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well me and Mark chapter 12 this morning looking at verses 13 through
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Mark 12 verse 13. and they sent some of the Pharisees and herodians to him in order to trap him in a statement a statement and they came and said to him teacher we know that you are truthful
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and defer to no one for you are not partial to any but teach the way of God in truth is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar
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or not or not shall we pay or shall we not pay but he knowing their hypocrisy said to them why are you testing me
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bring me a Denarius to look at and they brought one and he said to them whose image and inscription is this and they said to him Caesars
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and Jesus said to them render the things that are Caesars to Caesar and the things that are God's to God
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and they were amazed at him let us pray our father again we ask that by your Holy Spirit you would teach us that you
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would touch us in our our minds and our hearts to meditate on these words to look at our Lord Jesus Christ as he
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deals with these men and father that we would learn from him and that we would apply these things to our lives our lives that these things would make a
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difference to us as we walk in our own neighborhoods in our own jobs and businesses and among our neighbors our neighbors father that these things would truly
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abound not only to your glory but to proclamation of your word we ask these things in Christ's name amen
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sometimes even in our math book there are trick questions and the groans from my students can always be predicted Jesus is facing a series in
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this section of Mark chapter 12 is basically Tuesday if you didn't remember this is Tuesday of passion week probably the longest day of at least in
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scripture of of seeing Jesus in sustained teaching but these wave after wave as I think of them as trick
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questions Petty inquiries from Jesus enemies cleverly disguised cleverly disguised to catch him to ensnare him
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in a statement there's a political issue that we're going to deal with today that the Pharisees and herodians bring to him then we'll see a doctrinal question of
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the Resurrection brought to him by the Sadducees and finally a question of what is the greatest commandment brought by one of the scribes I believe the prime movers
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behind all of these groups and yes there's some question whether the herodians were a separate entity of the Pharisees or a kind of a little group within a group
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but the prime movers were the Sanhedrin the Pharisees the scribes the rulers as the the rulers the leaders of the
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Nations but but here what we see from both uh I believe in Matthew and Luke who also have this um episode in their gospels these are
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Disciples of the Pharisees these are disciples that have come as agents of the Pharisees which I I think is something to keep in mind as we look at
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how they approach Jesus how they talk to him these are novices these are the rookies that are coming to Jesus
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now remember the Pharisees were known as the separated ones they were the ones who looked down on those that they considered
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ceremoniously unclean we are the separatists we we are Defenders of the national independence of Israel from
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Rome or any other oppressors they are opposing uh to bring it into this context they would oppose the tax to the
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Caesar as unlawful the herodians again not quite sure that the scriptures don't mention them but a couple of times and I don't know that I
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found a lot of information about them but they were called herodians because they were devoted to the throne of the Herod the one who would be the representative
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of Rome in Jerusalem at this time and it is perhaps the reason they are there because Herod might have been in Jerusalem during this passion week
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because of all the things that would be happening in Jerusalem with the multitudes coming the danger of insurrection the danger of the crowds
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getting riled up but they were vassals of Caesar they looked at the Roman rule as a as a good thing probably because they had some
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Financial Rewards or benefits from their association with the Herod and they were against the Pharisees
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so as that phrase goes these strange bedfellows coming together to trap Jesus
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catch to trap him in some way Matthew uses the word that would be to ensnare a bird here it's to catch a wild animal as the the
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word that Mark uses but listen to Luke he writes so they watched him and they sent spies who pretended to be righteous in order that they might catch him in
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some statement so that they could deliver him to the rule and the authority of the governor there in Acts chapter 5 we read about a
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a man called Judas of Galilee remember when when Peter and his uh others they had been freed from jail by the angel and they were had gone back to the
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synagogues and were preaching Christ and there were those who were living at them you know how can we let these guys free let's let's do them in and Camelio says well wait a minute wait a minute let's
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see if this is of God because that's what Peter had said I must obey God rather than men he said let's see let's see and one of the examples that Camellia
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gives us and ex in Acts 5 is a Judas of Galilee who had come as I have my research tells me somewhere around year six A.D
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six A.D um he came to Jerusalem and said you know we don't need to pay taxes to Caesar and he started a rebellion and
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gamalio says yeah we took care of him and it is possible that the rhodians are saying okay we don't really care how it happens but
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let's make him like that man let's turn him over to the powers that be they wanted to take him by surprise either again with a question their
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question that would stump him or that Jesus would answer in a way that would trap himself
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there are some who believe that they join forces and they part of their disguise was that well Jesus would know that those two groups didn't get along that they were opposites in terms of how they looked at the tax in Rome so they
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created this little Feud so that Jesus could solve it for them that was theirs I don't know if that's true but they did unite they wanted to get rid of him
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and so and so they put out the bait in verse 14 they came and said to him and notice how they address him teachers
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teacher a term of respect we know that you are truthful and defer to No One you are not partial to any but teach the way of God in truth
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I was kind of amazed at the many commentaries who commentaries who make one statement about this verse see here's the debate they're buttering him up him up they're they're just saying you know how
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could Jesus after we say all of these nice things about him how could he not warm up to us and and it will he'll let his guard down and we'll be able to
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entrap him entrap him even though we know it's flattery
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there is truth to all of the things that they say they say and nothing that they have brought to Jesus is wrong the scriptures back these things up things up you you speak truthfully and honestly
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without regard to consequence they're saying you you defer to no one in the Greek it's a double negative and the only thing I can think you know I
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don't know remember back to what fourth fifth sixth grade double negatives never use those in English the Greek uses them here you defer to no one but I I think of it
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this way with a double negative and we hear people say this he don't care for nobody they're not in the fact that he's indifferent to their welfare
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not that he's not caring about them at all but he's independent of their influence and their
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Authority he's not partial to any he doesn't look at somebody's rank or their title or their wealth or their power he doesn't look at their outward
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or parents and and make a decision based on that which we know that many of the lawyers and judges in every day do that
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but he was impartial as a judge both to friend and foe you teach the way of God you teach in Israel what Israelites ought to do the way they ought to live and you teach it
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in Truth you teach it in sincerely without Reserve or with pers out personal regard personal regard on the basis of Truth on the basis of
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reality all these things are true but they're trying to allay any suspicions on his part as to what their get up would be they've camouflaged
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themselves as the hunters intent they're baiting him they're luring him
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but Jesus was not taken off guard he didn't slip up in his answer but what is the question that they asked what is this tribute question that I
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believe it's Matthew that uses that word there there's an urgency here they're they're pressing Jesus but remember these are the novices they've come to
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him with a prepared statement and and I know what this feels like uh if I could say something personal and I was working
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at the big Tire Factory south of town I was an engineer I I knew how to tune a tire for long life or good handling or something I knew what to put the piece
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how to put the pieces together but at one time I was I promoted to a job that I got to go out into the car to the testing grounds improving grounds
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and ride with the tire the the car designers which was a lot of fun I enjoyed that part of it but one of the parts of the jobs is that I now had to
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move into the politics and I was on my first foray into that I'm thinking you know I'm in doing the engineering and they
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came to me before I left and my boss says you know there's a little issue with the tire somebody else's here's what you're going to say and if they say this you say this and if they
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say that you say that and I remember going into that meeting and giving my little Spiel you know and the guy said why do you keep saying that
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and I was like well this is what my card says and I think that's what these guys are doing they've walked into this and everything they said was true
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but it's all pre-packaged but they're the question they want to bring they think they've got Jesus baited here and now they're getting ready to
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ready to show him the Trap and lure him in and they say is it lawful to pay a poll tax to Caesar or not shall we pay or
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shall we not pay so there's two questions but they're they're closely related there's there seems to be an urgency here there they don't want to
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hear Jesus say anything except yes or no and that's how they view it it's an urgent question but they want a direct
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answer they don't want Jesus to do any qualifications or make any distinctions between them between them and what they're trying to raise here and and again to me I look back at
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chapter 11. where Jesus put them remember the old horns of the Dilemma the if then questions you know he asked them about the baptism
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of John of John and if we say from heaven then he'll say this and if we say from man he'll say that and they couldn't answer and Jesus says neither will I tell you
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what by what Authority I do these things well I I think what the the Sanhedrin did was they they said we need some men who will go and present him with our own horns of a dilemma and see
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we'll get him because if Jesus replies give to Caesar to Caesar then the Pharisees are going to jump on
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them they're going to regard him as the Jewish nation is under subjection to Rome which means that they would denounce him
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because of his Messianic claims his claims would be discredited this is no savior of the people of Israel he's wanting us to be
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giving to Rome and looking at Rome and being subjection in subjection he's claiming to be the Messiah who would save us from these things he's a
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fraud he needs to be done away with but if Jesus replies do not give then the herodians are going to accuse him of teaching Rebellion against the Roman government and they would haul him off
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just as they had hauled off Judas of Galilee in the Years prior they'd haul him off to Pilate and they'd say you deal with him
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why because he would be a seditionist he he would be accused of inciting an insurrection and they couldn't have that
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and maybe and we talked about this a dilemma how do you attack the horns of a dilemma well you address either horn
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or you dive between the horns you slip between the horns when the Sanhedrin were presented by Jesus dilemma they had no answer and maybe they think that Jesus won't have an answer here either maybe they
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think Jesus will be as stumped as the Sanhedrin were in their question and if he makes no reply at all they'll jump on him as well because that you're a twit
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you're stupid you're stupid you you have you're a coward you don't even have the guts to speak up to us what a weakling why would anyone follow
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but then we see that the hunted becomes the Hunter the one who is trying they're trying to trap becomes the trapper
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he says of them and I think one of the other gospel says Jesus just says you Hypocrites here we see the thought from Jesus knowing their
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hypocrisy why are you testing me why are you testing me you're hypocrites you're hypocrites now that word hypocrite means to wear a
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mask it's it's the word that was used for an actor who wears a mask they're playing a part of someone who they are not but doesn't it bring to your mind
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when when we see in the again in this context but it any context where you're called a hypocrite or you think others are hypocrites there's you think of
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insincerity you you think of a pride they're they're acting apart that that they're not you're looking at it the external actions and you're realizing
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there's no internal commitment Simon kistemacher writes a hypocrite is a pretender
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who turns goodness into evil truth into a lie honesty into deceit honor into disgrace
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and has a complete disregard for the law of God of God Jesus wasn't fooled by these men he saw through the charade
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he knew that their end if this is what they truly believe was physical and yes spiritual death
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but they he says why are you testing me literally the word is why are you tempting me tempting me it's the same word that that is used in Matthew 4 where Jesus his cast out into the Wilderness to be
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tempted by the devil and he's being tempted by the devil there to mistrust God to mistrust God's word
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as the sovereign of all the universe we see this come up with with Moses in the wilderness the wilderness he complains to God these these people
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are complaining all the time their their question was question was does God for us or not demanding of God that God basically
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defend himself to them is god with us or not what are they asking is it lawful or not answer us Jesus you if you are a representative of God and Jesus said why
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and here he's going to expose them again they're trapped becomes the trapper bring me a Denarius to look at now I looked it up on the internet and and you can actually buy little replicas
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of these coins and if it's the seizure that I think was on the throne at this time Caesar Tiberius there there would be hit there is his
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image on one side it's it's embossed in there in relief in in 3D with of course with the Roman nose
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and yes some of you are coin collectors and I never get it right which is the obverse and which is the reverse so I'll do I'll do the easy the heads the heads are serious Tiberius Caesar
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Tiberius it's his image on there and apparently in his youth he was a very handsome man handsome man given over to debauchery later in his
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life but that was the image on that side on on the reverse side the Tails is also an image it turns out it's his mother Livia and it is
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a representation of her and she's sitting on an ornate throne and she has a spear in her hands and around the outside it says pontifex
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Maximus the highest priest and this was the Denarius this was the coin this was the silver coin that was used to pay the poll tax
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and I read it when I read it and I meant to preface it and I'm I'm sorry I was reading from The New American Standard and it says whose likeness is this the word is the same word that our brother used this morning
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in our Sunday school class icon it means image and it's different from likeness likeness is a representation but an
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image has the idea to it it's not only a resemblance but the actual person the thing that's pictured exists
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pictured exists and to me there's a reality the likeness of his mother was some woman but the image of Caesar Tiberius on the
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heads of the coin that that's a real image and he says whose image is this and whose inscription is this what's written
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on it it's a statement of ownership it's a statement of sovereignty of Dominion
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there is a severity but there's also a pity he knows the men that he's speaking to not by their dress but by the way they act and the way they're coming to him
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yes he's saying you know why are you tempting me in this way well in other words why are you attempting God but when he says bring me a coin
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bring me a Denarius to look at you you picture the scene I I've watched too many football games over the years but that's the image that I get the when
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they go out to start the game what does the referee do he says this is the coin this side is heads this side is Tails and all the men are leaning over looking
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at it and so what do we hear we have these rookies these novices and they're they're they're thinking Jesus has warmed up to us he's and Jesus is saying
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give me a Daenerys let me look at it and someone quickly places the coin in his hand and he holds it out to them and said whose image is this
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oh and what inscription is on this and they immediately say
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and I can just thank Jesus we don't have it recorded by the Holy Spirit but I think Jesus would have thought in his head now I have you where did that coin come from
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they were using it to buy things they were using it to do business with
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they produced it because they had already decided that when we use that coin in fact it was written by the rabbis if a king's
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coin was currently traded then they acknowledge Him as their ruler see they were doing business with that coin with Caesar's image on it and they
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were not thinking about it at all perhaps they had accepted the fact that this is how we have to do things this is the way life is
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life is and Jesus says he probably didn't need to say anything further but here's where he slips between the horns render the things that are Caesars to
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Caesars and the things that are God Gods to God again I don't appreciate the way that the new American Center they've got it the other way around but listen to this render the things that are Caesar's
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to Caesar to Caesar the things that are God's two Gods that's how the Greek says it he doesn't say what was Caesar's he doesn't
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delineate those things and he doesn't restrict it to any nation state any Caesar any Caesar the truth that he speaks is give to
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Caesars Caesar what is Caesars now they have said give as donate as donate but the word that Jesus uses forgive we
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read it in the English render it means to give back it means that it's a return it's a paying back or restoring to The
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they had many privileges they had protection they had things that they wouldn't have if they didn't have Caesar [Music] but giving to God what do we owe God
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the emphasis is not on the things paid but the hurt person who is to receive it it connects Our obligation with the
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image it covers all the duties of loyal subjects to leaders but it does not alter the sovereignty of God
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the sphere of the state and you hear people say this separation of church and state or the wall of separation in my reading I found out that the wall of separation phrase was used by Thomas Jefferson in a personal
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letter and yet somehow we've picked that up as this idea that church and state Christ and culture are hermetically
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sealed from one another but that's not true the this the sphere of the state is distinct from the sphere of the church that is true
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but it's not parallel and it's certainly not equal not equal one described it as the realm of our Caesar the realm of our
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government is a small field and a large farm they're all one entity but it's part of it or as D.A Carson wrote in his book
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Christ and culture Revisited God never relinquishes his godhood
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in Genesis 1. what do we read about man about man God created man in his own image he is our creator he is our sustainer he is
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the one who thought of us and in Jeremiah 31 I will put my law within them and on their heart I will write it
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we are the image of God and on the reverse side we have the law of God written in our hearts whose image whose image an inscription is this it is God's
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lemsky wrote only as we truly attain in US God's image will we truly render him what is due from us see it can't be as some in our world do
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it can't be well render to Caesar's what is Caesar's to God what is god well none of it belongs to Caesar therefore I don't have to give anything to Caesar
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I think there's only two choices if that is your attitude either our government either you're not an American an American and you owe to some other government
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or Jesus is not your lord render to Caesars that which is Caesar's to God that which is God Augustine wrote about the early Christians they were submissive to their
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temporal Master for their Eternal Masters sake but it is true if the law of the land and the law of God Collide just like
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Peter said Peter said we must obey God rather than men
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but again like I say many people rush over verse 14. oh that was just the the men baiting that was just their little thing they memorized and and spouted out to Jesus they didn't really imbibe it
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they didn't really believe it yeah that may be true but as I was looking at and one of the books that our brother Chuck has has recommended over the past few years it's
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a book called to change the world by James Davison Hunter he speaks of Jesus in a way that that perfectly is encapsulated by this verse
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14. Jesus and his relationship to culture and his relationship to to Nations into rulers is very different from how we we
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fair that we jump from Mark 12 and go immediately to Romans 13. where we read Paul saying every person being subject subjection to the governing authorities
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because there's no Authority except from God and those who exist are established by God that that's that's the foundation of Paul
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of Paul and yet it's no different than the foundation here of Jesus and I'm not expounding Romans 13. but what I am saying that the attitude of
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Jesus the way Jesus approached culture here is the attitude that we ought to have I mean do do do you not say understand
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I I mean I've I've heard Christians especially in this town and it doesn't matter whether it's the current president or one of the past ones he's not my president I'm not
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praying for him again Jesus is not your lord because Jesus because Jesus didn't rely on those rulers Jesus had a
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different Social Power I'm going to summarize a few things from Hunter but I think you'll see they dovetail exactly with what Mark is saying here
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complete intimacy with and submission to the father complete Trust complete Trust complete dependence on God Alone
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rejection of social status and reputation and the Privileges that accompany them see we can say we don't like those
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things but we can secretly lust after them and wish I had them compassion he wrote defines the power of his kingdom
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his kingdom in the core gifts if we could say Jesus had core Gifts of teaching and healing they always went together there was a compassion there there wasn't a
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disregard for the welfare of the people whom he taught and healed it wasn't just I'm going through this process in this motion there was a true compassion for
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them but Jesus was never coercive yes we see who was severe in his response to them but there is this hint of pity
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cause to entrap me but we're called upon by Paul in first Timothy 2
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to pray to pray first of all he says then I urge that in treaties and prayers and petitions and thanksgivings be made on the behalf of all men
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all men for kings and all who are in Authority so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity you may be like me I I listen to the
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news I don't know why because it gives me the heebie-jeebies every every day there's there's clashes and and problems and issues people doing
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stupid things and to me in many cases ruining our country are putting us in grave Danger
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but Jesus didn't worry about that he didn't tell them again he didn't say well it's just the Roman Caesar of that day and Christians in coming days no it's Universal it's a universal truth
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he urges prayers for all men knowing that God lifts up one and sets down another he knows that but he urges us to pray
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but in our prayers for those we ought to pray for ourselves for a spirit of wisdom a deeper Spirit of wisdom to know what we ought to do to have a
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right view of the relative positions of civil government and God we have brothers and sisters who are suffering in our nation today one example that came to my mind that I read
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this past week there there's a church I don't even know where they were but they decided to hold Services when the government says coveted restrictions are in your city you cannot meet and they
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meet and they've charged them with 1.2 million dollars in fines for meeting I don't know how they're going to pay for it
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for it but they had to obey God rather than men in my case my my opinion
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Jesus is Lord did he not say in Matthew all authority has been given to me in heaven and on Earth we read in First Corinthians 15.
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that that he will deliver the kingdom to his God and Father he shall abolish all Rule and authority
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and power until all of it his enemies have been made a footstool under his feet this is the glory of our Christ it is
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his Dominion it is the King's Dominion and in addition to saving us well let me just I'm going to read it
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Paul wrote it better than I can say it Colossians 2. when you were dead and your transgressions and uncircumcision of your flesh he made you alive together with him having forgiven us all our
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transgressions having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us which was hostile to us and he has taken it out of the way
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having nailed it to the Cross when he had disarmed the rulers and authorities he made a public display of them having triumphed over them through him
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let us pray our father again we ask that you would help us to meditate upon these things help us to understand these
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things how we ought to walk how we ought to be salt and light in this world in the midst of things that are conflicting to what we
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believe and what we know from your scriptures and yet father we know that what Jesus has said is true that we ought to render to Caesar that which is Caesar's
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and the things that are yours to you please let us do that in a manner that pleases you pleases you and gives you honor and Glory in
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Christ's name we pray amen you please rise for the benediction
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from Romans chapter 15. now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement Grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus Christ Jesus so that with one Accord you may with one
