Daily Devotional For Sunday, October 25, 2026
Good morning Southside! I am following the One Year Chronological Bible reading suggestion and any Bible verses you see highlighted in bold (ex. John 3:16), means it is a link to that verse. All you have to do is click on the reference and it will take you to the verse online. Our daily devotional for today comes from the words of Jesus found in Mark 12:13-17. In The Tempest, Shakespeare said, “Misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.” We see this today in our text when two enemies form an alliance against Jesus: the Herodians and the Pharisees.
The Pharisees hated Rome and anyone associated with Rome. The Herodians were Jews who had sold their souls to Rome. The Pharisees were conservative and the Herodians were liberal and left-wingers. The Pharisees represented resistance to Rome; the Herodians represented accommodation to Rome. BUT they were allies in their hatred of Jesus. They present Jesus a coin and ask Him if it is lawful to pay taxes to Rome.
So, the super religious Pharisees and the ultra-Romanized Herodians approached Jesus with carefully contrived flattery that was both a statement and a question. They pretended to honor Him and Jesus saw it for what it was: a trap. They stated that they knew that Jesus was impartial and did not have favorites. This was to isolate Him politically from the people so they would not know how to categorize Jesus politically.
“Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax?” was their question. Lawful in terms of the Mosaic Law, not Roman Law. The poll-tax was taken by Rome during census time and to pay it for Jews meant they were supporting an evil, demonic and satanic regime. Both sides say this as a no-win for Jesus. A “yes” put Jesus on the side of the Herodians and a “no” put Him on the side of the Pharisees and in opposition to Rome and King Herod.
So, Jesus asked for a coin. Jesus’ response is that we live physically on this planet in the kingdom of men but we are striving to live spiritually for the kingdom of God. Earthly governments exist at God’s will and God expects us to submit to their authority as long as their laws do not demand that we violate God’s law and will (Rom. 13:1-7). Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll writes these words on this subject:
“God does not ask us to choose between our earthly government and His kingdom; He calls us to choose which will rule our hearts—wealth or righteousness. Until Christ returns, we need money, but we must not serve it. We obey governing authorities, but we do not serve them when their law conflicts with God’s” (Source: Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Bible Commentary, “Mark,” pp. 315-316).
Jesus held up a coin and asked, “Whose portrait is on this coin? Whose inscription is this?” This had to kill them because the Pharisees did not want to say, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said, “Then give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and give to God the things that belong to God.” Jesus’s answer shocked and astonished them and it shut them up. I can think of 3 areas in which we as Christians would need to resist our government:
- When we are asked to violate God’s commands. Perfect examples of this can be found in Acts. 4-5. The disciples were ordered not to preach in Jesus’ name, but they continued to do that.
- When we are asked or pressured to do some immoral sin. Such would be premarital sex, porn, abortion, extramarital sex and etc.
- When we are pressured to go against our Christian conscience to obey the government. This could include getting the Covid vaccine, abortion, participating or nor participating in a war for example. Our ethics flow from Scripture, not from society. Yet, Christians according to Mark and Jesus are to be known as law-abiding citizens. We are not cheat on our taxes.
I read about someone who sent a letter to the IRS stating this, “Dear Sir, My conscience bothered me. Here is the $175 which I owe in back taxes.” They signed their name and then wrote a P.S. “If my conscience still bothers me, I’ll send the rest.”
Whether it is the Internal Revenue Service or the “Eternal” Revenue Service, we must pay every penny. We are to respect our leaders. This means even when we disagree with them, we do not resort to name calling. This means we vote. This means we pray for our leaders regularly. This is Paul’s point to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1-2.
Reflection Assignment: When it comes to this issue, do you pray regularly for our government leaders? Why or why not? Do you ever get into name calling of any of our government or religious leaders? Why or why not? Are you honest on your taxes? Have you ever compromised in order to be accepted or approved by someone in authority? What were the results?
Scripture To Meditate On: 1 Timothy 2:1-2, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. (2) Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, help me to be a godly citizen for Your glory. And if I am ever pressured to do any of the 3 listed above, give me the courage to stand up like the disciples in Acts. 4-5 and honor You. I understand there may be times I have to exert civil disobedience and I will willingly accept the consequences that come from that. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly