By Pastor Dave Farmer
Text for this study is Matthew 22:15-22.
Tuesday is a day of conflict. The religious leaders have banded together to discredit the Lord publicly. Their modus operandi at day's end will fail. They arrogantly believe they can maneuver Jesus into making a fool of Himself in front of the people.
Introduction
Tuesday is a day of conflict. The religious leadership has banded together to discredit the Lord publically. Their modus operandi at day's end will fail. They arrogantly believe they can maneuver Jesus into making a fool of Himself in front of the people. The reverse will happen. This is very interesting for in the three parables that precede this incident they were maneuvered by our Lord’s brilliant debating skills into incriminating themselves.
The next series of events show the great lengths to which they will go to rid themselves of the Lord Jesus Christ. As each religious faction is introduced, it is good to remember that they have been at each other’s throats for years. However, they believe that Jesus Christ poses the greater threat to their firmly held beliefs and way of life. So serious is the danger of losing their traditions, they band together to defeat and destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. Let‘s see how the first group does. Who are the Herodians? The Easton Bible Commentary provides this summary:
A Jewish political party who sympathized with (Mark 3 16; 12: 13, Matt, 22: 16, Luke 20:20) the Herodian rulers in their general policy of government, and in the social customs which they introduced from Rome. They were at one with the Sadducees in holding the duty of submission to Rome, and of supporting the Herods on the throne. (Comp. Mark 8:15; Matt. 16:6.) (Easton, M. G., M. A. D. D., Easton's Bible Dictionary, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1996.)
As pointed out the Herodians were a political party which favored the family of Herod ruling Israel instead of Rome. Herod the Great, the first of the Herods, received the title "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in 40 BC. It took him three years of fighting Jews to make his title effective. He ruled for 33 years and was on the throne when Christ was born. He ordered the murder of the children of Bethlehem. He died right after that incident (4 BC), and it was a later son called "Herod the Tetrarch" who tried Jesus, as we will study in Luke 23:17. The last of the Herods died childless around 100 AD. Herod Agrippa is best known for his part in Paul's trial in Acts 25:13-26:32). For a century and a half, this family ruled in Israel under Roman authority. But from the start, it should not have ruled at all for Herod the Great was an Edomite. The Davidic covenant states that only those from the family of David are to be rulers in Israel. This covenant was eternal and therefore cannot be abrogated.
Jesus posed a threat to the Herodians because He was from the tribe of Judah and the family of David (Matthew 1). The Herods may have embraced the religion of the Jews, but they could not claim to be in the ruling branch of Israel. The Herodians understood that if the Herod’s were out of power, they would be out of power. The Herodian party had a special interest in removing the credibility of Jesus. He had the legitimate right to the throne of His father, David.
Their Motives of Malice
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.
Their high praise of the Lord Jesus Christ is false. They do not believe anything they claim. They are liars, deceivers, and this is flattery, just a lot of hot air. They really believe He is a fraud and a charlatan. Truly Jesus is all the things they say of Him. He is a great teacher. He is truthful and clearly explains the way of God. In fact, He is everything they should be and aren’t! They say that Jesus doesn’t take bribes, is not intimidated by high ranking officials, nor does He seek their favor in order to gain something from them. If they are judging that these things are virtuous, why aren’t they practicing them? They are the ones who are in the pocket of the Herods and seek to curry his favor. They are the ones who are being influenced by the lust patterns of the sin nature, the lust for money and power. Why should Jesus be frightened of powerful people? Who is higher than He is? Who has walked in the Courts of Heaven? They are not polite. No! They are pitiful, transparent, and vain.
Finally, they call Jesus “teacher.” Teacher is not good enough. They must call Him Savior. Had they trusted in Him they would have addressed Him as "LORD, My God and Savior"!
Their motive was to "entangle," that is, to trap Jesus Christ in His talk. They were out to get Him. Notice where they were attacking Christ at this time - "His talk." They couldn't get Him in His walk, so they tried to get Him in His talk. After observing the Lord closely and I mean closely, they had spies dogging His footsteps and reporting His every move. For three years our Lord was under their microscopes, and they could not find one thing wrong in His life to discredit Him.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is God manifested in the flesh and perfect in character, holy in all His ways. He is “a Lamb without blemish and spot.” Paul says "He who knew no sin, was made sin for us."Their actions proved the uniqueness of the Person of Jesus. If anyone could find a fault in the Lord Jesus Christ, these self-righteous pinheads could. His enemies were frustrated by His righteous life. And even after they broke every rule of Jewish jurisprudence in the trials of Christ, they ended up bribing false witnesses to convict Him. There wasn't anything in His life that could tarnish His testimony.
What a testimony! What about you and me? Should this not be the goal of all blood-bought sons of God to strive to be like Jesus? We are to be living copies of our Savior. Our Lord lived righteously because He lived obediently. He knew the Word of God, and by knowing that Word, He knew the will of God. He was so permeated with Scripture in His humanity that He knew how His heavenly Father wanted Him to think and He thought that way. He knew what was His heavenly Father wanted Him to do and He did it. He did it His Father’s way. He said, "I only do those things which please my Father."If we are ever to have a testimony like our Lord, we must know the Word of God and must be obedient to it. If you want a testimony like His, then listen to Jesus:
"If you love Me, keep my commandments . . ."
Jesus says, true love is marked by obedience, and you can't obey the commandments without first knowing what they are.
Their trick question
17] “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?”
Now if Jesus says "Yes" they can argue that He is not supporting the Jewish cause that He is for Rome and against Israel. This would incite the people against Him. If He says, "We should not pay taxes to Rome" they will have Him arrested for conspiracy to overthrow Roman authority.
Dr. Wuest explains, "Debts to man and debts to God are both to be discharged, and the two spheres of duty are at once distinct and reconcilable." [Wuest, Kenneth S., Wuest's Word Studies in the Greek New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997].
Dr. Weisbe concurs when he says, "The question of tribute was a delicate one. If Christ opposed tribute to Rome, then He could be arrested as a traitor; but if He favored tribute to Caesar, He would lose the hearts of the Jews who despised their Roman rulers. Christ's reply shows that the true child of God has obligations both to God and to his country. As D. L. Moody used to say,"A Christian should not be so heavenly minded [that] he is no earthly good." Romans 13 and 1Peter 2: 13-18 teach that Christians should obey the law and honor their leaders. The best citizen is a Christian citizen. [Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament.]
His Indictment
18] But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?
Jesus saw right through their phony facade. Notice that His words are direct "hypocrites," that is two-faced. He saw right through their ploy and demonstrated what they said about Him "You speak the truth and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any."
His Interrogation
Once again He answers their question by asking a question.
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.”
He did not fall into their trap, and this reminds me of the wicked man in the proverb who dug an elaborate hole in order to trap and then rob an innocent passerby, and when it was finished, he fell into it. Every time they engage Jesus in a debate, it promotes Jesus. How frustrating is that?
His Impact
22] And hearing this, they were amazed and leaving Him, they went away.
The sight of them retreating into the crowd is tragic, how sad. They went away challenged, but unchanged and therefore unsaved. They stood before their Messiah and turned away from Him, trusting in themselves. The deception that good works save blinds them to The Way, The Truth, and The Life. They see a teacher, but not their Lord and Savior.