Genius (Deity) on Display
TRANSLATION
(15) Then the Pharisees went out and made plans to entangle him in his words. (16) And they sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians saying, “Teacher, we know that you are a person of integrity who teaches the way of God truthfully. You are not swayed by others’ opinions, for you are not impressed by appearances. (17) Tell us then what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (18) But Jesus, aware of their animosity, said, “Why are you hypocrites trying to trap me? (19) Show me the coin used to pay the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. (20) And he asked them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” (21) They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Then he told them, “Give back, therefore, to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” (22) And when they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went their way.
(23) That same day the Sadducees who say that there is no resurrection (of the dead) came to him and asked, (24) “Teacher, Moses taught that if a man dies without having children his brother must marry his widow and raise up offspring for his brother. (25) Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and, having no offspring, left his wife for his brother. (26) So also the second, and the third, all the way to the seventh. (27) And finally the woman died. (28) At the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven brothers, for they were all married to her?” (29) But Jesus answered them, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God. (30) For in the resurrection the raised neither marry, nor are they given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven. (31) But, as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was told you by God? (32) ‘I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (33) And when the crowd heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
OBSERVATIONS
Two questions cleverly designed to trap Jesus instead gave him the opportunity to display his genius. Repetitions again help us grasp the significance of these verses. “Teacher/teaches/taught/teaching” appeared four times (in vss. 16, 24, & 33). In the first paragraph “tax/taxes” occurred twice (vss. 17 & 19), “Caesar(’s)” four times (in vss. 17 & 21), and the phrase, “what belongs to,” twice (both in vs. 21).
In the second paragraph we find both “resurrection,” four times (vss. 23, 28, 30, & 31), and “brother(s),” four times (in vss. 24 & 25), “wife” twice (vss. 25 & 28), “marry/married/marriage” (four times in vss. 24, 25, & 30), and “died/dead” also four times (vss. 25, 27, 31, & 32). The designation, “God(’s),” was by far the most frequently occurring word (showing up nine times in vss. 16, 21, 29, 31, & 32).
OUTLINE
I. Jesus confounded the Pharisees with his answer to their question regarding paying taxes. (15-22)
II. Jesus confounded the Sadducees with his response to their question regarding marriage in the resurrection. (23-33)
IDEA STATEMENT
By giving authoritative and convicting answers to questions designed to trap him Jesus demonstrated his brilliance as God’s true Messiah.
APPLICATION
Two thorny questions coming from two opposing segments of the Jewish leadership were brought to Jesus either to confound him or to force him to give self-incriminating answers. The first, regarding taxation, came from the religiously conservative Pharisees who despised the dominance of Rome. The second regarding marriage in the afterlife was posed by the liberal Sadducees who did not believe in resurrection from the dead and were undoubtedly seeking to disparage this doctrine by their question. Both were designed to cast aspersions on Jesus’ reputation as one teaching with God’s authority. In both cases, the answers he provided demonstrated his genius as well as his uncanny ability to thwart all attempts to discredit him. Moreover, he established the reliability of God’s Word in unexpected ways.
Instead of answering the question regarding taxes directly, Jesus asked to see the coin with which such taxes would have been paid, a Roman denarius, worth about a day’s wages in today’s currency. When it was produced, he asked his questioners to tell him whose image was stamped on the coin. When they answered, “Caesar’s,” he responded with an answer that blind-sided them: “Then give to Caesar what belongs to him and to God what belongs to him.” Embedded in this statement lay hidden another question, “What belongs to God?” Following the logic of the metaphor, the answer was unavoidable: “Like the denarius that bore Caesar’s image, whatever bears God’s image belongs to God.” Knowing that Genesis 1:27 & 28 clearly established the truth that every human being has been stamped with the image and likeness of God, the Pharisees were left defeated and speechless.
To the ridiculously hypothetical question the Sadducees posed about marriage in the afterlife Jesus responded as if he were a judge issuing a verdict: “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” His compelling proof of the dead being raised rested on the present tense of a verb: “I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” After all, the living Word of God (Jesus), the author of God’s written Word (the Scriptures), knew precisely how to confound the deficient arguments of his impotent opponents.