Friday, October 16, 2026

This devotion pairs with this weekend’s Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.

[Jesus said to the Pharisees,] “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21b)

The Pharisees thought they had Jesus in a trap. They ask Him whether or not they should pay taxes to Caesar. It’s a loaded question; by asking it, they put Him in a tight spot.

But Jesus asks a question of His own in response: Whose likeness and inscription is on the denarius? (the coin for taxes). And they say, well, it’s Caesar’s. (See Matthew 22:17-21.) Then Jesus drops these famous words: “Therefore, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

With these words, Jesus doesn’t just give an answer about taxes. He gets to the heart of the matter. And the heart of the matter is our relationship with God. All of us, each and every one of us, at times find ourselves in tight spots and no doubt we don’t always react as we wish we would. Maybe it’s with anger or frustration or simply silence. You fall into a trap—and sometimes it’s of your own making.

This is why Jesus came. Not just to escape the trap laid by the Pharisees in this particular moment recorded by Matthew. He came in order to free you and me from the ultimate trap—to pull us out of the tightest of spots: the trap made by our sin. And far worse than any scheming of humans is the conniving of Satan, our ancient enemy.

St. Augustine, a great teacher from the early church, says that Satan, the devil, thought that he had Jesus in the ultimate trap … when he had Him on the cross. “Now I’ve got him once and for all,” Satan thought. But Augustine uses a delightful phrase. He says that the cross was “the devil’s mousetrap.”

The devil’s mousetrap. Just when the devil thought that he had Jesus right where he wanted Him—it turned out that the trap went the other way. And now the devil himself was caught, because Christ was sprung from the ultimate trap of death. He broke out of the grave, and now having escaped from that trap, He frees you and me, not only from the tight spots that we might find ourselves in day to day—in hard talks, tricky interactions, and sticky wickets of all kinds—He frees you from the most fearsome traps of sin, death, and hell. Jesus, by His death and resurrection, has delivered you and me from them all.

When we fail and when we fall—as we all do—He still lifts us up. You can be sure of that. It’s why we can enter into our day-to-day life with boldness and confidence, prepared to provide a winsome witness even when we find ourselves in tight spots. In those moment, we know right where to go: to the heart of the matter.

WE PRAY: Blessed Jesus, we give You thanks for delivering us from the ultimate traps of sin, death, and Satan. Give us courage and boldness to bear witness to You. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Ryan Tinetti.

Reflection Questions:

1. What are some “tight spots” you tend to find yourself in?
2. How have you seen and experienced the Lord’s deliverance in your own life?
3. When you think of the “heart” of the Gospel, what parts of the message do you like to emphasize?

Today's Readings:

Zephaniah 1-3
Acts 24

Archive

All | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 |

Large Print