Daily Devotional • August 20
A Reading from Mark 12:13-27
13 Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere and show deference to no one, for you do not regard people with partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it.” 16 And they brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose head is this and whose title?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at him.
18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children, 21 and the second married the widow and died, leaving no children, and the third likewise; 22 none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when people rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is God not of the dead but of the living; you are quite wrong.”
Meditation
The Pharisees and some Herodians are out to trap Jesus again. Interestingly, these two groups were working together. The Herodians sided with Rome, and the Pharisees were conservative. They ask about paying taxes. Wouldn’t it be great if Christ had replied, “No, don’t pay taxes?” I am kidding, of course. The Herodians would have raised a fuss if that was the answer. Instead, he asks to see a coin. They brought one…was it in their pocket? Did they touch it? It has the face of the emperor on it! A graven image. What were they doing with a coin?
“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Is there anything that is not God’s? Everything is God’s. If you give the coin to “Caesar,” what do you give to God? What prevents you from giving to God?
Are there some things that you wish were the same in heaven? It makes me sad that I won’t be married to my husband in heaven. I don’t think our love and friendship would stop; instead, we would just get better. In this passage, Jesus is answering the Sadducees, who did not believe in an afterlife. He makes the point that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. God told Moses in the burning bush, “I AM the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” He did not say, “I WAS the God of Abraham…” God continues to be the God of people who are no longer walking on earth. We, in Christ, will one day rise from the dead.
The Rev. Sara Oxley is the rector of The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Maitland, Florida.
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
All Saints Episcopal Church, Winter Park, Florida
The Diocese of Del Occidental – La Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico
