Render Unto God What Is God’s

Oct 18, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Cleft in the Rock, Glimpsing God’s Goodness

Moses dares to ask for glory but receives goodness instead—a divine compromise that meets human limitation. God shelters Moses in a rock’s crevice, not to withhold glory but to protect him from its overwhelming fullness. Like eclipse viewers needing special lenses, we see God’s nature refracted through mercy and compassion. The mountain becomes a thin place where grace outshines demands for spectacle. What belongs to God is not earned but given: His choice to be gracious defines His character. [31:09]

“And he said, ‘I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name “The LORD.” And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. But,’ he said, ‘you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.’ And the LORD said, ‘Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.’”
(Exodus 33:19–22, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you demanded a full view of God’s plans rather than resting in His goodness? How might you create space this week to witness His mercy in “thin places”?

Day 2: Following the God Who Moves Ahead

God shows Moses only His back—a fleeting glimpse of divine motion. To see God’s back is to follow, not control; to walk behind, not demand a face-to-face roadmap. Yahweh’s name is a verb, His nature active and uncontained. The cleft in the rock becomes a starting line, not a hiding place. Discipleship means tracing the wake of a God already at work ahead of us, His footsteps marking the path. [32:40]

“And while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”
(Exodus 33:22–23, ESV)

Reflection: What anxieties arise when you cannot see God’s face? How might His “back”—His movement ahead of you—invite deeper trust today?

Day 3: The Coin’s True Owner and the Blasphemous Claim

Jesus holds a denarius stamped with Caesar’s divine pretensions—a tiny idol of political power. The coin’s inscription (“divine”) clashes with the true High Priest holding it. To “give back” Caesar’s coin is to reject its claim on hearts. But the greater rebellion is rendering to God what bears His image: every breath, relationship, and moment. Worship dismantles empires by reclaiming what they falsely mark as theirs. [42:39]

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ They said, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’”
(Matthew 22:20–21, ESV)

Reflection: What “coins” in your life bear false claims of ownership? How does recognizing God’s image in you challenge those demands?

Day 4: When Politics Become Idolatry (And How to Resist)

Caesar’s coins demanded worship; modern politics still conflates power with divinity. Jesus’ critics obsessed over taxes while missing the cosmic rebellion—giving human systems authority over souls. To render to God is to dethrone every pseudo-deity, whether party platforms or presidential promises. True allegiance shows when fear of man outweighs fear of the Lord. [38:53]

“The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.”
(Psalm 24:1, ESV)

Reflection: Where have political anxieties distorted your view of God’s sovereignty? What tangible act could reaffirm His ownership of “those who dwell therein”?

Day 5: Rendering Your Closet, Debt, and Night Anxieties to God

Jesus’ final “render” includes laundry piles, bank statements, and 3 AM worries—the unglamorous bulk of life. Worship isn’t confined to hymns but extends to how we stewar d grocery lists and retirement accounts. God claims even what culture dismisses as “secular.” To withhold nothing is to make every moment liturgy. [45:32]

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
(Romans 12:1, ESV)

Reflection: What mundane part of your routine feels furthest from God’s claim? How might you “render” it today as an act of worship?

Sermon Summary

Exodus, Thessalonians, and Matthew all call attention away from lesser claims and toward God. Moses asks, with some holy cheekiness, “Show me your glory,” and God answers by showing goodness. God’s goodness becomes an accommodated glimpse of glory, something like seeing the shadow of what could otherwise overwhelm human sight. God places Moses in the cleft of the rock, providing shelter while divine glory passes by.

God’s passing backside also reveals that God is not a still life. Yahweh moves. Moses sees from behind, and that position becomes the posture of discipleship: follow God, keep behind God, and watch God’s back closely. God’s graciousness and compassion arise from God’s own nature, not from human earning, goodness, or control.

Matthew’s question about Caesar’s tax comes from critics trying to trap Jesus, not from disciples seeking wisdom. Caesar’s tax was no small matter, because it funded the occupying Roman power and forced Judeans to reckon with government, authority, and faithfulness. Jesus refuses the false choice between supporting Rome and inviting a charge of sedition. Jesus asks for a coin, points to Caesar’s image and blasphemous titles, and says, in effect, if Caesar wants that little piece of metal, let him have it.

Jesus turns a question about taxes into a question about worship. Caesar may claim a coin stamped with his image, but God claims everything. The psalmist’s declaration that “the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” leaves very little for Caesar to possess absolutely. Human governments, political obsessions, and leaders who imagine themselves as modern Caesars all confront that limit.

Jesus’ command to render unto God what is God’s reaches far beyond churchly activity. God receives lunch breaks, shopping trips, meals, conversations, closets, anxieties in the night, portfolios, debts, fantasies, time, energy, and brokenness. Worship is liturgy, but worship is also life. God’s claim does not leave room for a carefully protected private corner where human beings retain final ownership. Everything bears the deeper mark of its Maker, and everything belongs back to God.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s goodness reveals God’s glory God does not give Moses a detached display of power. God gives Moses a glimpse of divine goodness, graciousness, and compassion. God’s glory is not merely dazzling force but the holy character of the One who shelters creatures in the cleft of the rock. [31:09]
2. Following God means staying behind God’s passing backside places Moses behind the God who moves. Discipleship is not getting ahead of God with certainty or control. Christ’s call to follow means watching closely, trusting the path God takes, and letting God set the direction. [32:40]
3. Caesar’s claims are never ultimate Jesus permits Caesar his coin without granting Caesar the human heart. Political authority has a real but limited place, while divine authority reaches into every part of life. Idolatry begins wherever the state, a leader, or an ideology receives the honor belonging to God alone. [42:14]
4. Everything belongs back to God Jesus turns the tax question into a worship question because God’s claim is comprehensive. Anxiety, possessions, debt, work, conversation, joy, and brokenness are not outside the reach of worship. Rendering life to God means receiving nothing as privately owned or spiritually neutral. [45:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[28:16] - Three Readings, One Call to God
[28:35] - Moses Asks to See God’s Glory
[30:05] - Thin Places and the Mountain of God
[31:09] - God’s Goodness and Glory
[31:51] - Shelter in the Cleft of the Rock
[32:40] - Following the God Who Moves
[33:04] - Jesus and the Question of Caesar’s Taxes
[35:07] - Taxes, Rome, and Political Power
[37:23] - Human Obsession with Politics
[39:26] - Hypocrites Set a Trap
[40:43] - The Coin and Caesar’s Image
[42:39] - Render to Caesar, Render to God
[43:28] - A Tax Question Becomes Worship
[45:03] - Giving God Every Part of Life

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Matthew 22:21
“They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” [29:31]

Exodus 33:18-19
“Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The LORD.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.” [28:35]

Psalm 24:1
“The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.” [44:20]

Observation questions

What does Moses ask God to show him, and what does God say God will make pass before Moses? [31:09]
How does the passage describe God’s graciousness and compassion, and what does that show about where grace comes from? [31:38]
In Matthew’s account, what question are Jesus’ critics trying to use against him, and what are they hoping will happen if he answers the wrong way? [40:00]
What does Jesus ask people to examine on the coin, and what titles or claims connected to Caesar make the coin troubling for faithful Jews? [42:14]

Interpretation questions

Why might God answer Moses’ request to see glory by revealing divine goodness, grace, and compassion instead of simply displaying overwhelming power? [31:23]
What does the image of Moses seeing God from behind suggest about following a God who is moving rather than standing still? [32:40]
Jesus does not simply settle a tax debate; he turns it into a question of what belongs to God. How does Psalm 24:1 shape the meaning of Jesus’ answer? [43:28]
What are some ways political leaders, parties, or national hopes can begin to receive the trust, fear, or devotion that belongs to God alone? [38:06]

Application questions

Where have you recently seen God’s goodness—in mercy, provision, protection, or compassion—and how might that glimpse help you recognize God’s glory? [31:09]
Is there an area of life where you are trying to get ahead of God through control, certainty, or anxiety? What might it look like to remain behind Christ and follow his lead there? [32:54]
When political news, elections, or public conflict begin to dominate your thoughts and conversations, what helps you remember that no Caesar’s claim is ultimate? [37:48]
What “coin” in your life feels most stamped with another claim—your job, possessions, reputation, political identity, or financial security? How can you hold it as something God ultimately owns? [43:13]
Which ordinary part of your week—your lunch break, shopping, meals, conversations, or time at home—would you like to offer back to God more intentionally as worship? [45:03]
What anxiety, debt, brokenness, or private struggle have you treated as outside of God’s care or claim? What would it mean to render even that part of your life to God? [45:19]

Sermon Clips

53s

#RenderUntoGod

“Well, that would be everything. Your life, the boats, this water, the fish, maybe even the minted coin with the blasphemous image. Heck, even the emperor himself. Don't you find it interesting that Jesus turns this question about taxes into a question of worship? A question of what honor and glory we give to Caesar, the state, the governing authorities, and what we offer up to God. Jesus makes no attempt to carefully distinguish what exactly belongs to Caesar and what exactly belongs to God. One can imagine his critics standing there with their mouths gaping open saying, well, but but what is God's?”

55s

#AllBelongsToGod

“Your lunch break at work, your shopping, your meals, your conversation with a friend, with a neighbor, the stuff in your closet, your anxieties in the night, your portfolio or your debt or your fantasies, your time, your energy, your brokenness. It's all God's. Render it to God. Rendering unto God is worship, which is both liturgy and life. Remember last week about joy and prayer? Render your prayers, your joy, your life, your all.”

43s

#GoodnessRevealsGlory

“God responds to this bold ask by kind of sneakily substituting goodness for glory. Want to see my glory? Here's some of my goodness. Maybe that's how we see God's glory, not head on, which would probably overwhelm sort of like trying to look at the sun from 25 feet away. God's goodness is a manifestation, an accurate shadow of God's glory and accommodated glimpse peeking through that thin veil.”

45s

#CleftOfTheRock

“No predestination here. Rather, it is God's nature to be gracious and compassionate. It's God's choice, not our earning, not our goodness. Tenderly, God offers a viewing spot for Moses in the cleft of the rock. Rock of ages cleft for Moses. How good of God to provide in all those tectonic shifts and geological upheavals that made mountains to provide little caves and crevices for creatures to hide and rest and to provide that spot for Moses, kind of like giving us the special viewers when we want to look at an eclipse.”

30s

#FollowTheMovingGod

“God shows Moses God's backside. Kind of fascinating to play around with. You see the back as it moves by. God isn't a still life. God is in motion. God is one who moves. Yahweh is clearly a verbal form of the word, an action verb in Hebrew. And where are you if you see the back? You're behind. You are following.”

60s

#WhoseImage

“Here's the thing, archaeologists have found these coins. The one like I just showed you, right? They have an image of Caesar and the inscription on it includes this blasphemous word to Jews, d I v I. D v. He's divine. On the flip side, the coin dubbed Caesar as Pontiff Maxim, the high priest. So here, and no small bit of irony in this story, here is God's divine son, our great high priest, studying this very coin. Well, says Jesus, if he loves this stuff enough to put his own image on it, on this piece of metal, give it to him.”

43s

#ThinPlaces

“So let's just back up a little and go back for a moment to Exodus and Moses. What... What's going on here? Some of you may remember me sometimes talking about and speaking about something called liminal spaces, thin places. Places where the veil between worlds is thin, places that are a bit dangerous, places where we catch a glimpse of God. This is one of those. Moses on the mountain, not just any mountain, but the mountain with God.”

53s

#FaithAndPolitics

“The Judeans having this discussion about taxes didn't have much choice in the matter. The taxes they paid were being paid to their Roman overlords. And if that wasn't already a bitter enough pill for them to swallow, these very same taxes to the Romans helped keep a Roman occupation army in their land. A question about taxes is really a question about government and authority. To ask should we pay taxes to Caesar or not is to ask follow-up questions like, is Caesar so powerful that we must pay his despised taxes whether we like to or not? Or is Caesar's government a legitimate government over us? And if not, what should we do? Of course, those questions are all supremely political.”

45s

#JesusSeesTheHeart

“So my question is, what exactly were these Pharisees really trying to learn? Were they in earnest? Well, of course not. Jesus' critics aren't really interested in having a debate with Jesus about tax payments. Matthew states clearly that they are seeking to entrap him. What Jesus critics hope to do is humiliate him and to draw Jesus into some kind of dangerous discussion in front of God and everybody to trick him into saying something that might move the governing authorities to move against him. They wanted to get rid of him. Eventually, of course, the government did move against Jesus.”

76s

#WisdomOverTraps

“But Jesus didn't fall for it. His strong suit was discerning hidden motives and knowing theirs. And his downright Lincolnesque ability to reply to tough questions with something clever to stump the questioners, well, they had no no chance. As is often the case as is often the case with hypocrites, they open with flattery. By the way, for anyone who likes Aristotle or who studies him, Aristotle pointed out that the opposite of a friend is a flatterer. Well, they are indeed what Jesus calls them hypocrites. The Greek word meaning play actors. They think they have the perfect question, unanswerable. If he says yes, he appears sympathetic to the hated tax collectors, thus alienating all the nationalists. If he says no, he's risking a charge of sedition.”

48s

#GospelBeyondPolitics

“In encountering this Sunday's gospel, it is important to note that Jesus doesn't ask the question about Caesar's taxes. It isn't Jesus. It's his critics who are asking it. We can certainly understand their preoccupation with political questions. What we call news is mainly reports about politics now. And for the last few months, maybe years, politics has been the only news any of us were all that interested in. There's a sense that as we move towards this election that's really already in progress, we are moving toward a very important cataclysmic event.”

58s

#ElectionAndFaith

“Politicians on both sides of the aisle keep telling us that this election could well be one of the most important elections in American history. The whole future of Western democracy is in our hands as we pull the voting lever. The words of Jesus may therefore sound a bit out of touch to our ears. But as you know, Jesus only rarely and almost never really explicitly talks about politics. As for us, politics is about the only thing that people are publicly talking about. It seems to be our obsession. Maybe that's why Jesus doesn't talk much about politics. He knows how fascinated we are with human government, with human power.”

54s

#ChurchAndState

“But in all seriousness, it is actually one of the most grossly misquoted texts ever, as if Jesus were outlining the separation of church and state for modern people who would find such an arrangement to be very convenient for themselves and their political ideologies. In this Sunday's gospel, Jesus' critics raise a question about politics. Is God in this passage of scripture perhaps attempting to make us think about politics whether we want to or not? I don't know. Well, the question that Jesus interrogators place before him is not about voting. That's a practice that nobody there in that time was ever allowed to do. Their question is about taxes.”

49s

#WhoseCoin

“So not surprisingly, Jesus serves up neither. In contrast to the way we think about politics, Jesus seems almost nonchalant and dismissive in this whole exchange about whether or not to pay taxes to Caesar. When I ask a question directly, should we pay taxes to Caesar or not? Jesus doesn't immediately reply. Rather, he says, who's got a coin? This, you know what? Jesus' pockets are empty. Let's check out one of these coins, he says.”

48s

#FollowGodFirst

“Follow God. And that's where our focus should be, in following God. So now, talking about focus, let's fast forward back again to Matthew. So in a few weeks, we're gonna have a national election. Have you heard about that? I I guess you have. Right? So I thought I would take this Sunday as an opportunity to use my sermon and tell you how to vote. No. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I wouldn't do that. A sermon is not primarily preoccupied with politics. The point of a sermon is to attempt to listen to for for what God has to say to us through God's scriptures.”

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