Render to Caesar

And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him. (Mark 12:13-17 ESV)

I have heard many sermons and read many commentaries that approach this passage with "paying taxes" in mind. Many people read it as if "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" is the emphasis of the passage. No doubt, Jesus acknowledged the earthly authorities that were established by His Father in Heaven. And no doubt, in this sentence He affirmed that taxes should be paid. But this is not the emphasis of Jesus' teaching. Consider for a moment the last sentence in this text. "And they marveled at him." Why did they marvel? Was it simply because Jesus said "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's"? No, anyone could have said that. They marveled because he said, "...and to God the things that are God's." Now why was this a statement that deserved awe from Jesus' hearers? It goes back to the question He asked them,"Whose likeness and inscription is this?" Caesar's image was on the coin, and this was reason Jesus told the people that they should render the coin to Caesar. In other words, Caesar had placed his image on the coin to signify that it came from him and ultimately belonged to him. Then, Jesus tied this line of thinking to the second part of His sentence, "...and to God the things that are God's." Caesar's image was the proof that the coin ultimately belonged to him. So Jesus beckoned the crowd to ask a question: where has God stamped His own image? Because just as Caesar owns the coin that bears his image, so God owns whatever bears His image. Let us render to God the things that are God's.