MATTHEW 22

Render to Caesar

MATTHEW 22:1-45

22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.’” 5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 “Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few arechosen.”

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites? 19 “Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They *said to Him, “Caesar's.” Then He *said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘IF A MAN DIES HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER.’ 25 “Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 “Last of all, the woman died. 28 “In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, *a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

44 ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET’”?

45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.

MATTHEW 22:1-10

22:1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. 3 “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.’” 5 “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. 7 “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 “Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ 10 “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests.

A King’s Party

There are some Jewish and middle-eastern cultural nuances that we might readily miss which are central to this story. Let’s examine them in order to give us a fuller picture of Christ’s alluring description of heaven.


The income gap was obscene in Christ’s culture (a sin obviously not limited to his time). Wealthy eastern kings would throw lavish parties that would last for weeks. A wedding feast such as this one could cost millions in contemporary dollars. Yet hospitality was a sign of a king’s power. Such gatherings were not merely social events—but strategic diplomatic events with an opportunity for the host to show just how powerful he was to his guests. He wanted those guests to leave so impressed that they would never consider returning with an army in tow.
Equally to not respond to a King’s invitation would be considered not just arrogant but defiant—even an act of war. Envoys would travel great distances to show their allegiance and respect to the king. With weeks or more of travel behind them, the host would be expected to accommodate guests for lengthy stays. Not only was food and housing given, but guests would also receive the finest clothing and even servants to make their stay comfortable.


Preparations for such an occasion could take months and so it was customary to extend two invitations. One to request that the guest prepare to come and a second invitation for when all the preparations were complete. The king would have to prepare huge amounts of grain, vegetable, fruit and meat. But, with no storage, he would not be able to harvest the fruit asnd vegetables or slaughter the meat until the last moment before the feast.


Preparations might even include preparing roads so that an important guest would not be forced to travel on a rocky footpath. In fact this is how the intricate road system of ancient Rome was built. It was inconceivable that the Emperor would have to travel on common footpaths or shepherd trails, so wherever his envoy was sent a new road was built.


It is important to also remember that this was the role claimed by John the Baptist. He was the envoy heralding the Messiah’s arrival.

Matthew 3:3

For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, 
“THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!’”

The Inconceivable Invitation

The first thing Jesus would like us to grasp is the magnitude of the feast God has in store for us. Even the Emperors of Rome could not hope to emulate the celebration that God longs to offer his faithful. Anything human is but an infinitesimal glimpse of the awesome banquet that our Lord and Savior have in store for us. Imagine the gathering that will lie before us on the day when captives are freed, the wounded restored and the poor sheltered. All the vulnerable of this life will be safe and fed from the Master’s own table. This is at the heart of Christ’s mission statement;

Luke 10:9-10

“And heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”


It was the heart of Isaiah’s promise:

Isaiah 55:1

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” 
It was the heart of the revelation of John:

Revelation 22:17

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost.


The inconceivable aspect is when those invited do not respond to the king’s invitation—twice! Herein lays the most tragic part of story. The king doesn’t just offer the customary number of invitations. In the face of incredible rudeness by the invitees—the king looks beyond their effrontery and offers yet a third invitation!


Even in the face of rejection—God continues to offer his compassionate invitation. Yet he was sill rejected!

Jeremiah 35:15

 “Also I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending {them} again and again, saying: ‘Turn now every man from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them, then you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.”


Finally, God must act. The meat is on the table and the Son’s wedding date has arrived. In an incredible act that defies tradition the highest King in the land opens the door to his inner chambers to beggars and slaves. People who might have eaten meat once annually—if at all—stand in front of a bounty the likes of they would not even presume to dream.


We are that people! We do not even deserve the invitation. We are not royalty, we have no heritage or birthright deserving such luxury. We are street beggars and thieves.


It is not comfortable for many church people to hear—but our churches are filled with either sinners or liars. If that statement makes us uncomfortable—then we really do not understand the extent of God’s invitation to us! We are not invited to God’s side by merit or worth—we are brought forward by compassion.

Acts 13:46-49

46 And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 “For thus the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, that you should bring salvation to the end of the earth.’” 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they {began} rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 And the word of the Lord was being spread through the whole region.


What is the right response to such an inconceivable invitation? Once again, we can turn to John the Baptist who displayed the only appropriate response to our Lord’s invitation; humility.

John 3:29-30

29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full. 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.”


The closer we are to Jesus—the humbler we will become. Only when we are completely humble is Jesus able to become Lord of our lives. Paul speaks about this over and over to the Corinthian Church. A church similar in many ways to our churches here in the United States. They were a church that was wealthy and proud and more concerned with pomp and position than serving the Lord. Paul called them to a new humbleness, deeper service, the end of boasting and to embrace humility:

1 Corinthians 1:27-31

27 “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, 29 that no man should boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 4:10

We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor.

1 Corinthians 9:22-27

22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. 23 And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it. 24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but {only} one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then {do it} to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.

2 Corinthians 11:29-30

29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? 30 If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:10

Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.


The response of a street beggar to a king’s invitation is humility not pride. We do not puff up as if we deserve the invitation, we are humbled. There is no sense of giving credit for this invitation to our own works. If we are able to speak at all it is simply words of praise and thanksgiving.

MATTHEW 22:11-14

11 “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 “For many are called, but few arechosen.”

The Inconceivable Sin

It is so inconceivable to think that, with such an incredible offer of love, we still respond with bold-faced audacity. Here is the inconceivable sin. The Greek’s called it hubris—the ultimate sin of pride. Placing myself above God. This guest thinks that God is lucky to have him preening at the table.


Remember the king not only provided food, housing and clothing for the wedding party but he gave those items to every guest who attended the celebration. To reject the robes offered by the king was to say that his clothing was beneath my dignity. It is similar to us when we say; “I can make it on my own.” Or, as popular saying states, “God helps those who help themselves.”


If we get anything from the Gospels, it should be this; “God helps those who fully embrace humility and fall completely upon his mercy and compassion.”

How the King will clothe us

Only Jesus can clothe us with glory. Only his love makes us “acceptable for the feast.” Only his garment wraps us in a robe of eternal acceptance. Look to scripture for how our God will clothe us with his dignity and worth:

Psalm 132:16-18

16 “Her priests also I will clothe with salvation, and her godly ones will sing aloud for joy. 17 “There I will cause the horn of David to spring forth; I have prepared a lamp for Mine anointed. 18 “His enemies I will clothe with shame, but upon himself his crown shall shine.”

Isaiah 52:1-3

1 Awake, awake, clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city. For the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus says the LORD, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.”

Zechariah 3:3-5

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and standing before the angel. 4 He spoke and said to those who were standing before him, saying, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” Again he said to him, “See, I have taken your iniquity away from you and will clothe you with festal robes.” 5 Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments, while the angel of the LORD was standing by.


Our clothing is the sin and pride that we have put upon ourselves during this life. The clothing of the Lord is the humility and grace in which we will find complete freedom and salvation in his name. Whose clothes would we rather wear?

How to accept the inconceivable invitation

“Many are called; few are chosen.”
The Chief Priests would have suffered apoplexy over this statement. They thought of themselves as “called and chosen.” Their belief was that they had an undeniable, inherited place at the table. Yet, Christ makes a categorical distinction between being called and being chosen. In other words; we can be called and not chosen.


Those called but not chosen in this story include those who; a) rejected the invitation to celebrate the son’s wedding—Jesus as the Groom of the Church—and b) the man who thought his clothes were better than what the King had to offer.


To make sure we are “at the banquet” when invited, we need to recognize that we are not the center of the Universe and there is a greater power than us.

In the last study, we saw that making Jesus our Lord (the cultural term that a Jewish bride at Christ’s time would use for her husband) is more than a verbal statement. It must be a life of complete obedience. Jesus gave prostitutes and traitors preeminence over the disobedient “believer” (the son who said “yes” but refused to do his Father’s bidding [Matt 21:28-32]). To be chosen and called is to accept the invitation and to put on the robe (the way) of Jesus.

Root out any false assumption that our clothing (our actions, our outward signs of faith, possessions or positions) is good enough to wear before God. We are clothed in sin… Period. Thus our response to the invitation of the King must be pure and absolute humility. Nothing we can wear, do or say will earn us the invitation that has been freely extended to us by God.

The overlooked role

There is one group often overlooked in this story. It is probably the most important role that we, as Christ’s servants, must adopt as our own. Of course, we are not to be like the guests who rejected the invitation nor are we to be like the man who thought his clothes were better than the Lord’s clothes. One might think that we are to be like the grateful guests sitting at the feast of splendor. Yet, the overlooked role is that of the servants who go out to the streets to extend the King’s invitation.


That is the role that Christ calls his disciples to fulfill:

Matthew 20:26-28

26 “It is not so among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Matthew 23:11-12

11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.”

John 12:26

 “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall My servant also be; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”


Clearly, the servant who is sent into the street is the premier role to which we should aspire in the banquet of our Lord. It is the role that the Chief Priests, Pharisees and Herodians neglected. It is the role to which we are called and chosen;

Matthew 10:6-8

6 “…Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 “Heal {the} sick, raise {the} dead, cleanse {the} lepers, cast out demons; freely you received, freely give.”

Luke 9:1-2

1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to perform healing.

Luke 10:1-2

1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Acts 1:8

 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”


Paul himself chooses this role as his only proper title. He is the Bond-Servant or “purchased slave” of Jesus Christ. The term applies to a servant who was bankrupt and had to sell his life in service to the master to pay an unredeemable debt. Paul says that that is his role in God’s kingdom;

1 Corinthians 9:19

For though I am free from all {men,} I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more.

Romans 1:1

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called {as} an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. (NAS)

Galatians 1:10

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

Titus 1:1

Paul, a bond-servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness.


In addition, look who else welcomes the claim of bond-servant of Jesus Christ:

James 1:1

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad, greetings.

2 Peter 1:1

Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:

Jude 1:1

Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:

Revelation 1:1

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated {it} by His angel to His bond-servant John,

Revelation 15:3

And they sang the song of Moses the bond-servant of God and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and marvelous are Thy works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of the nations.”


There are some who might consider the role of bond-servant to be drudgery. Those who would rather feast at the banquet than be sent out into the streets. However our greatest joy is not in being served but in serving. Imagine the joy of leading someone to the table! Imagine the tears of joy, of acceptance, or freedom from the slavery of sin experienced by those who have never been to the feast of love before. Repeatedly, I have found there is no greater joy than leading someone whose life is broken by the repetitive habits of sin into the presence of the only one who can fill that emptiness. Christ is the only one who can fill the void of hunger that creates the appetite for sin.


Service is the only natural outgrowth of being invited to the table ourselves. Once we have experienced the joy of our Lord’s banquet—we are unable to hold it internally. The most obvious response to our Lord’s bounteous invitation is to give it away. In gratitude, we become lavish with God’s love. In the exuberance of his joy—we cannot hold anything back!
Humble service is the only way to continued growth as a follower of Christ.

The robe of gratitude

Let us determine to make our lives full of complete gratitude. In this story, we see those who expressed:

1.      Disinterest in the Lord’s invitation.

2.      Who were interested in the bounty—but unwilling to change their behavior (robe).

and

3.      Beggars and sinners who sat at table and said; “Who am I to deserve such an invitation?”

The joy of the Lord belonged only to the last group. Let us determine to express our gratitude by going out and inviting as many as we can to the Lord’s table. There is room for all!


God invites us to the feast. He invites us beyond reason and beyond custom but, in order to eat from his abundance—we must humbly wear his robe and give ourselves as servants. There is no abundance outside of his table and no abundance inside our own efforts. Jesus has our robes ready, robes of light (not white—that is a cultural translation), of purity and focus that shine from within. Jesus reveals to John that those who overcome will be clothed in his robe.

Revelation 3:5

“He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”


Only Jesus can help us to overcome. We can never hope for salvation by our actions or through our righteousness. We are beggars invited to the bounty. The bounty is not a material feast but a feast of love. It is inconceivable love—love we do not deserve.  Humility is the required dress at the Lord’s Table. Humility leads us to availability which leads us to rejoicing and giving God the glory due Him for our salvation.

Revelation 19:7-8

7 “Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.” 8 It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Give to God the things that are God’s.

MATTHEW 22:15-18

15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. 16 And they *sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. 17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?

Evils binding power

Nothing binds evil intentions like the common hatred of something or someone that is good. The Pharisees and the Herodians had a deep hatred for each other—but a deeper-seated hatred for Jesus. The Pharisee’s were legalists who looked down upon any who might compromise their version of religion. The Herodians were pragmatics who regarded the Pharisee’s as simpletons. The Pharisees were against the Roman occupation of Israel while the Herodians supported Herod who was a puppet king of the Roman Emperor.


One of their primary areas of disagreement was paying taxes to Rome. The Pharisees held the populist opinion that paying taxes was religious hypocrisy while the Herodians benefited from the tax system of Rome. It was not difficult to see that both groups felt that by corroborating they could trap Jesus. If Jesus said, “Don’t pay taxes,” the Herodians could have him arrested for sedition. If Jesus said, “Pay taxes,” then the Pharisees would denounce him as a traitor to God’s people.


They were two completely opposing groups bound together by a hatred of the revealing truth of Jesus Christ. One group was ideological committed more to their opinion than to God or his people. The other group was pragmatic more committed to political networking than leading by values. Combined, they excused each other’s “excesses” for the sake of a common enemy; the truth. In this reading both parties dined at the same feast and fed each other candied fancies and the drugged wine of power.


The Herodians and the Pharisees serve not as “bad guys” from the past that we can boo whenever they enter from stage right. They are the potential sinner in each of us today. It is spiritually dangerous to look at any person or group of people and say; “I am glad I am not like them.” Instead, we must ask; “When do I act like that? When do I judge others and excuse my own sinfulness?”


Self-righteous anger comes from ugliness deep within our own souls, we all have the potentiality for it. It is an indication of my weakness and never my strength. The pathology of self-righteousness begins when I think my needs are sacrosanct. It is when my sole concern is based around: “What about me?” “What about my rights?” “What about my self-interests?”


At that point in time I don’t care about the rights of others. The ideologue (Pharisee) in me combines with the pragmatist (Herodian) and I will do anything to get my way. My motto is: “The ends will justify the means.” The two entities within me combine to justify my own sinfulness and undermine others. The Pharisee goes about seeking the offense of others—the Herodian seeks to justify my actions.


The hardest response for each of us is to walk away from these sinful tendencies and respond as Jesus did: “Give the worldly stuff to Caesar, give your heart to God.”


Jesus knew we would also face such attacks as long as we stood by his values. Such attacks are age-old and scripture gives us refreshing advice on how to handle such attacks.

Proverbs 26:4-12

[Prov 26:4] Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. [5] Answer a fool as his folly {deserves} lest he be wise in his own eyes. [6] He cuts off {his own} feet, {and} drinks violence who sends a message by the hand of a fool. [7] {Like} the legs {which} hang down from the lame, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools. [8] Like one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool. [9] {Like} a thorn {which} falls into the hand of a drunkard, so is a proverb in the mouth of fools. [10] {Like} an archer who wounds everyone, so is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by. [11] Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool who repeats his folly. [12] Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. (NAS)

Matthew 5:11-12

[Mt 5:11] “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. [12] “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (NAS)

Matthew 10:16

[Matt 10:16] “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.” (NAS)

Matthew 10:19-20

[Mt 10:19] “But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. [20] “For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” (NAS)

Luke 21:13-15

[Luke 21:13] “It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. [14] “So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; [15] For I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.” (NAS)

Colossians 4:6

[Col 4:6] Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, (as it were) with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. (NAS)


What have we got to do with earthly struggles for power and position? Why would we seek to be vested in this world? In his story of the “Grand Inquisitor,” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, says the first temptation of Christ could be summed up as: “Take my liberty; give me bread.” How often have I sold my liberty for Caesar’s bread? For Caesar’s influence? For Caesar’s trinkets? In essence, Jesus once again faces Satan through the guise of the religious leaders and once again he boldly proclaims: “Take your bread, Caesar, I have God’s liberty.”

The depth of deception

The Pharisees and Herodians knew that Jesus would recognize them and see through their trap. They were even concerned that Jesus would make fools of them once again. This certainly reveals the nature of their spirit. These were backbiters and bullies not men seeking to share or gain truth. I am most like them when I am brave in private and silent in public. They knew they were out of their league with Jesus Christ. So, instead of confronting him personally (risking further humiliation), they sent out students in their stead. “Surely,” they surmised, “his guard will be lowered at the prospect of young disciples seemingly seeking the truth.”


I have dealt with drug dealers who would send out children to do their worst deeds letting kids take the wrap for their vices. That’s the kind of men these Pharisee’s and Herodians were, sinful people just like me.

Well-trained liars

What do you do in a culture where elders teach their pupils to lie? The message taught is clearly: “Get what you need at all costs, lie if you have to, just sugar it with enough truth to swallow.”


The political world of the Pharisees and the Herodians was less than forty years from complete destruction. Was it any wonder that the next generation would be scattered like dust? Yet consider this, if you (like me) are concerned with the shape of our youth then examine the quality of their mentors. Without quality mentors and personal examples of integrity and faith we cannot expect the next generation to develop morality via osmosis. As more and more children are raised by programs, peers and the media, less and less of them will be steeped in the values that formulated some of the basic principles of integrity and respect.


The brood of trained snakes that surrounded Jesus on that day were trained by the world’s slickest liars. They were so good at it that they fooled themselves into believing their cause was righteous. However, they were totally unable to see beyond their own motivation: Flattery. They began their questioning not as practiced attorneys but like ingratiating school children seeking an extra dessert at lunch time. Their plan of attack was sweet talk and feigned innocence. Yet, it completely failed upon the Son of God. Such verbiage never has an impact on someone whose authority is in God and not in other people’s opinions. Their platitudes didn’t lower our Lord’s guard, they raised it. The wiles of men were wasted on him. He was not about to trade his salvation for the false respect of man. “You can keep Caesar’s bread; I’ll take God’s liberty.”

MATTHEW 22:19-22

19 “Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius. 20 And He *said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They *said to Him, “Caesar's.” Then He *said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away.

The Face of God

The Emperor’s face was on the front of the coin that (like a knife’s blade) was handed to Jesus. Underneath the Emperor’s image were the words; “divine, chief priest.” It was the ultimate in human pride that the Caesar’s insisted they be worshipped as gods. This, of course, repulsed the Jewish people, yet they didn’t reject the public works, the roads, and the political protection of the Roman Empire.


Our Lord begins, as He always does with those who are judgmental, by pointing out their own hypocrisy. The question that Jesus asks is a much larger one for us than just; “Who is on the face of this coin?” It is not just about respecting the laws of the land as we are often encouraged to do by biblical writers.

Romans 13:6-8

[Rom 13:6] For because of this you also pay taxes, for {rulers} are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. [7] Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax {is due;} custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. [8] Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled {the} law. (NAS)


Our question is much deeper; “When do we accept the pleasures of sin and yet deny its consequences?”

The man with empty pockets

The underlying threat of the pragmatic Herodians was that Rome will take what we are supposed to give (and more) if we don’t offer our taxes in due time. Alternatively, Jesus had a radical suggestion that even the Pharisee’s had not considered in their attempts to live the perfectly lawful life. Jesus had the only way to free them from their concern regarding money and taxes should they would choose His path:

Matthew 19:21

[Matt 19:21] Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go {and} sell your possessions and give to {the} poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” (NAS)


The word “complete” is also the word for perfect. The term does not mean to be spotless or blameless; it means to be completely attentive. “Telios [NT:5046]” was the term and it meant to be perfectly focused on a longer vision—like a telescope. There is a beautiful irony in realizing that the Son of God did not even carry a purse in his belt and actually had to ask someone else for a coin. Jesus overcomes the two inevitabilities of life! Not only did he overcome death, but, he also overcame taxes. If you don’t have any money, you don’t have to pay taxes.


The person who is in debt only to God is the person who is “perfectly” free.

In God We Trust

On the face of our Nation’s coin is the saying; “In God we trust.” The term was placed upon a number of coins during the Civil War. At the time, deep concern was expressed over the nation’s ability to remain intact through the embittered years ahead. The first official appeal for the change to the coin was sent to Secretary Salmon P. Chase in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was written by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, and read:


Dear Sir:


You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances.


One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.


You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW.


This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.


To you first I address a subject that must be agitated.


In response, Secretary Chase informed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia to develop a motto. The letter was drafted on November 20, 1861 and read:


Dear Sir:


No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.


You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.


Finally, in January of 1867, the mottoes were placed upon coins of the United States.


At first it was just a few coins, primarily one-cent, two-cent and three-cent coins, but with the expansion of the communist threat in the 1950’s, President Eisenhower asked that the motto be extended to paper money as well.
Since then, the motto has been under constant attack (primarily by former Oregonian atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hare and others of the group she founded: American Atheists). Having been unable to prevent the use of the motto in court, they encourage atheists to black out the “In God We Trust” statement on the bottom of paper money with magic markers.

E Pluribus Gibberish

American Atheists promote placing “E Pluribus Unum” upon all our coinage; “One from many.” I suppose their anger upon seeing the name of God upon money is equivalent to the anger experienced by the Jews seeing Caesar declaring himself God on their coins. Their platform also seeks to remove “One nation under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance and to prevent Presidents from being sworn in by placing their hand on the bible.


As Christians, we are not called to add to God’s banquet table by subjugation or force. If God wanted that to happen—he could very well take care of it himself. However, there is a deeper question we must ask of ourselves in reference to the statement found in our Pledge of Allegiance, in the Pledge of Office and on our coins.


We have found that removing faith from our classrooms has not increased character development, personal integrity or values either on the playground or in our children’s development. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The targeted bias against Judeo-Christian values has created a proliferation of “substitutionary” religions and immorality in our culture. In essence, we took away the vaccine—but not the virus. We left our children totally exposed.


Like so many other relativistic drivel and misguided spiritualist theology, we have not offered values to our children—but vacuums. Our children have no compass points because the adults who surround them have no compass points. “Whatever feels right…” “Do what you need to do in order to get what you need to have.”


“One from many,” is exactly the type of psycho-babble that seems to say something when in fact it says nothing. The implication is that whatever the crowd is doing is the right thing to do. That’s not leadership—that’s peer pressure. That is exactly the type of pressure we tell our kids to ignore while succumbing to it ourselves.


Why not instead print; “E pluribus gibberish (out of many comes gibberish)?” What the many have to say is not what I want my children to follow. I don’t believe we want to raise our children with a “what will the neighbors think” mentality. Is it not more important to raise children who are empathic about human concerns and emphatic about what God values?


Yet, in the end, we must all realize that the point of this story of Christ is that it is more offensive to God to profess his name and not live out that profession. I can wear a T-Shirt that proclaims, “In God I trust.” But, if my life is filled with deceit, half-truths and manipulation, than I am an abomination before the Lord. Are the words “In God I trust” written on my life? Could someone read my actions and see God’s face? It is time for me to say with Jesus: “These coins belong to Caesar; my life belongs to God.”

Beyond a motto

Yet, I wonder what it would be like if we had the face of a conquering enemy on our paper bills. Then, we might be reminded (as were these Jews) of the cost of becoming dependent on false gods. Sin is much easier to conquer when it is “in our face” than when it is like elevator music lulling us to sleep.


Personally, I credit atheists with doing me a favor whenever they deface public property by crossing out “In God we trust.” They remind me of how frail the nation was at one time and what it took to keep it from being torn asunder. They remind me that the real enemy of a people is never external (external enemies tend to fortify a common group)—the real enemy will always be internal and eternal. Atheism is not the problem that undermines our faith today; it is the relativism of believers who seek to fit into a culture that undermines faith.

Revelation 3:15-17

15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. 16 “So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. 17 “Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.”


The term; “In God we trust,” is rooted in two scriptures:

2 Corinthians 1:9

[9] Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. (NAS)

1 Timothy 4:10

[10] For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers. (NAS)


We carry in our pockets a potent reminder of who we should be completely dependent upon and where we should place our total trust. Some people carry a cross in their pocket or a prayer reminder in their purse—but all we really need to do is reflect upon:

The reason “In God we trust” exists on our currency

The suffering that led to it’s placement on our legal tender

Those martyred in our world in the name of our Lord

And the scriptures to which “In God we trust” points

If we just paused and prayed on those ideals before spending the money in our possession it would remind us of our Lord’s preeminence and to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

The Cost of trust

In many cultures the cost of placing one’s trust in God is incredibly high—it can even cost people their lives. This is why mottoes and slogans like “In God we trust” and “One nation under God” should deeply remind us of the cost of our faith.
Look at the cost of faith to these early saints:

Daniel 3:16-18

[Dan 3:16] Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. [17] “If it be {so,} our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. [18] “But {even} if {He does} not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (NAS)

Acts 4:18-20

[Acts 8:18] And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. [19] But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; [20] for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.” (NAS)
Our nation has not always adhered to the values of these pledges. Understanding that is the difference between a patriot and a nationalist. A nationalist blindly believes anything his nation chooses to do—while a patriot believes in the essence of his nation and stands by those values regardless of the circumstances. Do we trust in God if we don’t live by his principles? If compassion and peace are not forefront on our agenda? If raising the poor from poverty and protecting the widow and orphan are not priorities, can we say that we are “under God” or that “In God we trust?”

Give to God what belongs to God

Central to this reading is not only giving to Rome what is Rome’s but Jesus points us to the less obvious counter-statement, are we giving to God what belongs to God? The Old Testament tells us that we must give our first fruit and tithe to God:

Numbers 18:12-13

12 All the best of the fresh oil and all the best of the fresh wine and of the grain, the first fruits of those which they give to the LORD, I give them to you.


So, to a Christian, what do we have that belongs to God?

Malachi 3:8-9

[Mal 3:8] “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings. [9] “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation {of you}”


Jesus, in fulfilling the law, tells us that we owe God much more than a “percentage” of our earnings. In fact, our first fruits and tithes should only remind us of what we owe God. What does one give to a King who bought our salvation at the cost of His own Son’s life? Jesus reminds us what God deserves:

Matthew 22:37

7And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”


Yet, we don’t give our tithes and our lives to God for his sake. Quite the opposite; the more we give to God—the more God blesses us. Not with material things (though God is certainly capable of that); God blesses us with a joy for living. The more we give to him; the more we find that “he is enough” and that we don’t need more. We are “content in all circumstances” as Paul writes under Roman persecution.

Philippians 4:11-13

[Phil 4:11] Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. [12] I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. [13] I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (NAS)


In essence the more we give to him, the fuller our lives become. The disciples gave everything even though they had such an incomplete understanding of the Lord’s bounty prior to Pentecost. They witnessed many great things and yet, they also witnessed the world’s persecution of the Son of God. There were times when they no doubt wondered; “What is the reward for following the Christ?”


Jesus knew their trials and left them (and us) with this promise:

Mark 10:25-31

[Mark 10:25] “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” [26] And they were even more astonished and said to Him, “Then who can be saved?” [27] Looking upon them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” [28] Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” [29] Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, [30] but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. [31] “But many {who are} first, will be last; and the last, first.” (NAS)


Who is on the face of my coins (the reason I commit to work everyday)? Am I committed to earning wages to keep in my own pocket or do I realize that everything I make can contribute to the glory of God’s kingdom? All that I earn is truly given to me by God; am I using it to do his will? To bring about his kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” Can I resist the temptation for personal pleasure, self-aggrandizement or worldly power that consumed these religious leaders?


Herein lies the central sin of both the Herodians and the Pharisees. Politics was not their central issue, justice was not their central issue, money wasn’t even their central issue; remaining in power was their central issue. The Pharisees excused their sin by pointing to others and saying, “At least I am better than them.” The Herodians excused their sin by saying, “Well, no one is perfect and you have to be realistic.” Will my voice be like theirs or like Zaccheus redeemed:

Luke 19:8-10

8 And Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” 


By the time Zaccheus would finish paying his debts he would have nothing left… except for Jesus! The question for each of us is not “what” we will have left at the end of this life, but “who.”

Blamers and Excusers!

The Pharisee’s and the Herodian’s aren’t the “Bad Boys” of old—they are the sinners within me today! Who owns my heart, soul and mind? What keeps me from being able to give to God what is truly his to begin with? What prevents me from giving my all for his all? Which part of my heart do I justify closing off to him? That is where my Pharisee and Herodian conspire against the Lord.


I need to look into the change purse of my own heart and see the coinage to which I cling. Can I honestly say; “In God I trust?”


Or, is it more like: “In this money I trust?” “In Jerry I trust.” “In ______ I trust.”


What or who is on the face of my coin?

The Great Commandment

MATTHEW 22:34-46

34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, *a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

MATTHEW 22:34

34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together.

Silenced the Sadducees

In this chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus confronts three very different religious groups; The Herodians, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. We had a brief overview of the Herodians in the last study so let’s stop in on the Sadducees. They were a group of priests, merchants and aristocrats who came from among the leading families in the nation of Israel [Acts 5:17]. They held more religious authority than the Pharisees and the Herodians and Jesus’ death largely had to be approved by this group.


The Sadducees believed in strict adherence to Mosaic Law (the first five books of the bible or the Pentateuch). They prided themselves on their knowledge of the law, their ability to humiliate others through their knowledge and their method of Socratic questioning. These were the methods they attempted to use to undermine Jesus.


They would start with a point of disagreement (almost always using resurrection) and carry it through to a ridiculous ending. This question was their favorite and one that had stymied their rivals—the Pharisees—for ages. It dealt with a woman who married a man and when he died before her (not an uncommon problem in Christ’s time) she was then given to subsequent brothers in marriage according to Mosaic Law. The Sadducees would then carry this point through to a ludicrous conclusion, “What if she had seven brothers?” Then they would pop their concluding question, “So, whose wife would she be in heaven?”


For them, this question proved that resurrection was impossible because it conflicted with Mosaic Law. They were like a poor party comic who had only one joke, telling it over and over again to every guest at the party. Even worse—this had been their favorite party joke for generations! They traced their religious order all the way back to Zadok, a high priest of David and Solomon.


However, on this day something went wrong for the Sadducees. It was almost like the cartoons where the coyote chases the road runner onto the edge of the limb. He then saws off the branch but, instead of the branch falling, the tree falls. The Sadducees thought they had “the question” that would stymie Jesus thereby proving He was not omnipotent.


In one sentence (albeit a long one) Jesus uses the scripture that the Sadducees are most familiar with to undermine their own pride:

Matthew 22:29-33

29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God. 30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.’”


Jesus quotes from Exodus:

Exodus 3:6

[Exod 3:6] He said also, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. (NAS)


The term for, “I am The God” [‘Elohiym] had no past or future tense. It is present tense as when God stated, “I am that I am.” (HAYAH ‘AHER HAYAH) [Exodus 3:14]. God is Who God needs to be, whenever God needs to be, wherever God needs to be. He is God of our past, our present and our future. HE IS!


Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived long before Moses, yet God “IS” the Father of them all. God does not say; “I WAS” their Father. He says; “’I AM’ their Father.”


If God IS the Father of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses—then they must be living! Not only does Jesus lay forth literal scriptural truth to undermine the pride of the Sadducees, but his proof is from Mosaic Law, in fact, his proof was a declaration made by God directly to Moses!


Is God my living father? Is he alive in my life today? Not yesterday, not a historic God—but a God who is able to be present in any and all circumstances?


Can you imagine the whole basis of your faith undermined in one statement? That is what happened that day.

Matthew tells us that the Sadducees were silenced. The word actually used is, “muzzled [phimoo].” They became like toothless dogs. Their fangs for attacking and wounding others were extracted in one statement by Jesus Christ.
Don’t feel too sorry for them though. They didn’t argue with Jesus to seek truth, they argued with Jesus (and others) to merely appear smart. Theirs was not a faith based upon truth but a bias based upon pride. In one statement, Jesus freed them from their bias. A person who really hungered for truth would seize this opportunity to leave his ways behind and redirect his life. He would desire to know more. However, these men were not seeking, they were seething. Their pride had been publicly piqued and now, all they wanted was to get rid of the man who revealed their foolishness.


This chapter leads us to ask two important questions:

Is my faith wrapped up in a doctrine, a ritual or a relationship with a living God? Doctrines and rituals can compliment our relationship with God—but never supercede it.

How do I respond when the truth is revealed to me?

Jesus revealed their sin and they hated him for it. Do I attack the revealer? Do I detest the revelation? Or, do I drop to my knees and ask God’s forgiveness? My eternity rests upon these questions.

The Pharisees heard…

The Pharisees were much more popular than the Sadducees or Herodians and, while they were not necessarily well-liked, they were admired by many for their unwillingness to compromise with their Roman task-masters.


Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead but they were most concerned about tithing and ritual purity. Because they felt that others were not as “ritually pure” as they were, they took to separating themselves from both Jews and Gentiles in order to maintain their cleanliness. This distance (indeed, the name “Pharisee” means Separated One) led to their aloofness among people.


The truth was that very few people could afford to live the life of ritual purity that the Pharisees enjoyed. This interpretation of scripture led to an upper class that was reserved for those who were completely out of touch with the masses of working poor that surrounded them. The majority of people who could not afford to debate with the elite rabbi’s of the day or who did not possess the “right heritage” to be a religious leader. Common laborers simply did not have the time or ability to take hours out of their day to maintain the rituals and study of the Pharisaical class. This “purity by works” was by nature only accessible to the few. If more Jews attempted to obtain it, the economy would have collapsed (but not before the hammer of Rome would have swung down violently upon Israel).


The Pharisees were constantly condemning others (including Jesus) for not keeping the laws [Mark 2:16; Luke 7:39; 15:2; 18:11]. Having seen their own disciples, the Chief Priests, the Herodians and the Sadducees fail at cornering Jesus—the Pharisees become bolder and sent the most educated among them to intimidate Jesus and undermine his teaching. Again, they are not coming to be in relationship with Jesus—they do not seek to test their truths with him—their singular purpose is to publicly humiliate him and undermine the miraculous life of healing that Jesus lived. They were jealous of the truth because the truth undermined their power, authority and self-righteousness. Our response today should not be to condemn those men for their actions; but to look inside my intentions for those motives. When am I like that in my relationships?

MATTHEW 22:35-36

35 One of them, *a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

A lawyer tempted Him

A lawyer [nomikos] in the tradition of Jesus’ culture was highly respected—though not necessarily well-liked. The parameters of a Jewish lawyer included both legal and religious issues and their years of intense studies set them apart—even from other Pharisees. These men were considered the “best and the brightest” of their time. All of that tells us one thing: How confused we become when our focus is on man’s puny wisdom—even when that focus is based in scripture! Becoming awed by our own wisdom and impressed with our own mental gymnastics has led us down the path of stupidity throughout history.


How would I like to go down in history as the lawyer who tried to discipline Jesus?


The last thing I would ever want to be is the man who was known for “prosecuting Jesus Christ.” Indeed, in Matthew, he was sent to do more than test Jesus. The word used in this section for “testing Jesus” is “peirazo”. It also means to tempt, scrutinize or even to discipline Jesus. Interestingly enough, in Mark’s version [Mark 12:28-35], a different scenario is presented. The lawyer actually becomes a follower of Jesus. He asks his question not to tear Jesus down but to give Jesus the opportunity to speak for himself.


Which version reveals the person that I am? Do I read the Word of God with a skeptical eye choosing the truth that is most comfortable and least challenging to me? Or am I like Mark’s lawyer, confident that the Word of God is fully capable of sustaining Himself throughout the test of time. Am I willing to submit to the Word or am I prone to adapt the Word of God to my culture, my needs or my comfort?

MATTHEW 22:37-40

37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’

38 “This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

With all thy feelings; breath and thoughts (imagination)

It is easy to say this commandment is used so repetitively that its words no longer impact us. But look close again. First there is the word, “all [holos],” it means complete (perfect) in every way. Perfect in extent, time and degree. One definition is “unawares.” In other words, even our random thoughts or daydreams become filled with thoughts about God. This is holos—all—the position that God wants in our life. Not for his sake, but for our own. This is what it means to make Jesus our “Lord.” In this humble state we find absolute and uninterruptible joy. Not a joy found by separating ourselves from others (like the Pharisees or adhering to a doctrine like the Sadducees). It is the joy found in seeing the living God in all things, all people, all day.


Secondly God asks for all our heart, mind and might. In essence, this means every feeling, thought and even our passion must be focused on him. Remember, the word Christ used for perfection was translated as ‘Telios’ in Greek. It is the root word of telescope, it means to be totally focused. The lens of our life focuses on God’s touch in all things. Our continual expectation is that God’s mighty hand is in each high and low of life. Rolling off our lips should be the words, “I can’t wait to see what God is going to do with this roadblock/crisis/joy!”


Jesus expresses the “attitudes of perfection” in the Beatitudes. Primarily in Matthew 5:8:

Matthew 5:8

[Mt 5:8] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (NAS)


To see God is to be totally focused. Telios, purely concentrated in all ways upon Him.

Love your neighbor as yourself?

Many of the Pharisees would walk away from this encounter with Jesus filled with more pride if the Lord had stopped at saying; “Love God with all your heart and soul and mind.” They would have said; “That’s us, see how we have devoted our lives to this endeavor.”  However, Jesus continues and bursts their self-righteous bubble by stating; “Love your neighbor as yourself.”


The Pharisees made a huge show of loving God. They went through unbelievable degrees of absurdity to publicly display their piety. Some were called the “Bruised Pharisees.” These men believed that to talk or look at a woman (even their own wife or sister) on the street was a sin. So, they walked about with cloth covering their faces to prevent such evil. As a result, they would show up at the synagogue with bumps and bruises everywhere to highlight their piety.


Another branch of Pharisees would not lift their heads from the roads as a dramatic show of humility. They wouldn’t even lift their feet from shuffling in the dirt so as to illustrate their humanity. They were proud of developing hunchbacks and to be covered with dirt as symbols of their “self-effacing nature.” No wonder Jesus (with his laughter, love of life and of children) was an insult to them.


God intends our humility not as a symbol of lifelong guilt and somberness—but as a path to liberation and joy! The liberation found when we are freed from constantly focusing on “What about me?” The joy found when we realize just how expansive his love is for us!


Jesus undermined the very concept of being a “Separated One (Pharisee)” by stating love of God is a deception if it doesn’t lead to the love of our neighbor. Piety is disgusting to God without the love of others.

Abandon yourself?

Here is one of the great misinterpretations of the modern bible. For years I have heard people interpret this verse with the tag line, “We can’t love others until we love ourselves.” This is simply more “post-modern psycho-babble.” The bible is not about loving ourselves! The ultimate deception is that we can become in any manner more loving by becoming more self-focused. Truthfully, we become more loving by becoming less self-focused! The more we focus on God and the more we share his love with others—the fuller our lives become. If we want to be more loved—love more!


The scripture doesn’t say, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It would be closer to “Abandon yourself to your neighbor as if he (she) were your very self.” It actually means; “Recklessly love your neighbor! Unconditionally, unequivocally, unbelievably love your neighbor!”


In addition, Jesus uses the verb for agapé love [agapao]. This is a “get off your duff, no holds barred, immediately get up and run out and find someone who needs to be included” type of love! It is the type of love that prompted our savior to come to earth and love sinners like us. It is also the type of love that would confront the Pharisee’s pseudo-religion of “It’s all about God admiring me. What a great servant I am. Look at my incredible dedication.”


Salvation has nothing to do with pious religiosity or personal “I’m Okay-ness.” It is about loving with total abandonment—without any self-regard whatsoever. It is about passionate love for an abundant God and the absolute inability to exclude anyone from that joy! It is about waking up each morning, not with the thought, “Who can I impress today with my head-knowledge and holiness.” It is about humbly and passionately asking the Holy Spirit, “Lord, who desperately needs your love today? Take me there.”


The type of love we are called to show is evident in the following scriptures. See if you can glean from them the type of urgency and passion that drove Christ’s disciples to leave everything behind—to totally forfeit themselves—in order to give his love is others.

Deuteronomy 6:5

[Deut 6:5] “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (NAS)

Romans 15:2

[Rom 15:2] Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. (NAS)

Galatians 6:10

[Gal 6:10] So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (NAS)

1 Timothy 1:5

[1 Tim 1:5] But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (NAS)

I John 4:7-8

[I Jn 4:7] Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. [8] The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (NAS)

I John 4:19-21

[I Jn 4:19] We love, because He first loved us. [20] If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. [21] And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (NAS)

The fulcrum commandment

Following this encounter, the Pharisees—like the Herodians, the Sadducees and the Chief Priests before them—would be forced to either reconsider their entire theology or get rid of Jesus. He was becoming too problematic. His following was getting too large for them to simply ignore and, in every challenge that was laid before our Lord, his intimate grasp of God revealed not only the legitimacy of his Messianic claims but also the gaping holes in theirs.


To follow God’s true path, the Pharisees (committed to ritualism and piety) would have to completely restructure their haughty attitudes and instead become servants—first to Christ and then to the people. The truth is that these men who confronted Christ would never be able to serve anyone else’s needs but their own.


Their religion was not based in love—but in public ritual. They were not inspired to an attitude of compassion—but to an attitude of judgment. Yet, all of the other commandments only make sense with the commands of love and service as their base. They are “suspended from” these two commands. They are like a child’s mobile hovering from the ceiling, if these two linking pins are missing, then everything else will be lying on the floor.


The Pharisees could remember each detail of scripture and would spend rigorous hours everyday following their rituals and debating tradition. However, they had forgotten the two most important precepts of faith: If our rituals do not lead us to abandon ourselves to God and to others—then they are worthless.

1 Corinthians 13:1-3

[1 Cor 13:1] If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] And if I have {the gift of} prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [3] And if I give all my possessions to feed {the poor,} and if I deliver my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. (NAS)


“Love God completely—love your neighbor recklessly!” Love with total abandon—love until there is no “self” left over. That is what our faith hinges upon according to Christ. Upon what linking pins do I hang my life?


Does the practice of my faith balance upon humility and service? Is my daily quest like that of Micah: To do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God? Do my habits of prayer, fellowship and study lead me into deeper service of God and others? Paul tells us that remains the very reason of our existence.

1 Corinthians 13:13

[1 Cor 13:13] But now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

MATTHEW 22:41-45

41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They *said to Him, “The son of David.” 43 He *said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,

44 ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD,

“SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND,

UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET’”?

45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” 46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question.

“Jesus asked them a question…”

Christ will ask us a question someday; what would I prefer that question to be? Do I want it to be a theological question—a question about the doctrine or beliefs upon which hinged my “religion?” We can see that Christ pierces those issues with but a mere sentence to the Herodians, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. All of them thought they were right and all were eternally wrong.


Do I want it to be a question about my possessions? In previous studies we have seen that Christ cares not for what I have collected but instead what I have distributed. He will not ask, “How much have you amassed?” He will ask, “How much have you disbursed?”


Or, do I want the question to be about love? A dear friend of mine said that Jesus asks only two questions: “Who did you love and who loved you?”

“What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?”

Jesus questions the Pharisees on a matter straight from their simplest catechism: “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” The Pharisee’s response, “the son of David,” is scriptural and comes from Psalm 89:35-36, “I will not lie unto David; his seed shall endure for ever” (Isaiah 9:7), “upon the throne of David.” And Isaiah 11:1, “A rod out of the stem of Jesse.”


Then, Jesus reaches back to 2 Samuel 23:1-2:

2 Samuel 23:1-2

23:1 Now these are the last words of David. David the son of Jesse declares, and the man who was raised on high declares, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, 2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.”


After establishing that the Spirit of the Lord inspired David, Jesus quotes the King of Israel in Psalm 110:

Ps 110:1

110:1 A Psalm of David.
The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet.”


The entire reading (from 34-46) is comprised of two questions:

Which is the greatest commandment?

Whose son is David?

The Pharisees knew there would be a Messiah but they thought he would be a man like David in leadership and also from David’s genealogical line. They never thought that the Messiah would also be the Son of God. This is what dumbfounded them. It is why they were speechless. They had all of their combined years of wisdom and tradition and yet Jesus—in one sentence—shows them that they still have no grasp of even the simplest scripture.


On the day that we meet Jesus all of our arguments will end. Our head knowledge, our physical prowess, our earthly positions and all that we have amassed will be revealed for the dross that it really is: Vanity. What will be left?

Did you abandon yourself to love?

Did you recognize why God sent his son to die for us and give him your heart?

On that day, let us make sure that the only thing that is revealed is not our foolishness or idleness in God’s purpose, let us make sure that the only thing that is revealed is our love of others and our passion for God.