Matthew 22:15-33

Matthew 22:15-33

The day after the temple’s purification is the day of the most aggressive, intellectual conflict between Jesus and the united front opposing him. Jesus will face two challenges that seemed impossible to overcome. These were long-lasting conflicts in that day, highly divisive and intended to undermine Jesus's popularity and possibly remove Him from the public influence.

In the highly divisive day we live in we will do well to learn from our master. First, there was a poll tax. This was a direct tax paid by God's chosen people directly to a pagan king with a coin that had an engraved image and inscription of "son of god". This is very unpopular and for many it calls for rebellion. This was no abstract, academic issue. It was a practical heart issue for every devout Jew. If Jesus opposed the tax as a popular leader He could end up on trial as a zealot, a terrorist, and an insurrectionist. If He supported it He would be casting His support to the oppressors and advocating idolatry. The two parties that brought the question to Jesus represent the two horns of the dilemma. Jesus calls them hypocrites. There is the hypocrisy of inconsistent living. Then there is the more egregious form of an insincere motive. Without a doubt both of these are often in the same person. But even if our behaviors are consistent, we are still evil if that happens from insincere motives. In answer to the challenge, Jesus gives this dictum, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." The word “give” in verse 17 and “render” in verse 21 is very different. The first is simply “to give”, but render (v. 21) means “to give back to”. Jesus in essence is saying, "The coin was given to you by Caesar give it back to him." There is a question that was not asked and its absence is tragic and its absence shows the hypocrisy of the question that was asked. The question might be asked this way, "In whose image is man made?" Both parties wanted to compartmentalize life into the sacred and the secular. That allows management and manipulation to our ends. When we see God's image on the whole of life every moment must be given back to Him.

The opposition to Jesus now comes from the Sadducees the theological Left of the day. They believe the soul perished with death. This party accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament Scripture. Passages such as Isaiah 26:19 and Daniel 12:2 that talk about the resurrection were not considered Scripture to the Sadducees. Levirate marriage was an ongoing issue with the practical and theological implications. The test case presented to Jesus appears to have been at least until His day an unanswerable scenario. Jesus attributes their position and question to ignorance of Scripture and the power of God. That was a stinging rebuke. Clearly, the Sadducees knew the Scripture. But they knew it only in a superficial way. The Scriptures were facts and arguments and trivia. They had not allowed Scripture to penetrate into their hearts so that they would know the God of Scripture and His power. A great danger in every generation of believers is to know Scripture superficially but not know the God it reveals. In this way we may end up with a cultural faith attempting to support our point of view by Scripture. When we do this we come to God as if He is our servant doing our bidding, rather than see Him and adore Him as the only reason for life. From the passages that they accept, Jesus shows them that the life-giving God is not subject to death's power.

"Lord, save us from only knowing about You. Rather help us adore You and find in You our reason for being. Amen"