, which replaces the family oriented moral upbringing of the child via the Child Protective Services!

 

There is no separation of church and state. You cannot lobotomize someone’s moral barometer be they a voter, public servant, or John Q Public. They either have one or they don’t. This is what is dividing America. Do you honestly think you can govern without introspection? If you do then you are the one standing in the Temple Square with a pocket full of denarii!

 

You’re either a believer or you are not! And your kids are not ok, and haven’t been since first grade.  There are government wolves among the sheep. There are goats, and, as the Prophet, Paul McCartney tells us, “if you molest one goat!” The day is coming when the roll will be called up yonder. Each must follow their moral or immoral compass, whatever floats or sinks their boat. Up or down, north or south. America is a Christian nation. When it loses that the promise is gone, with the blessings, and all the rest.  So when you wonder why your kids are so out of control, crime is rising, the news is all bad, and you’re on your second divorce, well, you will know!