“Brant, why are you still a Christian?” Today’s topic explains one of the reasons that Brant continues to be in awe of who this guy named Jesus.
If you like this video, you’ll love Brant’s new book. It’s called, Blessed Are the Misfits: Great News for Believers who are Introverts, Spiritual Strugglers, or Just Feel Like They’re Missing Something.
Read (from the New Living Translation)
There are some real “mic-drop” moments in today’s reading. Jesus was witty, a little sarcastic, but most of all very wise in how He responded to people who tried to trap Him. Get to know this side of him by reading through Luke 20.
Luke 20:1-8, 20-26
One day as Jesus was teaching the people and preaching the Good News in the Temple, the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the elders came up to him. They demanded, “By what authority are you doing all these things? Who gave you the right?”
“Let me ask you a question first,” he replied. “Did John’s authority to baptize come from heaven, or was it merely human?”
They talked it over among themselves. “If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet.” So they finally replied that they didn’t know.
And Jesus responded, “Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things…”
Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
He saw through their trickery and said, “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
“Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent.
Note: If you’ve read the Bible before, you may notice there are no chapter or verse marks in today’s reading. We got this idea from the Immerse Bible. They’ve taken the entire story of Jesus and stripped it of all distractions – this way it’s a more relaxed read. Like you’re reading a beautiful story. You should check it out!
