Luke 20:20-26
Paying Taxes
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.
Luke 23:1
Paying Taxes
1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”
Matthew 16:16
Jesus, Our Messiah
16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."
John 3:10-21
Jesus is the Son of God from Heaven
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
Matthew 5:17-20
The Fulfillment of the Law
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mark 2:17
Jesus Came to Save Sinners
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Acts 4:11-12
Jesus is Our Savior and Our Salvation
11 Jesus is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved."
Matthew 22:36-40
Love God and Love Neighbor
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 5:43-48
Love Also Your Enemies
43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
I think Jesus was a solitary rebel type...And most rebels fight against governments...But Jesus was not against government, large or small...The Pharisees and teachers of the law often tried to trap Him on various subjects like this...They tried to trap Him on the subject of paying taxes to government...He was even accused at His trial for opposing payment of taxes, but He never taught not paying taxes...He was not against governments or the Roman Empire, as such...He once looked at a coin and told the Pharisees to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to God what is God's...He was not against the leader of the Roman Empire, and if He was, we are never told that in the gospels...Quite the contrary, the Roman government let Jesus walk freely around Israel to teach, to speak, and to heal others...He took advantage of those things in what the government allowed...And the government did not hinder His message...
But while He did not come to change the government or government leaders, He was against how we were seeing and perceiving His Father...He was more against, if anything, our norms and how we think about God...He wanted in His teachings for us to get this straight...Was God in our lives, and if He is -is He active?...He wanted us to know that He was the Messiah and came to fulfill Old Testament Scripture...In fact, He said He not come to change anything whatsoever in the Bible...He wanted us to know He came from heaven, and that God is the Living God, and that God LOVEs us...He tells us God sent Him...He also wanted us to know that He came from God and heaven to save our world...And if He came for any reason, it was to save sinners...He came to save sinners -and as a side note, we must first realize we sin to be saved...If we think we are righteous, He specifically says He did not come for the righteous...And St. John adds we are to believe He is the One to come, because if we do not believe that He is the One, then whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s One and Only Son...
So He came to save our world from what?...He makes it clear the Bible is important, because He will change nothing from it...So He wants us to follow the Bible's ways and teachings...So this solitary rebel wants to save us and change us from what to what?...The governments and Bible will not be changed...He wants us to change (and our way of thinking about Him and His Father) and it is us that needs saved...We need saved because we are sinners, and we need saved strangely enough from ourselves and others surrounding us...So He came to save us from ourselves and others...And to do this is takes belief in God and in Him...We must trust both God and His Son...And we must learn to love more...Not only our neighbors and friends, but our enemies...This solitary rebel wants us to love all our neighbors which is hard enough, let alone our enemies...
Much of what He teaches and taught are confusing and hard to me...God was the central part of Jesus' life...This message still comes through...Jesus' message is that God is a part of our lives and is near us, and yet somehow we miss that...He shows us that we sin and that keeps us apart from God, but He shows us love, very much which gets us closer to His Father...We are to pray often to God like He did...He is the Messiah, and He came and wants to save us because His name is Savior and Salvation, and His Father sent Him to die for us -to show His Father's very LOVE for us...And in His teachings He wants us very much to give God what is God's...