Question Concerning Paying Tribute to Caesar

Introduction to the Second Question of Passion Week

0:02 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, December 20th, 1987, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey.

0:16 Now let us turn together to the twelfth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Mark chapter 12.

0:25 And will you follow, please, as I begin the reading at verse 13 and read to the end of verse 70. Mark chapter 12 and verse 13.

0:45 Writing with reference to the activity of the Sanhedrin, the highest ruling body in Israel, Mark tells us, and they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians that they might catch him in talk. And when they were come, they say unto him, Teach. We know that you are true, and care not for anyone, for you do not regard the person of men, but of a truth you teach the way of God.

1:25 Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? Shall we give, or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why do you make? Trial of me.

1:43 Bring me a denarius, that I may see it. And they brought it. And he said unto them, Whose is this image and superscription or inscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's.

2:02 And Jesus said unto them, Render or pay back unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are Caesar's. And unto God the things that are God's. And they marveled greatly at him.

2:24 Now while the world carries on with its annual seasonal madness, which in some way or another is supposed to bear a relationship to the birth of Christ, we come this morning to a portion of scripture which brings us very near, not to the birth, not to the birth of our Lord, but to the death of our Lord. Our studies in the Gospel of Mark find us witnessing the second of the four major questions presented to our Lord on the third day of the Passion Week, or the week of his crucifixion and his subsequent resurrection. The first of these questions, recorded in Mark, chapter 11, and already considered together, verses 27 to the end of the chapter, had to do with the nature and the source of the authority by which Jesus was doing the things he was doing, particularly his royal entrance into Jerusalem, his subsequent cleansing of the temple, and his setting himself,

3:46 in the posture of the leading teacher within the temple precincts. Having answered that question in such a way that our Lord shut the mouths and publicly shamed the questioners, we find in the passage read in our hearing that they come with a second question, the issue of which is the legitimacy of paying tribute money to the Roman, to the Roman government. And this passage, particularly as we bring to it the light that is shed upon it from the parallel accounts in Matthew and in the Gospel of Luke, is a passage that is literally full of intrigue, deceitfulness, sham and hypocrisy of wicked religious men on the one hand, and yet it glows with the glory, of the wisdom, the grace, and the benevolent foresight of Christ on the other. And as we attempt to think our way through the passage this morning, consider with me, first of all, the question raised. And this will cover verses 12 through 15a. The question raised.

The Circumstances and People Behind the Question

5:14 Now as we examine this second question, raised on the third day of the Passion Week, there are four distinct divisions of thought to consider together. First of all, note with me the circumstances in which the question was raised. As we have already reminded you, it was Passover week. On the first day of that week, Jesus had made his triumphal entry amidst shouts and acclamations, which bristled with messianic identity and implication.

5:55 And then on the second day, he cursed the fig tree on his way to the temple area, and then came in and radically cleansed the temple of all that was displeasing to himself and to his Father. On this third day, he had given to his disciples on the way back into Jerusalem, a fundamental lesson based upon the withered fig tree, and then had gone to the temple where the representative group from the Sanhedrin had questioned him concerning his authority. After exposing their insincerity, he spoke three parables that were in a unique way addressed to the Sanhedrin as the leaders of Israel, but also had application to Israel as a whole. Matthew records all three of those parables. Mark and Luke record only the middle parable. But after speaking those parables, it is said that the leaders understood that the parables were, in a very unique way, directed against them.

7:14 He exposed their crowning sins of rejecting the one whom the Father had sent to them to receive his due. And in rejecting him, they had exhausted the patience of God to them as a nation that was given distinct and peculiar privileges, and our Lord announced that the kingdom would be taken from them and would be given unto another nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof. Now according to Mark 12 and verse 12, these leaders, filled with deeper hatred than ever before, and with increased determination to do away with him, they slink away into their own associations, obviously to plot a second assault upon our Lord, in an attempt to ensnare him and to undermine his credibility. Now those were the immediate circumstances in which this second question was raised. But then notice the specific people who raised it. As we continue to consider the question raised, we must note not only the circumstances

8:41 in which it was raised, but the specific people who raised it. Mark identifies them as to their class in Israel, and then with the light of Luke in particular shining upon the passage, they are identified in terms of their moral character and condition. Mark tells us that they send unto him certain of the Pharisees, and of the Herodians. The first question was asked by a representative group of the entire Sanhedrin, comprised of the Pharisees, of the chief priests, and of the elders. But on this occasion they limit themselves to sending a representative group from the Pharisees and from the Herodians. Now according to Matthew, they sent certain disciples of the Pharisees. The indication being that because of the close proximity of the previous entourage and now this second group coming, they seem to be determined that our Lord would not recognize those who came with the question

10:08 because it was all part of their calculated deception. So they took some younger men that no doubt had not taken a lead in any of the previous confrontations between the Pharisees and our Lord, and they put them forward to do their dirty work for them. Now the Pharisees, as most of you know, were the official teachers and leaders of what we would call the super-Orthodox party in Israel. They were tenacious in holding to rabbinic traditions.

10:44 They were haters of Roman rule. They were wholly carnal and nationalistic in their messianic hopes. They were the externalists. They were the legalists.

10:57 But they were the orthodox religionists of their day. The Herodians, as best we can determine, and we had to wrestle with this way back in our expositions of chapter 3, were most likely a group of Jews whose real devotion was to the local ruling Herod, hence they were called Herodians. And though they maintained enough of their identification with Jewish doctrine and with the practice of temple worship and sacrifice to maintain some credibility as Jews, at heart they were utterly sacrilegious, they were pagan in their spirits, they found themselves much more inclined to be at home with the lifestyle and the perspectives of pagan Roman representative rulers than with God and His holy law. Now obviously these two groups, the Pharisees and the Herodians, were in their general principle continually at one another's throats. They had very little in common. But as we see with the rulers themselves, when getting rid of Jesus

12:24 becomes a central concern, they make intimate and common cause. And so in our text we see they were willing to lay aside their very deep-rooted, deep-rooted differences. The Pharisees irritated and irked at every remembrance that they were under Roman rule. Some of the stricter of the Pharisees, even refusing to pay taxes to Rome because they felt Rome had no right to usurp its rule over the theocracy or the rule of God among His special people, Israel.

13:06 And yet the Herodians, they would not only be sympathetic to the Herod and to the authority that stood behind him, Caesar at Rome, they would gladly pay their taxes, they would gladly do anything to ingratiate themselves into the affections of the Roman rulers and the structure of Roman rule that existed there in Palestine. So as one author has said, both the sanctimonious, the Pharisees, and the sacrilegious, the Herodians, join in coming to Jesus with this question. Now that's their identity as to their specific classification in the spectrum of the leadership or the various political and religious groups in Israel. But Luke adds this dimension that focuses upon their moral and ethical identity when he says in Luke chapter 20 and verse 20 these very, very significant words. Luke 20 and verse 20. And they watched him and sent forth spies

The Deceptive Intention and Substance of the Question

14:33 who feigned themselves to be righteous, so that they might take hold of his speech so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. They sent forth spies who feigned themselves to be righteous. So according to Luke, these people comprised of Pharisees and Herodians were conscious hypocrites who were playing a role. They were spotless, subversive, and they faked righteousness because they had devious ends in view. Now that's the group that comes to ask this question. Now note in addition to the circumstances of the question, the people who raised the question notice thirdly the real intention of their question. Mark tells us, verse 13, they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians that they might catch him in his talk.

15:59 Now this is the only time in the New Testament where this verb catch is used. But the noun form is used twice in Luke chapter 5 to speak of a catch of fish. And it was a term commonly used both in fishing and in hunting. And so its imagery is very vivid.

16:24 When you go fishing, you seek to seek to outsmart the fish in order to land him in your boat. When you float that little minnow by his nose, you are feigning great altruism. Little fishy, I am here to feed thee. And you'll end up on my plate.

16:51 You see, you feign yourself to be the fish's friend in order that you might catch him. Because embedded in that minnow's lips or in his dorsal fin is a hook to deceive him. Then you have caught him. You have accomplished your design.

17:13 Likewise with the hunter who digs his pit and covers it over with brush and then seeks to drive the animal in the direction of it. He is out to trap him. To, in the language of Matthew, he uses a verb which means to ensnare. And then Luke uses a word which means to catch hold of or to lay hold of.

17:38 So bring them all together and the sense is very clear that the real intention of their question was to take Jesus' response and out of his response to construct a net in which they might catch him. To construct a snare in which they might ensnare him. A trap in which they might entrap him. To what end?

18:10 Luke 20, 20 tells us that they might then deliver him up to the ruling and to the governor. And this is one of the ironic parts of this passage. They are going to ask a question about whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar. Whether they as Jews who are gods under the unique rule of the government of God question whether it is even morally right to pay the annual head tax of a denarius to Caesar.

18:50 While in the very asking of the question their intention is what? To trap him in his words in such a way that they might deliver him over to the ruling power and to the governor. Who was the ruling power? It was Caesar's soldiers.

19:10 It was Caesar's court of judgment. For at this time they had no power or right to execute capital punishment. So when they come to Jesus with this question they are intent on using it. Do their dirty work to put Jesus to death.

19:35 Do you see that? Their real intent was to ask the question which would unavoidably ensnare him would be such a net to him a trap to him a pit to him that they would then have good reason to hand him over to the ruling authorities and to the governor that at the hands of the Roman government he might be executed and put out of the way. That's very significant in the entire passage that is before us. I therefore take the time to underscore what their real intention was. Because they could not execute him they have hatched a wretched base demonic plan to make the Roman government and the Roman authorities whom they supposedly hate on the one hand the Pharisees with whom they flirt on the other hand the Herodians and make the Roman power their executioner. But then notice in the fourth place the substance of the question. Having looked at the circumstances of the question the specific people who raised it Pharisees and Herodians

The Trap Laid: The Dilemma for Jesus

20:59 the real intention of the question now notice the substance of the question in verses 14 and 15a And when they were come they say unto him Teacher, we know you are true and care not for anyone for you regard not the person of men but of a truth teach the way of God. Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? Shall we give or shall we not give? Now in opening up the substance of the question you will notice first of all there is a preface and it is a preface to their question for in the parallel passage Luke says they asked him saying and then this preface follows So you see this preface was a lead in to the question itself Now try to put yourself into the situation Here the Lord Jesus in the temple precincts continues to be the central figure The common people are hearing him gladly He has just shamed the representative group from the Sanhedrin He has spoken parables which they know are intended to expose them for who they are They have slinked away They have had their little caucus And now another group returns and I wonder

22:27 if those younger disciples of the Pharisees did not come in the guise of eager disciples with upturned faces and while unashamedly burying the distinctive marks of the Pharisaic sect they appeared to be very earnest and farrier in their reproach That's why Luke says they feigned themselves to be righteous and what can be more righteous than to come with honest questions of morality and truth to Jesus Christ with a view that knowing the will of God we might do it and putting themselves in the posture of earnest while all the while they preface their question with these words of excessive but accurate flattery They say basically two things to our Lord They say first of all We know that you are true That's a statement about his character We know that in your character you are a true man as opposed to a false or duplicitous man

23:52 We know that you in your character are true and as a result of this since out of the heart the mouth speaks we know that as a public teacher you teach only the way of God accurately You are a true man who teaches the truth of God and inserted between those two things are two negatives which would neutralize that reality If a man is a true man and speaks the way of God then these things are always true of him that he does not care for anyone That is he does not show a regard to anyone's person that will alter his honest dealing with truth He doesn't make truth a nose of wax to be compressed or stretched flattened or contoured so as to please those who are before him For you regard not the person of men that is you do not look upon the faces of men and if you see them all frowning you play to the gallery of men and give them something that will turn their frowns to smiles and if they are smiling you continue to pile on what you know will increase their smiles

25:19 You see when a public teacher regulates what he says but what he sees in men's faces he ought to be driven from his place of public teaching A man who is called upon to speak God's truth must be prepared to speak it as Jeremiah did God says I'll make your forehead like brass though they will not heed you and hark to you and though they will oppose and it is a true man the word of God and teach the way of God Truthfully that means he does not regard men's persons as to their background and station He does not alter his presentation of truth as he looks into men's faces So they preface their question with this deceptive flattering statement which in all of its parts was absolutely true But now the heart of their question That's their preface Now the heart of their question It has really two parts They ask him to make a judgment and to give a directive

26:47 Notice They ask him to make a judgment Is it law? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? Jesus of Nazareth Make a pronouncement for us Make a judgment on this ethical and moral issue Is it according to divine laws who owes to Jehovah God of Israel should pay taxes unto Caesar This one who with his armies has overrun our nation and has control of our nation Is it according to the law who should pay taxes tribute unto Caesar Now this was a very agitated question among the Jews If you'll turn to Acts 5 and verse 37 you'll get a hint of just how agitated it was This is only one reference but the secular historian Josephus records many more But in Acts 5.37 we read After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the enrollment That is, when they were making a census

28:14 with a view to taxing Israelites and drew away some of the people after him he also perished and all as many as obeyed him were scattered abroad So there were various men who were zealots for the religious independence of Israel who said no to pay taxes to this heathen foreign government especially in coinage that has his image upon it and even the scribes' divine titles to him is to negate our distinctive covenantal relationship to Jehovah as our God and King We will not pay the taxes And as a result some of them were even killed for their convictions So this was no new question This was one of the questions we had when the rabbis would stand around and talk as Tevye says in Fiddler on the Roof that best of all if he were a rich man he could stand there in the synagogue and with the holy books and the holy men seven hours a day he could discuss rabbinical questions Well, this would be one of the questions that Tevye and his buddies would talk about hour after hour after hour after hour Shall we give taxes to the Tsar or shall we not? Well, this was the question that they raised and they want Jesus to give them a judgment on this moral issue

29:43 Is it lawful or unlawful? Then they seek a specific directive Verse 15 Shall we give or shall we not give? They want a moral judgment but they also want an explicit pronouncement carrying judgment into a concrete directive Is it lawful or unlawful? Shall we give?

30:10 You see that? In a sense it's one question but these were clever doctors of the law If you think you're confused by some of the legalese and the language used in the senate hearings for our judges you should just be dumbed down amidst a bunch of rabbis debating over technicalities of Rabbi Ben Ezra and Rabbi Ben somebody else Well, this is the climate in which they come with their question and they want to know Is it lawful? If so, tell us to pay them If not, pay them Make your directive explicit based upon your judgment Now, that construction of the question fit their intention to make a net to make a trap to give an occasion to grab hold of it and turn him over to the ruling authorities who in turn will hand him over to the governor who in turn will get rid of him Well, look at the situation If he says in answer to the first question Yes, it is according to God's law should be paid to Ezra and on the basis of its lawfulness you

31:35 Now, what will that do immediately to the Pharisaic group who have come to ask the question? They will say Aha! We've got the goods on him He is not a loyal Jew He is fundamentally in line with the Roman rule and with the Roman government and all of this Jewish excitement about him and this adulation and messianic recognition No! He will be king of the Jews He will put every other rule and every other authority So if this man says Pay taxes to Caesar Support Caesar He can't be Messiah Because Messiah is going to come and bash him They are not going to support him with taxes So they figured Aha! If we get him to say It's lawful Pay your taxes We Pharisees We've got the goods on him Now, if he says It is not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar For do not pay your taxes to Caesar There were the Herodians The people that were buddy-buddy with Herod

33:04 What would they do? Aha! They'd take the news back and say We've got another one of those rabble-rouser Jews Who's stirring up anarchy Who's advocating revolting against So that he would join the one described in Acts chapter 5 And he and his followers would be blotted out So you see they thought they really had him Once again they had sharpened two horns of the dilemma And they said We're going to impale Jesus on one or the other And there ain't no way out We've got him now We've got him now! And one can only imagine The sense of triumphalism That they must have had to keep down With the greatest exercise of self-control After giving the semblance of being honest seekers We know you are true You teach the way of God In truth We are humble, earnest seekers after truth Will you help us to know what is right? Will you give us a directive? Jesus takes the bait And inwardly one can almost see them setting the hook Fixing their drag and starting to reel him in Can you feel it? Can you sense it?

Jesus' Discerning Answer: Command, Question, Command

34:24 And the crowd is listening This is a question they've heard before How will Jesus respond? And that brings us now Having looked at the question raised To consider secondly The question answered 15b to 17a The question answered And in the answer to the question We have the context of the answer And then the substance of the answer See what Mark tells us As to the context of Jesus' answer 15b But he, knowing their hypocrisy Said unto them Why do you make trial of me? The context of his answer Is one in which Mark points To the present knowledge of Jesus And to the withering question of Jesus You see that? As he begins to respond He is fully aware Of their gross and sickening hypocrisy But he Knowing Their Matthew says in Matthew 22.18

35:47 That he perceived their wickedness And Luke 20.23 says He perceived their craftiness The very word used Of the devil's seduction of Eve In 2 Corinthians 11.3 So Jesus was fully cognizant Of their hypocrisy Their wickedness And their craftiness He saw Made of hypocrisy Wickedness And craftiness And in the context of his answer He raises a withering question Fully conscious of these things He says why? Why do you put me to the test? Why are you making a trial of me? To let them know That he is on to them And just when they were about to set the hook And fix their drag And start reeling in The pole drops out of their hand And their mouths fly open We have enfooled him Oh if one could have taken a thermometer And laid it on the cheeks Those days I think the mercury Would have gone right out the end And busted the bomb

37:16 What expulsion! He listens to them Takes them at their apparent Sincere open desire And his first response Out of a full knowledge Of the depth of the wickedness Of their heart Is he says I'm on to you guys You haven't fooled me Why are you making trial of me? That's the preface Of the question answered Now the substance of his answer Notice It breaks down into command Question and command Jesus' answer to the question Is command Question Question command First of all a command Bring me a denarius That I may see it Now what in the world was a denarius? Well here we are greatly helped Because we are told By those who study these things That there are many Of the coins of this very era Extant today In other words you can actually see them in a museum I've seen photographs of them And drawings of them The real McCoy The real denarius And it's a coin about the size of a dime Minted in silver With some alloy to give it strength And it was the equivalent

38:42 Of a common unskilled laborer's Day's wages We know that from such a passage As Matthew 20 and verse 2 Where in a parable Jesus talks about The man sending people To work in his vineyard For a denarius for the day So if you want to take the minimum wage law Or think of what is paid To those who Migrant farmers who pick crops Unskilled temporary labor That was a common laborer's Unskilled laborer's wage For one day And that denarius was a very common coin Because we do Have some in our hands And can examine them And not only was it a common coin In general But it was particularly common Because it was the coin designated For the head tax Of every Israelite living in Palestine Remember around the birth of Jesus That Mary and Joseph went up To be enrolled at Bethlehem Well taking of that census Was not just to have the figures It was to levy taxes If you think They want your social security number Assigned and on record Just to know who you are You're kidding It is against the day When they can begin to make claims

40:10 Against you in the form of taxes The government was no different then It rendered services And for those services It levied a tax So every Israelite was to pay One denarius a year As a head tax For the privilege Of living under the Roman rule Remember these people Had come up to Jerusalem From many parts of Palestine They didn't build those roads And keep those roads And repair them They were being repaired By Roman government These people had come With an intention That Jesus would be ensnared Handed over to the powers And to the governor Who was supporting the governor And the powers Rome was So the denarius Was a common coin Commonly circulated And so Jesus says And again one can only imagine The electricity That must have gone through the crowd When after letting them know He was on to them He does not take out a denarius Which he might have possessed But he says Bring me a denarius That I may see it And someone goes off obviously Gets a denarius Brings it back And then says And then Jesus in his response Asks a simple question Notice it Bring me a denarius And they brought it And he said unto them

41:39 Whose is this image And superscription Whose image is on the denarius And whose the inscription Or the writing On this particular coin And the answer was very clear Caesars It was Caesars image Who was stamped That was stamped upon the coin And the reigning Caesar When any coinage was made Under his reign His image would be stamped On the front of the coin But on the reverse side These words would be found I am giving you them in English Tiberius Caesar Augustus Son of divine Augustus Highest priest So that stamped upon every denarius Was not only the image of Caesar Augustus In that day But also on the reverse side The words attributing at least semi divinity In the terms son of divine Augustus And divinity in terms of being the medium of access To the gods highest And they could see that Right there in the temple As our Lord no doubt took the denarius

43:07 And held it up and said Whose image Turned it around and said Whose the inscription And they answered Caesars Both the image and the inscription Focus upon Caesar His identity His person His self proclaimed position Well then our Lord gives a command The command bring a denarius The question whose image Now the command with two distinct But inseparable parts Look at the text And Jesus said unto them Not give That's the word they used Ditto me Give Jesus did not say Give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's And unto God the things that are God's But he used the word translated In our version render Which has almost universally The connotation in the New Testament Of paying back as a debt So while they said Shall we give As a matter of free and voluntary donation Jesus says pay back As a debt and an obligation

44:34 What are they to pay back They are to pay back To Caesar The things that are Caesar's Now listen carefully dear people This is vital And though we'll not open up The far reaching implications Of this text this morning None of those implications Will carry your conscience Unless you grasp the text itself Jesus says in essence Do you have Caesar's coinage In your hands As a convenient medium of exchange Do you have Caesar's army And his court And his crosses available By which to get rid of me Did you have Caesar's robes By which to come to Jerusalem At Passover feast Well if you have the benefits Of Caesar's provisions Made and secured At Caesar's expense Then surely it is lawful For you to pay back to Caesar That which he justly asks of you And our Lord recognizes

46:02 In the midst of Palestine The legitimacy of Caesar's Position of power And his right to levy His taxes Even without representation Do you see that in the text It is an imperative Back to Caesar Whatever belongs to Caesar And since you've got Caesar's coins You obviously have accepted Living under the rule of Caesar With the privileges and protection Of that rule And even the availability Of a means of getting rid of me Sure pay him for the privilege Of having his soldiers arrest me And put me on one of his crosses You don't want to even crucify me Without paying for it do you Render to Caesar The things that are Caesar's But then The second but inseparable part Pay back to God The verb carries on Into the second category of obligation Pay back to God The things that are God's There is one supreme creator Lawgiver benefactor and judge

47:29 To him is owed supreme allegiance Of what Of love Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God With all thy heart mind Soul and strength He is worthy of trust And honor and obedience Now if the inscription On the denarius Is an implied call To acknowledge Caesar As divine Ignore it Caesar has a right To tell you Give me a denarius For the privilege Of the use of my roads And my protection But Caesar has no right To ask you to acknowledge him As son of divine Augustus And highest priest You are all sons By creation Of the father in heaven And I as the great high priest Am about to go To the cross And offer up a sacrifice For sin Once for all Don't give to Caesar What is God Render to God The things that are God's And if Caesar requires Anything for himself That God has not assigned To give it to him But all that is his legitimate sphere To ask You owe as a debt to Caesar And all that God requires

The Reaction to Jesus' Answer: Amazement, Frustration, Retreat

48:54 You owe as a debt to God You see there's the teaching Of the passage And I refrain from application Because I want you to grasp The weight of the words of Jesus Now the question was raised We looked at its setting The people who asked it The intention The substance The question answered Its context Its substance Question Command Now look at the reaction To Jesus' answer 17c And they marveled greatly at him That compound verb One of Mark's favorites In a form which points To a pattern of response Not an initial response That faded But one that broke in upon them And continued They were utterly amazed at him His wisdom His knowledge The ones who came as spies Who came saying To be righteous Determined to ensnare him Even they are astounded At how easily he slipped off The horns of their dilemma And penetrated to the heart Of a question That they had heard The rabbis debate at him And he opened up A perspective

50:21 That sent them away Utterly amazed Who could argue with what he said How could a Pharisee say Well he's in line with the Herodians When he said everything That is owed to God In terms of his revealed will How can a Pharisee fault him How could a Herodian fault him When he said Caesar has just claims And you are in debt To pay those claims So the Pharisee went back Empty handed He had no net To ensnare Jesus The Herodian went back Empty handed He had no net To ensnare Jesus They were utterly amazed And add to the testimony Of Mark That of Matthew And of Luke And you find not only amazement But turn over to Matthew For a moment please Matthew 22 And see the response Is recorded by Matthew Verse 22 And when they heard it They marveled And left him And went away And now over to Luke chapter 20 Verse 22 And verse 26 Luke 20 26 And they were not able To take hold of the saying Before the people And they marveled at his answer

51:48 And held their peace So what Putting all this together Was their reaction There was amazement All three mentioned that Then there was frustration They couldn't construct the net Out of his words They couldn't set the hook Set the drag And start reeling The line was broken And the fish was gone So they were amazed They were frustrated And then they retreated In defeat They left him Now that's the passage There's the teaching I hope you've been able To relive something Of the setting of it To feel The context In which This exchange Went on Now what does it say To all of us Sitting here This morning Well I reserve My time For a moment To reflect On the things That have happened Well I reserve The opening up Of the broad Implications Of Jesus' answer In terms of This whole question Of the Christian's Relationship To the state And I may bring A separate message Based on this text Demonstrating That this text Sets the whole Framework For everything That unfolds In the rest Of the New Testament Concerning the question Of the relationship Of a believer Under Godless God Or a Christian Or a Christian Or a Christian Or a Christian But from the immediate Setting

Application 1: The Sickening Exposure of Human Sinfulness in Empty Religion

53:16 There are several Lines of application That are absolutely Vital And towards Those I direct Your attention This morning And the first One is this Consider From this Incident The sickening Exposure Of human Sinfulness When clothed With a thin Veneer Of empty Religion Consider From this Incident The sickening Exposure Of human Sinfulness When clothed With a thin Veneer Of empty Religion Who was it That appointed These men As spies With an intent To ensnare Him Yet Saw That if they Were to Ensnare Him They had To send Them in The guise Of humble Disciples In Israel The people Who were to Be the Guardians Of truth And of Piety And of Righteousness Are now The schoolers And the Instructors In lies And duplicity All as A conduit For the Murderous Hatred In their Hearts That says We Must be Rid Of Jesus You see The Pharisees Because their Religion

54:45 Was all Codes And scruples And rules And rituals And beneath Their codes And scruples And rules And rituals Jesus said They were Like Whitewashed Sepulchers Their hearts Were full Of uncleanness And malice And pride And every Other form Of abominable Sin Culminating In this Murderous Son of God And over That horrible Sin Was this Thin veneer Of empty Religion And there Were the Herodians Only as Much Religion As would Make them Acceptable In their Existing Society That would Give them Political Favor But allow Them to Be Sensual And as I was Out running Yesterday Meditating On the Passage I said Lord How can I illustrate It and Not be Coarse Or uncouth And this Is the Illustration That I Determined To use And I Checked It out With my Wife And she Felt It was

56:15 A bullion Dripping With tobacco Juice That you Spat upon It before You handed It to Them That's What this Crowd Kept They come With a Gold Bullion Of this Vindication Of Christ Integrity In his Person And in His Position As a Public Teacher That's Exactly What you Are If all You have Is a Thin Veneer Of empty Religion Over a Heart That has Never Seen Its Sin Never Been Humbled By the Knowledge Of its Union With Adam In the Horrible Apostasy Of the Trinity Of Divine Wrath And Judgment Blessing Your Fileness And the Felt Pain Of Conviction Of Sin You have Fled To Christ

57:43 And have Seen In the Immolated Forsaken Son Of God Buried Beneath The load Of Divine Wrath Upon The Cross Your Only Self Battered And broken At His Feet And clung To Him Alone For Life And Salvation So that Now Having Beheld His Glory Having Seen His Suitableness To Your Need You Trust Him In Trusting Him You Love Him Loving Him In The Deepest Subsoil Of Your Heart And what I See And Others See When You Open Your Mouth To Sing A Hymn When You Bow Your Head To Pray When You Shake Hands With The Brethren Is Not A Fin Veneer Of It sickens him. It makes him say, Why do you make trial of me?

59:11 Sing with your honeyed lips when your heart is unchanged.

Application 2: The Venomous Hatred of Formal Religionists Against Truth

59:24 Consider in the second place that this passage lays before us the venomous hatred of formal religionists when exposed by a true man speaking God's truth truthfully. Consider from this passage the venomous hatred of formal religionists when exposed by a true man speaking God's truth truthfully. You see, their whole mission is part of the plot to get rid of Jesus. That's the one thing they're committed to.

60:06 It's the thing that draws the heron who is normally at the throes of the Pharisee draws them into the closet and into their huddles of horrible plotting in deception sends them spies let's catch him in his words let's drip honey with our lips.

60:27 And why do they have such hatred to Jesus? Because of the very thing they said about him. We said, we know you are true. You're a true man.

60:35 There's no duplicity in you. And you speak God's truth truthfully. And in so doing, what had he done? He'd laid bare the rotten sham of the Pharisees and he had laid bare the worldliness of the Herodians.

60:50 Jesus Christ stands in constant condemnation against all formalism in which ritual and rules and mere external forms and ceremonies are the essence of religion. And he stands equally against those who have just so much religion as they think will make them successful and wealthy and advance their political career. And if that's so, Jesus Christ is sick at 99% of American religion. Take away the Pharisaic externalism and the health, wealth and prosperity and apple pie and hot dogs forever and the stars and stripes forever religion and there's precious little left.

61:41 And Jesus carnates it.

61:46 That's why they said we've got to get rid of him.

61:49 Because a true man speaking God's truth is a true man. We'll bring both Pharisee and Herodian to see that there's no sympathy between his religious principles and the way of life as revealed in Jesus Christ. And my friends, listen. With all the failures and sins and shortcomings and imbalances and use any other word that fits of those of us who stand in this pulpit, there is one thing, one thing that we are determined by the grace of God to be a true man.

62:24 And that is to be a true man. And that's true men speaking the word of God truthfully. And that's why people who don't want heart religion usually don't last long around here.

62:35 And now some of you may have unusual endurance.

62:41 That's right. Judas had unusual endurance. He could be at the side of...

62:48 for three years.

62:53 But the truth finally came out under the right circumstances. And my friend, listen.

62:59 Most times, though sometimes not till judgment, if you've got something less than heart religion under the ministry of true men teaching the way of God truthfully, you'll find an occasion to want to get rid of that true man. And if you can't get rid of him, you'll just get away from him and you'll find a good excuse.

63:21 The chemistry's just not right. Well, the church is too big. Church is too small. Preaching's too long.

63:30 Preaching's too short. Preaching's too soft. It's not animated. It's dull.

63:34 Preaching's too live. You see, what are those? It's a silk screen. Because you don't want your heart laid bare.

63:45 I know sitting in that pew week after week any man that stands in this pulpit whom I have reason to believe is a true man who handles that word truthfully. I'm in his debt. And he's my friend.

64:01 Is that the disposition of your heart? Consider in this passage the venomous hatred of formal religionists when exposed by a true man speaking truth but then...

Application 3: The Glory of Christ in His Knowledge, Moral Courage, and Wisdom

64:13 And then I want to close on this positive note. Consider in this passage the glory of Christ in his knowledge, his moral courage and his wisdom. The glory of Christ in his knowledge, his moral courage and his wisdom. His knowledge.

64:35 All of their plots and all of their machinations and all of their clever schemes. They thought they had really completely sold. Buried the hook that he'd never see it. And before the minnow even got into water he says, Hey guys, you're putting a hook in your minnow no sense throwing it my direction.

64:56 Why do you make all of me... Was it that this was an instance where in terms of his divine nature he saw them in their caucus, heard their every word?

65:10 Or was this an exercise of the gift of discernment given by the Spirit as promised to Messiah I do not know but this much I know that this is the same Jesus who says to all the churches I know your works. Dear people if you really believe this what a difference it would make in our worship. We cannot fool him. He knows us.

65:38 He knows us to the depth of the intentions and the first motions of the heart. Saw through the flattery and the sham. But can we not see the glory of our Savior bursting forth in his knowledge, but then also in his moral courage?

66:01 In his moral courage, he called them hypocrites to their faces.

66:07 He said, why do you make trial of me? And Matthew adds that he said, you hypocrites! He had the moral courage and fortitude to look them straight in the eye and told them what they were. They had just said, you don't regard the faces of men.

66:24 He said, I'll condemn you from your own mouth. I don't regard your faces, you're hypocrites. Oh, what a beautiful thing is moral courage in a man. In a woman, too.

66:37 But oh, what a sickening thing is a man made in God's image and professing to be remade after the image of God through the virtue and dynamics of the grace of Christ, who has no moral courage, who cannot look people in the eye and tell them what they need to be told. What a sickening thing is a father who has no moral courage to stand up against his own children. A husband with no moral courage to stand up against his wife where necessary.

67:12 But oh, our blessed Lord Jesus never lacked in moral courage. Tenderness, compassion, patience, yes, but moral courage. And then, behold, glory of our Lord, not only in his knowledge, his moral courage, but in his wisdom. In answering as he did, he utterly silenced them.

67:36 And not only silenced them, but here's the tidbit for the next message. In silencing the Herodians and the Pharisees, Jesus gave a statement. Give what is due to Caesar unto Caesar. Give what is due to Caesar unto Caesar.

67:56 Give what is due to Caesar unto Caesar. Give what is due to God unto God. He set the framework for the vexing question of the dual responsibilities of his followers as they would go out now among all the Gentile nations. He had just predicted that.

68:15 The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to another nation. And wonder of wonders in his wisdom, he articulates right at that point, the very seedbed out of which grows the whole biblical doctrine of the Christians' responsibilities to God and to the state in a pluralistic and evil world. What but incarnate wisdom could do that? Take a question aimed at nailing him and snaring him and answer in such a way that he sets the framework for the conduct of his people until the end of the age.

68:59 Oh, the wisdom of our blessed Lord. What a wonderful Savior.

Concluding Exhortation: Know Christ and Live Authentically

69:06 Oh, my friend, do you know him? Or are you still going after him in your heart like these Pharisees and these Herodians? If you do not know him, I trust that the Spirit has shown you something of his glory that will keep you restless until you do know him. And dear people of God, having known him, you can look to the point, I hope, of even conscious nausea at the sight of human sinfulness when clothed with a thin veneer of empty religion that we will cry to God that we will be true men and true women and that we will render only true and heart worship and have true and honest dealings with our Savior that we may please him who continued in his life his faithfulness to these men not deliberately to provoke them but being true to his mission continued to confront them until they said enough is enough away, crucify him. And they found in one who was supposed to be one of his closest followers a willing corroborator.

70:29 May you never be a Judas who will betray the Son of God for some time until He will return. And may you be the second to be to be your God when you finished the life for the first time. May God bless you with the eternal life of the Holy Spirit and the eternal life of the church of God. Father and Son, as you have said we thank you again for your wonderful work for your unique work for your new work of creation for the Lord for the great cause for you, carte rn and for your many great works and for your knowledge wisdom. We thank you that those attributes were most marvelously displayed when he continued in that path that led to Gethsemane and to Golgotha. And we thank you that he is now the wisdom and power of God to every believing sinner. Do speak to those who are yet strangers to the knowledge of him. Give them no rest or peace until they know him in that saving knowledge which is life

71:42 eternal. Seal then your word to every heart, we pray in his dear name. Amen.