No one likes to run into someone who tries to trick or trap them, getting them to do or say something that might incriminate them, and bring them down. We see this frequently in politics. One side plots and connives, and often they get the media to also try to trap their opponent. This also sometimes happens in the business world, and sometimes among religious leaders, as well. This is what we see happen to the Lord Jesus in our Gospel Scripture passage this week. Let’s look at what was said and how Jesus responded.
Those who are godly and righteous will frequently face opposition and attack. It was no different for the Lord Jesus. As we read through the Gospels we see the Pharisees always coming against Him in disapproval, and sometimes even in very strong opposition. This time two groups of enemies joined forces to plot and scheme to trap Jesus (vs. 15-16). The Pharisees were a religious party that most Bible readers are familiar with. They were a very strict, conservative group that rigorously followed every item in the Law of Moses, even adding more laws than God ordained in the Scriptures. They also strongly opposed the Roman occupation of their homeland.
The Herodians were a Jewish political party, not a religious party, like the Pharisees or Sadducees were. They supported the Roman-backed Herodian dynasty. Since the Pharisees hated Rome, the Herodians probably consisted mainly of the Sadducees, which were a more liberal group, which did not believe in angels, the resurrection, or many miracles. The fact that these two groups conspired together to entrap Jesus shows how deeply they both hated Him, and thought Him a threat.
When the representatives of the Pharisees and Herodians came to the Lord, they first sought to flatter Him. Frequently when one group tries to entrap and bring down someone, they will use flattery to put them at ease, and perhaps unsuspecting of the treachery to come. The Pharisees were not motivated by love of God, nor the Herodians by love or loyalty to Caesar or Rome.
The entrapment they came up with consisted of whether Jesus supported paying taxes to Rome, and they asked Him if taxes to the Emperor was right or not (vs. 17). Israel, being an occupied land, had to pay heavy taxes to Rome. The Pharisees didn’t like that, and only reluctantly paid. They felt anyone who supported that was a traitor to God and the Jewish people. The Herodians, on the other hand, felt if someone opposed the taxes, that was treason against Caesar. So whichever way Jesus answered, He would be in trouble, and one group or the other could bring Him down. If Jesus answered “no”, the Herodians could charge Him with treason. If He said “yes”, the Pharisees could accuse Him of disloyalty to the Jewish nation, and He would lose support among the people.
Jesus was not gullible or naïve. He knew what they were doing (vs. 18). He asked to see one of the coins used to pay the taxes. They brought Him a denarius, which would be equivalent to a day’s wage for a laborer. That coin showed the face of Tiberius Caesar (Roman emperor from AD 14 - AD 37) on one side, and him seated on the throne on the other side (vs. 19-21). If their commerce, and the money they used each day came from Caesar, then he could have some of it back.
Our citizenship in the nation they live in requires that we pay money for the services and benefits that we receive. Our citizenship as believers in the Kingdom of Heaven requires that we pledge to God our primary obedience and commitment. Caesar’s image is stamped on the coin. God’s image is stamped on the person. The Christian is to render obedience to Caesar in Caesar’s realm (Romans 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13-17). However, the things that are God’s do not belong to Caesar, and are to be given only to God (vs. 21).
These two enemy groups were silenced by Jesus’ answer. They were silenced, but their evil hearts were not changed. They would continue to look for opportunities to entrap Jesus and to destroy Him.
No comments:
Post a Comment