Truth Hunt
The truth can sometimes get you in trouble.
So they asked him, Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and you show deference to no one, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, Show me a denarius. Whose head and whose title does it bear? They said, The emperors. He said to them, Then give to the emperor the things that are the emperors, and to God the things that are Gods. And they were not able in the presence of the people to trap him by what he said; and being amazed by his answer, they became silent. - Luke 20:21-26
Today's Gospel reading is a familiar one. It has Jesus boxed in a corner, challenged to tell the truth when it could hurt him.
We marvel at the way he gracefully exits the situation, leaving his opponents dumbfounded, and that is what we take away from this. But the reason he gets to walk away has as much to do with those who witness the exchange as with his crafty response.
If the crowd wasn't there to support him, his accusers would have continued to berate him, looking for any way to trap him into saying something that they could offer up to the authorities.
This hunt for the truth is not without prejudice.
It really is not truth one seeks, but evidence of corruption or deceit.
Even though the accusers were not being honest with Jesus, they expected him to be honest with them. It tells us something about them.
They knew they were being deceptive, and they knew he would be truthful.
What they didn't anticipate was how clever he would be in finding a way out of their trap.
Of course they wouldn't stop there. They would continue to watch and listen, looking for anything they could claim is against the Emperor.
Their objective was clear. And it wasn't to find the truth.
More to come...