“Hear Jesus’s words again: “The truth of the matter is, everyone who lives in sin is the slave of sin” (John 8:34). Perhaps it’s not the best way to welcome our guests and past members on Homecoming Sunday, but those aren’t my words, they’re Jesus’s words! And, I think this translation of Jesus’s words are most accurate. You see, in this sentence, every time Jesus says the word translated as “sin” there is a definite article directly before the word “sin.” The definite article translated here would be “the”–so, from the Greek, it literally says “the sin.” And this makes a world of difference in how we translate Jesus’s words…”
In our text today, we see that political debates haven’t changed much. Taxes have long been a hot button issue and seemingly innocent questions hold hidden agendas. Today, we find Jesus not on a debate stage, but he does find himself in a type of debate with two groups of religious leaders. The Pharisees and Herodians both feel threatened by the large crowds following Jesus, and so they team up to entrap him with a question about paying taxes to the emperor…
This parable is hard to digest. If you are like me you find yourself cringing at every turn of what should have been a straightforward wedding party. It’s important to remember that this parable is actually a response to a question. Jesus is responding to religious leaders who had asked him, “By what authority do you do these things.” By “these things” they are referring to the clearing of the money changers in the temple, as well as the healing sick and stigmatized individuals at the temple…
Church Community Builder (CCB) is our online community to connect you with others. If you’re looking to serve during worship as an expression of your faith, wanting to get involved with feeding the hungry, or seeking to build your connection with others through our meal-based small groups, you can get connected with all of that on CCB!
