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Saturday  5  January

Render ... unto Cæsar's the things which are cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.  Mathew 22, 21.

Before its introduction the euro had many a hurdle to surmount. A common currency means a certain loss of sovereignty for the individual countries. In ancient times there was virtually a common currency in Europe: the Roman denarius’s was the accepted form of payment in every country where the Romans had established their rule. Greek or other regional coins still in use, but the denarius was at least the currency for taxation purposes (cf. Matthew 22, 19).

At the  time of the Lord Jesus the Jewish people, too, were under  Roman hegemony. The loss of their national sovereignty was a thorn in the people’s flesh. The Lord’s opponents wanted to exploit this fact; so they asked Him  whether it was lawful to pay the Roman emperor tax or not. Jesus then asked for a denarius. This coin bee Cæsar’s  image and superscription, a symbol of his claim to power and the might that he exerted.

“Render unto Cæsar's the things which are Cæsar’s” was the answer the Pharisees were given. But the Lord Jesus immediately drew their attention to the One who has a claim to authority over every human being. Man is created “in the image and after the likeness of God” (cf. Genesis 1, 26). That is the stamp of our coinage. So the Lord demands of us that we should give God what is His due. That means nothing short of dedicating ourselves, i.e. our entire lives, to Him.

It is pointless denying God’s authority over us. We did not arise by chance. God is the Creator and we have been created by Him and for Him (cf. Colossians 1. 16). We need have no fear in submitting to Him, however. His rule is marked not by tyranny, but by righteousness and love.