🎧 Episode 55: The King Who Gives

Podcast: Stories from the Road with Dick Foth
🗓 Released during Holy Week

📝 Episode Notes:

In this Holy Week reflection, Dick Foth contrasts earthly kings who take—with a King who gives. From Roman taxes to temple coins, and from ancient prophecy to the cross, Dick weaves stories of money, power, and generosity through the lens of Jesus' final week. What kind of King is Jesus—and what does that mean for us today?

⏱️ Key Moments:

00:07 – Introduction: A week of taxes and trade wars... and a different kind of King
01:29 – Palm Sunday and Passover: Why this week mattered so much in Jerusalem
03:36 – Why money matters: What it reveals about us and our values
04:45 – Israel’s request for a king – 1 Samuel 8: The warning about what kings take
06:39 – Jesus’ birth and the Roman tax census – Luke 2
07:32 – Stories about money:
  – The Good Samaritan (Luke 10)
  – The Lost Coin (Luke 15)
  – The Prodigal Son (Luke 15)
  – The Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18)
09:33 – Jesus flips the tables: Clearing the temple of money changers
10:08 – “Render to Caesar…” – Whose image is on the coin? Whose image is in you?
11:04 – Judas, the 30 pieces of silver, and a King who still gives
12:26 – Meeting a U.S. Senator—after meeting with the King of the universe
13:27 – The thief on the cross and an invitation to paradise – Luke 23:43
14:15 – Final thought: In a world of taking, choose to give

📖 References in This Episode:

1 Samuel 8 – Israel’s demand for a king

Luke 2:1–7 – Census and the birth of Jesus

Luke 10:25–37 – The Good Samaritan

Luke 15 – Parables of the lost: coin, sheep, son

Matthew 18:21–35 – The unforgiving servant

Luke 20:20–26 – Paying taxes to Caesar

Luke 21:1–4 – The widow’s offering

Luke 23:43 – “Today you will be with me in paradise”

💬 “If you speak to the King of the universe in the morning, it’s not hard to speak to a senator in the afternoon.”

🎧 Also mentioned:
Check out Dick’s audiobook Stories I Love to Tell – available now on Audible.