Luke 20:25 gives us powerful lessons that are very, very important for the Christian life. Although it's a very short verse, its lessons teach us to give honor to whom it is due, especially to God who deserves all honor and glory.
What is this verse and what can we learn from it?
In context
Luke 20:25 is best understood when read in context. At this time, the Lord Jesus was questioned by some Pharisees about paying taxes. Let's read Luke 20:20-25 so we can understand it better.
"So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor. Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?"
They answered and said, "Caesar's."
And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.""
From this passage we understand that Jesus was talking about doing what is lawful and right. He went beyond paying taxes, and focused on something more important: giving to whom it is due.
Things to learn from it
So what can we learn from Luke 20:25? Here are a few.
1) We ought to honor the leaders above us
What Jesus said pointed out an obvious but often neglected truth: that we should honor the leaders above us. Rome might have been bad to the Jews, but the fact is that it remained the government above the Jews, and so the Jews were to honor it.
In the same way, God wants us to give to the leaders above us what is due to them. Whether or not our leaders are good and Godly or bad and ungodly, we ought to pray for them and do what is right to them.
2) We ought to honor God
Next, the Lord Jesus' words tell us that we should honor God and give Him the praise and glory that He deserves. He should praised for who He is and what He has done, and we should not steal the glory from Him.
Many Christians fail in this. We forget to give God the glory He deserves. Ministers emphasize their ministry. Individual Christians emphasize their personal Godliness. We tend to take credit for something that God should be credited for.
3) We are to remember who we are and to who we belong to
When combined with verse 24, we have a powerful lesson on self-image and honoring the Lord. Jesus said in verse 24, "Whose image and inscription does it have?"
Friends, Genesis 1:26-27 tells us that we are made in the image of God. When we look at ourselves in the mirror or our smartphone cameras, we ought to realize and recognize God - not because we're God, but because He made us in His own image and likeness.
This simple thing ought to change the way we think about ourselves and others.
Because we are made in God's image, we render to Him what belongs to Him. We give Him our lives.
We also learn to see God in every person we encounter, saved or unsaved. We cultivate God's love in our hearts so we can love everyone and share the Gospel to them.
We also learn to respect the opposite sex. Christian men should go beyond physical looks and see God's purposes in every woman. We need to see women the way God sees them, and not how the world does.
In closing
Friends, we must learn to honor God in everything. He has His imprint on everything; after all, He made us all and He deserves all the honor we can give.
