In Mark 12:13–17, religious leaders attempt to trap Jesus with a political question about taxes to Caesar. It is a carefully crafted dilemma meant to force Jesus into choosing sides. But instead of answering the question on their terms, Jesus exposes the deeper issue. Holding up a coin stamped with Caesar’s image, Jesus reminds his listeners that while coins may belong to the empire, people belong to God. This sermon explores how systems of power often rely on false choices and manufactured divisions. Jesus refuses that frame, inviting us to remember a deeper truth: every person bears the image of God. As we journey through Lent and approach the events of Holy Week, we are invited into the same courageous work of resisting false binaries, refusing narratives that divide, and remembering that our ultimate belonging is to God.
