Rendering Appropriately
12:13-17
This confrontation involves the Pharisees and the Herodians. They were typically enemies. The Herodians cooperated with the family of Herod, which ruled different parts of the area as Roman surrogates (though not Judea at this time). The Pharisees wanted to get ride of Roman rule and restore the kingdom of Israel. Yet, they were joined here in opposition to Jesus.
Again they came at him with a trap. (13) They began with flattery. (14) Ironically, everything they said about Jesus was true. Yet, they did not mean it. Jesus knew that, which is why Mark wrote that Jesus knew their hypocrisy. (15)
The trap involved whether the Jews should pay taxes to Rome (Caesar).
The history behind this situation is helpful to understanding it. When Herod the Great died, he was allowed to divide that kingdom among his sons. Archelaus was given the area of Judea and Samaria. However, Archelaus did not succeed as a ruler. In response, the Romans took over direct rule of the area in 6 A.D. A procurator was appointed. He reported directly to the Roman emperor. And, the Romans imposed taxes.
The tax was one denarius, one day’s wage. It was a Roman silver coin. One side bore the image of Tiberius Caesar with an inscription calling him the “Son of the Divine Augustus”. The other side bore an image of Tiberius’s mother, Livia, with an inscription “Pontifex Maximus”, which means high priest.
You can see why the coin was offensive to observant Jews, as it conveyed deity to the emperor. Payment of the tax was offensive as a reminder of Roman rule over Judea.
The point of the trap was to create a dilemma from which Jesus could not escape. If he said to pay taxes, he would alienate many in the crowds, especially the Pharisees and the Zealots. If he said do not pay taxes, they would report him to the Romans and have him arrested for insurrection.
Jesus recognized the trap and called them out for it. (15) So, he gave them an object lesson. (An object lesson is the use of a physical object to teach an abstract principle.) He took a coin and asked them whose image and inscription was on the coin. They verified it was Caesar’s (Tiberius). See the coin below.
So Jesus told them to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. (17)
What did Jesus mean by this? First, he recognized that there is authority in government on earth. Governmental authorities are in place by the will of God. Romans 13:1-7 contains a good explanation of this from the Apostle Paul. Paul said governmental authorities have been instituted by God. We are to obey them, including the payment of taxes.
But, governments are not sovereign over all things, God is. Therefore, there are limits to what governments can do and expect of their citizens. God is to be worshipped and obeyed. This is true even if the state objects.
The Sadducees Test Jesus
12:18-27
The next group to test Jesus was the Sadducees. They did not believe in resurrection. Since Jesus had spoken of his own resurrection, they were at odds in this belief. So, they chose that topic to test Jesus.
Their scenario was a woman whose husband dies without giving her children. The Old Covenant law required his brother to marry her and give her children. This was called Leverage marriage. (Deuteronomy 25:5-10) The purpose was to continue the deceased man’s family name in Israel and to protect the family’s property rights.
Six brothers marry her and none give her children. When they all die and are resurrected, who of the seven will be her husband since they had all married her?
In logic, this approach is called “reductio ad absurdism” fallacy. It is an attempt to prove a position or argument false by making absurd conclusions and misapplying the original premise.
Here the Sadducees want to show that resurrection is a false and ridiculous idea by creating this absurd, seemingly unsolvable problem.
Jesus rebutted their argument by showing they began with a false premise. They assumed that resurrection life will be just like earthly life with people marrying and having children. Jesus corrected them by saying they will not marry in heaven. They will be like the angels in this regard. (25)
Jesus went on to say that God is the God of the living, citing the scripture where God tells Moses he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Exodus 3:6) Note that he cited from the Torah (the first 5 books), which was the only scripture the Sadducees accepted.
All of those Jesus listed died a physical death before the time of Moses. They, in fact, are living on in spirit and will experience resurrection of the body on the last day. And the promises God made to them were still in force, not ended by death because they were still living.
Jesus said the Sadducees did not know the Scriptures nor the power of God. They did not know scripture that taught existence after physical death, and therefore, resurrection. They did now know the power of God to defeat death. But Jesus would not only declare it, he would live it, being resurrected after his crucifixion.
No comments:
Post a Comment