That looks like a great book! I will have to read it.

I once wrote a paper on the justified war and defending the Faith, and my systematic theology professor disagreed with it so much he gave me a "C". Good times.

@WhiskersTheCat
I was just about finished with a response, hit a wrong button and lost everything.

I'll get it out in the next couple days.

BTW

Have you watched any Chuck Missler videos?

Cosmic Codes Pt. 1

Cosmic Codes Pt. 2

Cosmic Codes Pt. 3

Beyond Time Space Pt. 1

Beyond Time Space Pt. 2

Sounds like your paper challenged him.

Nope but I have a drive today so I'll check out at least one. Thanks brother!

Those videos were really interesting, thanks brother. The last parts about Greek and Hebrew structure were really cool.

You're welcome.

A passage from today's scripture readings that is read on a day commemorating a martyr:

2 Timothy 2:1-10
¹You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. ²And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. ³You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. ⁴No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. ⁵And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶The hardworking farmer must be first to partake of the crops. ⁷Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.

⁸Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, ⁹for which I suffer trouble as an evildoer, even to the point of chains; but the word of God is not chained. ¹⁰Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

Scripture readings for today.

Colossians 1:1-2, 7-11
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
²To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, ⁸who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
⁹For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; ¹⁰that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; ¹¹strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

Luke 9:23-27
²³Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. ²⁵For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? ²⁶For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels. ²⁷But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God.”

Today we commemorate the Holy Prophet Joel (800BC)

Joel 2:28-32
²⁸“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
²⁹And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

³⁰“And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:
Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.
³¹The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
³²And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.
For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance,
As the Lord has said,
Among the remnant whom the Lord calls.

The more I listen to J.P., the more I appreciate what he's doing. How he gets to this point and still isn't a believer, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out where he's coming from.

Regardless, J.P. nails it, as does the analyst.

Two snakes on Orthodox Bishop's staff.

Why is the serpent present on the staff? (To be overtly clear I am curious not being a jerk)

I'm guessing the cross being in between means the serpents are constantly attacking the word of God?

You couldn't be a jerk if you tried!

Watch the video in the post just above the staff, and read this:

https://orthodoxartsjournal.org/the-serpents-of-orthodoxy/

Thanks brother! I do remember the gold serpent but I had never really put two and two together.

Scripture readings for today:

Colossians 2:13-20
¹³And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. ¹⁵Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

¹⁶So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. ¹⁸Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, ¹⁹and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.

²⁰Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations

Luke 10:22-24
²²All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”
²³Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; ²⁴for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.”

One of the Saint commemorations for this day:


Troparia:

Scripture readings for today

Colossians 4:10-18
¹⁰Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), ¹¹and Jesus who is called Justus. These are my only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are of the circumcision; they have proved to be a comfort to me.

¹²Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. ¹³For I bear him witness that he has a great zeal for you, and those who are in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. ¹⁴Luke the beloved physician and Demas greet you. ¹⁵Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house.

¹⁶Now when this epistle is read among you, see that it is read also in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you likewise read the epistle from Laodicea. ¹⁷And say to Archippus, “Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it.”

¹⁸This salutation by my own hand—Paul. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Amen.

Luke 11:23-26
²³He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

(11:23; It is the work of Christ to gather the children of God, while those who scatter are in direct opposition to Him. Those who work in opposition to Christ are different from those who work in good faith toward His purpose but are not yet united to the Church. Only "good deeds done for Christ's sake bring fruit," and thus deeds done for any other purpose, "even if they are good are deeds that scatter abroad"-Seraphim of Sarov) Orthodox Study Bible.

(11:24-26; The unclean Spirit refers to the rebelliousness cast out of the Jews by the OT prophets to prepare them to receive Christ. Those who refuse to receive Him are left open to the wickedness of seven other spirits or demons.- John Chrysostom) Orthodox Study Bible

Galatians 5:22-6:2
²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

¹Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. ²Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Matthew 11:27-30
²⁷All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. ²⁸Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Scripture for today.

2Corinthians 5:1-10
¹For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, ³if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. ⁴For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
(Fear of death is overcome by hope in the resurrection, faith in the Holy Trinity, and the love of Christ and our union with Him. Our earthly house is our present mortal body. The building from God, the one which is from heaven, is the immortal, deified body we shall have in heaven. The soul is naked, or unclothed, when it departs the body, that is, when one dies. Paul longs not for death but for resurrection; he knows God created us not to die, but to be transformed from mortality to life. So he speaks not of the bliss of the soul without a body, but of the union of the soul with the glorified body. - Orthodox Study Bible)

⁶So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. ⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

⁹Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
(Following his discourse on suffering, death, and resurrection, Paul now turns to the judgement. We must all appear, not only the unbelievers, to be judged according to what we have done. For Christians, right belief gives power and motivation for right behavior. Here again, the NT unifies faith and works. - Orthodox Study Bible)

Luke 8:16-22
¹⁶“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

¹⁹Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. ²⁰And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
(It was not Christ's will to deny His mother and brothers. Rather, Jesus is correcting both them and his hearers "to the right idea concerning Himself," that the family of His kingdom "is not by nature but by virtue" [John Chrysostom] - Orthodox Study Bible)

(Our parish uses the old calendar)

Some of the Martyrs commemorated this day.

Martyrdom is one of the most powerful aspects of Christianity for me.

I saw a fresh soul get polished up and dipped yesterday

Glory to God.

A married expecting couple were blessed as catechumens in our parish today.

...

The Body as Ritual Space - Fr Maximos Constas on the Mystagogy of St Maximos the Confessor

"...The mystagogy then presents us with a synthesis in which liturgy is transplanted into spirituality and which in turn is transplanted into liturgy so that both, each one, liturgy and spirituality is revitalized by its new context. Without liturgy, spirituality is in danger of devolving into spiritualism, while liturgy without prayer and ascetism would be empty ritual ceremony without substance..."

@Anastasios, how do the various EO Churches view Freemasonry?

https://www.stgeorgehermitage.org/freemasonry
"...Freemasonry, also called Masonry, was in its modern form born of English Protestantism at the end of the seventeenth century. Here it became very strong in the government, in the military, in business and in Anglicanism, in all of which it remains firmly entrenched to this day. Essentially, freemasonry is a syncretistic movement which promotes the equality of all religious beliefs, world unification and a one-world government under the leadership of its ideology. For this reason it is opposed to the Spiritual Tradition of the Church and believes only in a 'Superior Force' in the Universe. Therefore it rejects the two teachings at the heart of Orthodox Christianity, faith in the Holy Trinity, Three Persons in One Essence, and faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God become man, not to mention all the other teachings revealed to the Church by the Holy Spirit. Official freemasonry recruits its members, male only, to its 'lodges' (local branches) from the socially successful, especially from the wealthier professional classes, financiers, doctors, lawyers, journalists, businessmen, military officers, the police, the judiciary and local and national politicians, who finance it generously...."

Basically a man is responsible for himself, his family and his community. Am I correct?

Outward concentric circles of responsibility.

God comes before all. Have faith in Him, do His will, and He will take care of the rest.

ETA Or are you talking about freemasonry?

Thanks for the link. Thought that this was an interesting section from it



Even some of the Roman Catholics here rejected that idea, but many of us agree (ETA) although I would say "orthodoxy" vice "Orthodoxy".

Is membership forbidden in your Church?

Yes, throughout the EOC.

God comes before all, for sure.

I've heard free masons take the same idea many philosophies have with the outward circles though

@whiskersTheCat

One of the major issues with freemasonry, is its belief in the Heresy of Relativism. The belief that all religions are equal. Which they are not. It is also an argument they make that "they require you to have a Faith." Among other things. But freemasonry membership is banned in RCC. I am glad that is the same case in EO. Though it may not be in all EO rites.

Got it, thanks. I don't know much about the Masons.

@anastasios  Sacraments availability:

-How common or available is daily Liturgy (vice Sunday)?

-How available is the sacrament of confession?

IDK a lot about Orthodox practices.  We have a large Greek Orthodox Church locally, but all I know about them is that they throw a banger of a Greek festival every year.

During a 'normal' week, we have one Divine Liturgy. That occurs Sunday morning immediately following a Matins service. There is either a Vespers or Akathist on Wednesday evening, and a Great Vespers Saturday evening.

Confession can literally be whenever you want it, assuming our priest doesn't have a prior commitment.

This coming weekend is a little different. In addition to the regular schedule is a Vespers on Sunday evening, and a Divine Liturgy Monday morning, for the Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and All the Bodiless Powers feast day.

The major feasts can be very busy, particularly Great Lent through Holy Week. Holy Week in the Church has to be experienced to be believed.

The following was last year's Holy Week schedule:

Palm Sunday evening, April 17 // Bridegroom Matins @6pm.

Great and Holy Monday, April 18:
Presanctified Liturgy @8:30am.
Bridegroom Matins @6pm.

Great and Holy Tuesday, April 19:
Presanctified Liturgy @8:30am.
Bridegroom Matins @6pm.

Great and Holy Wednesday, April 20:
Presanctified Liturgy @8:30am.
Holy Unction service @6pm.

Great and Holy Thursday, April 21:
Vesperal Divine Liturgy @10am // The Institution of the Mystical Supper.
Passion Gospels Matins @6pm

Great and Holy Friday, April 22:
Royal Hours @8am.
Plaschanitsa/ Epitaphios Vespers @4:30pm.
Praises/ Lamentations Matins @6pm with procession of the 'Epitaphios' (i.e. the One in the tomb) around the Church.

Great and Holy Saturday, April 23:
Vesperal Divine Liturgy @9:30am, with Baptism of the xxxxx family.
Paschal Nocturns/ Midnight Office @11pm with procession around the Church.

PASCHA, April 24 // Resurrection Matins @12am, followed by the Paschal Divine Liturgy.

Pascha, April 24 // Agape Vespers @4pm, followed by a festal BBQ meal.

Edited.  IM sent...

Why do men learn through pain and suffering, and not through pleasure and happiness? Very simply, because pleasure and happiness accustom one to satisfaction with the things given in this world, whereas pain and suffering drive one to seek a more profound happiness beyond the limitations of this world - Father Seraphim Rose

The Ladder of Divine Ascent - St. John Climacus

Step 5 - On Painful and Genuine Repentance Which is the Life of Godly Convicts, and Concerning the Prison (Only the first 2 paragraphs of the chapter)

Just as John outran Peter, so now obedience comes before repentance. For the one who arrived first is a sign of obedience, and the other of repentance.

Repentance is a renewing baptism. Repentance is a covenant with God for another life. A penitent is one who purchases humbleness. Repentance is constant distrust of bodily comfort. Repentance is a condemning of oneself upon reflection and a lack of care of oneself. Repentance is the daughter of hope and the renunciation of despair. A penitent is a convict that is not dishonored. Repentance is a reconciliation with the Lord by the exercise of good deeds contrary to the sins. Repentance is the cleansing of the conscience. Repentance is the willful suffering of all injuries. One who is repentant inflicts his own punishments. Repentance is an ill-treatment of the stomach and a compulsion of the soul into strict awareness.

We begin the Christmas Fast on Monday, 11/28, which lasts through Christmas, 1/6/23.

FASTING in FATLAND

Why do we think of love in such concrete terms?

My Parish has Divine Liturgy (mass)
Tuesday 6 am
Thursday 9:30 am
Sunday 9:30 am

Vespers  (prayers, scripture ) Wednesday 6pm and Saturday 5pm.
Confession available after vespers and by appointment

I go about once a month to confession as my priest put me on that schedule

How many members at your parish?

I don’t know
There is usually about a hundred people there Sunday (babies, kids adults )


Eta 215 this am

We've had *maybe* 120 on our couple biggest days, and that's over capacity. We're keeping our eyes open for some land.

PREPARE YOURSELF FOR DEATH ~ THROUGH GOD'S HOLY MYSTERIES

Readings for today.

Galatians 1:3-10
³Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

⁶I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, ⁷which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

¹⁰For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.

Luke 9:57-62
⁵⁷Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

⁵⁸And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

⁵⁹Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”

But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

⁶²But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

-------------------------------------------------------

The cost to discipleship:
1. Give up personal or earthly security.
2. Nothing, not even the honor due to parents, can be an obstacle to serving the Lord.
3. Disciples cannot delay in accomplishing the good that Christ demands.

"The Ladder of Divine Ascent" - St. John Climacus

The first paragraphs of Step 6

Step 6 - On the Remembrance of Death

Every word is preceded by a thought. The remembrance of death and sins precedes weeping and mourning. Therefore, this matter arrives at its appropriate location in this chapter.

A daily death is the remembrance of death, and remembering our departure involves weeping and mourning each hour.

Fear of death is a basic instinct that is bred of disobedience, but horror at death is a sign of unrepentant sin. Christ has fear of death, but he does not display terror from it, so as to truly show the qualities of His two natures.

Just as bread is the most necessary of all foods, so also of all works the thought of death is the most essential. For those that live in the world the remembrance of death bears anguish and frivolousness and beyond these, depression.

However, for those that are at liberty from all distractions it produces a freedom from concern, and unceasing prayer and guarding of the mind. These same virtues both produce the remembrance of death and also are produced by it.

Just as tin is different from silver, even though it appears to be similar, so for the one who is discerning there is an obvious distinction between a natural and supernatural fear of death.

Today's Scripture readings

1Timothy 5:22-6:11
²²Do not lay hands on anyone hastily, nor share in other people’s sins; keep yourself pure.
²³No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and your frequent infirmities.
²⁴Some men’s sins are clearly evident, preceding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later. ²⁵Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.

¹Let as many bondservants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and His doctrine may not be blasphemed. ²And those who have believing masters, let them not despise them because they are brethren, but rather serve them because those who are benefited are believers and beloved. Teach and exhort these things.

³If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, ⁴he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, ⁵useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.

⁶Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

¹¹But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.

Luke 20:1-8
¹Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him ²and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

³But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: ⁴The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

⁵And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ ⁶But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” ⁷So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Scripture reading.
(2 Timothy 1:1–2; 8-18)

¹Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

²To Timothy, my beloved child:
Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

⁸Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, ⁹who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, ¹⁰but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, ¹¹to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. ¹²For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

¹³Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. ¹⁴That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

¹⁵This you know, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes. ¹⁶The Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain; ¹⁷but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. ¹⁸The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day—and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus.

Luke 20:19-26
¹⁹And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

²⁰So 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.

²¹Then 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: ²²Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me? ²⁴Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

²⁵And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

²⁶But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.