Mark 12:13-34, Three Questions to Test Jesus
Introduction:
In our last scene, the chief leaders of the Jews have come to Jesus asking where He got His authority for the works He was doing. Jesus ties His authority to the authority of John the Baptist, implying that both of them have received their authority from God. Jesus then went a step further, telling the leaders the parable of the vineyard owner and the tenants. The thrust of this parable was to describe the Jews rejecting of God’s authority to the point that they are going to even reject the Son and kill Him. Jesus further uses prophecy to show that what they are doing is rejecting the One whom God sent to become the cornerstone of God’s plans. Instead of accepting these words, the Jewish leaders are looking for a way to arrest Him and to put Him to death. The scene continues in verse 13 of Mark 12.
Question About Taxes (Mark 12:13 -17)
Question of Pharisees and Herodians
There are a couple of things that we need to notice before we deal with the question the Pharisees and Herodians ask Jesus. The last time we saw these two groups working together was back in Mark 3:6 after Jesus healed on the Sabbath. At that point, the Pharisees and the Herodians began to work together to plot against Jesus to destroy Him. Now they come before Jesus and they think that they have come up with a question that is difficult enough to catch Jesus in His words. Just as Jesus had put the chief leaders in the horns of the dilemma concerning the baptism of John in Mark 11, the Pharisees and the Herodians now have a question for Jesus that they believe will put Jesus in the horns of a dilemma. We also must notice the slick words these two groups used with Jesus. Notice in verse 14 how they say that Jesus is truthful and a man of integrity. They point out that Jesus does not defer to public opinion, but speaks to the point about the way of God. Now, did these groups believe what they were saying? Of course not, for if they truly believed that Jesus was teaching the way of God in truth, they would not have had cause to destroy Him, but would have followed Him. They say these words because they are baiting Him to speak a definitive answer to their question. They want Jesus to say either pay taxes or don’t pay taxes.
Why do they believe they have Jesus in the horns of a dilemma? Because of the nature of the question, they believe that Jesus will have to offend some group in His answer. The Pharisees, and the Jewish leaders in general, did not like having the Roman empire over them. They did not want to pay taxes to Rome and those who collected taxes for Rome were hated and considered traitors to the Jewish cause. The Herodians, on the other hand, were very sympathetic to Rome because it was the Roman empire that put the Herods in power over Judea . Therefore, if Jesus would declare for the people not to pay taxes, this would be considered treason against the Roman empire and worthy of Roman imprisonment. So we see the horns of the dilemma that the Pharisees and Herodians are presenting. If Jesus says to pay taxes, He becomes hated by the Jews and discredited as a traitor to the Roman empire . If Jesus says to not pay taxes, He violates Roman law and becomes a traitor to Rome . The Pharisees and Herodians believe they have Jesus right where they want Him.
Jesus’ response
In verse 15 we learn that Jesus knows their hypocrisy concerning this question. This is not a legitimate question, as we have already noted. But Jesus verbalizes their hypocrisy saying, “Why are you testing Me?” He then asks for a denarius to be brought to Him. A denarius was a silver Roman coin that was worth about a day’s wages to the average laborer. Jesus then asks, “Whose image and inscription is this?” When looking at the denarius in the days of Jesus, one would see on it the image of the head of Tiberius Caesar. The inscription on the front of the coin read, “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus.” When the coin was flipped over, there was an image of Tiberius on his throne with the inscription, “Highest Priest.” Jesus then teaches, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus hits an answer perfectly, such that everyone is amazed at His teaching. Jesus has given the answer that is in keeping with the laws of the ruling government, but also in keeping with the laws of God.
Let us take a closer look at the teaching of Jesus. Jesus said to give to Caesar what is his. What is Caesar’s but the money! The Roman empire had minted and distributed this money through the population and asked for payment in return. The government has the right to ask back that which is theirs, and a follower of God is to give to the government was is the government’s. This should put an end to any question concerning whether a Christian should pay taxes or not. Many want to suggest that our money is used for evil means today. Shall we believe that the taxes that went to the Roman empire were not used for wickedness? This is the empire that God described through Daniel and John as the terrifying beast that would persecute the people of God. Give to the government what is the government’s.
Jesus also taught to give to God what is His. What is Jesus referring to? Most specifically I believe Jesus is referring to our lives. The government made the money, therefore we owe the money to the government. God created each one of us and therefore our lives are owed to God. Jesus taught that God is our greatest responsibility because He is the creator. However, we are responsible to the authorities that rule over us. Paul plainly said such in Romans 13:7, “Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” Peter also clearly taught in 1 Peter 2:13-14, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.” This is why the people are amazed. Jesus has struck a balance in the life of the disciple of God. We must obey the authorities, but our lives belong to the Lord, who is our greatest authority. Laws that are given must be obeyed by the Christian unless they violate the laws of our Creator.
Question About Resurrection (12:18 -27)
The Sadducees’ question
With the failure of the Pharisees and Herodians to trap Jesus, the Sadducees will now come to Jesus, questioning Him as well. Again, a little background information is important before we look at the question presented to Jesus. Mark tells us that the Sadducees said that there was no such thing as a resurrection. Acts 23:8 tells us that not only did the Sadducees not believe in a resurrection, but they did not believe in angels or spirits. The Sadducees now present to Jesus their premiere argument that they believed was unanswerable. This scenario the Sadducees presented was an argument used repeatedly to prove that there was not a resurrection. According to Deuteronomy 25:5, if the husband died under the old law, it was up to the brother to marry the widow so that she and her family would be taken care of and provided for. The Sadducees take this command and present an extreme scenario. The Sadducees ask the question, “In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?” This was the Sadducees’ stumping question to prove that there was no such thing as a resurrection.
Jesus’ response
Jesus says that the Sadducees are deceived because they are ignorant in two areas: the scriptures and the power of God. In verse 25 Jesus shows how they are ignorant of the power of God. God has the power to change the mortal into the immortal. When people die, the flesh may be lost, but we are spiritual beings that live on. Especially note the jab that Jesus takes at their position by mentioning that when they rise from the dead, they “are like angels in heaven.” The Sadducees did not believe that there were angels. Not only does Jesus disprove their view concerning the resurrection, but also concerning angels and spirits.
Now Jesus is going to prove His argument from scriptures. Jesus directs the Sadducees to Exodus 3:6 where God speaks with Moses from the burning bush. God said to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” From this statement by God, Jesus argues that God is the God of the living and not of the dead. Jesus’ whole argument rests upon the verb tense of the scriptures. Since God did not say that I was the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, but I am. Therefore Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still alive, though dying hundreds of years before Moses. Thus, for these three to be alive, there must be a resurrection of the dead.
The reason for the Sadducees’ deception was their lack of knowledge concerning the power of God and the scriptures. How true this still is today! We have many who believe in the power of God, but do not know the scriptures. This is one of the reasons for so many different religious groups. Yes, these people believe in the power of God, but many times have not studied the scriptures for themselves to know what God wants them to do. If we leave ourselves in such a condition, we are deceived. By the same token, we may have a knowledge of the scriptures, but do not truly believe in the power of God. We may know what God’s will is and have dedicated much time to the study of the scriptures. But when we are unable to recognize the power of God and all that God can do, then we still are deceived and are unable to truly know the Lord.
Friends, do we think of life in terms of what will happen to us after we die? There is a resurrection of the dead. There is an afterlife. Some may want to try to disprove a resurrection because they wonder about people who are burned, drowned, or suffered some sort of other death. We are ignoring the power of God as the Sadducees did. We cannot put God in a box. When asked the question if God can do such and such, our answer must always be “yes.” God can do anything that He chooses to do. The scriptures may give us no reason to expect it, but God has the power to do the unthinkable. This is what Paul said in Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to His power that is at work within us.” Life after death and our spiritual bodies may be something we do not fully comprehend. But it is very real. Death is only a transition into our new life. Where will our new lives begin?
Question Concerning the Law (12:28 -34)
A scribe’s questions about the greatest commandment
In our final scene, we now have a scribe who approaches Jesus with a question. We have now covered all the major religious groups in Jesus’ day, and all of them are testing Jesus. The Matthew account tells us that the scribe asked this question to test Jesus. The scribe asked, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Once more, we need a little background information before we look at Jesus’ answer. The rabbis of the day were devoted to arguing whether particular commandments were great or small, heavy or light. It seems part of the debate centered around which of the 613 commandments, 248 being positive and 365 being negative (according to their count), was the foremost in importance. There was an effort among the teachers to be able to summarize the law in one brief sentence. Even before Jesus’ time, several famous rabbis had tried to do this with varying success. This is the test that is presented to Jesus.
Jesus’ response and the scribe’s reaction
Jesus gives His summary of the law in verses 29-31, which is to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself. These are quotations from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 , respectively. Jesus says these words in a very straightforward manner. Jesus simply concludes His answer by saying, “There is no other commandment greater than these." The reaction of the scribe is different from the Sadducees and the Pharisees and Herodians. The scribe seems to be very happy and pleased with the answer Jesus has given. The scribe recognizes that these commands are more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.
So was Jesus and the scribe teaching that works do not matter as long as you have love? Far from it. We have demoted love to being a feeling toward God and toward other people. But that is not what love means at all. To love is to do something for someone. To love is to sacrifice for someone. To love God and to love my neighbor means that I am going to make sacrifices in my life to serve God and my neighbor. They are going to be what is first in my life before myself. The external actions of service have no value or meaning if they are not done in love. There is no point to coming to worship God if we do not love God. There is no point in reading your Bible if you do not love God. There is no reason to do things for the brethren and for strangers if you do not love their souls. This is why the law of God can be summed up with these two commandments. If love is not the driving force for all our actions, then we are deceiving ourselves concerning our relationship with God and man. This scribe understood something that many of the Jewish leaders had not understood concerning the nature of God’s law. Therefore Jesus responds, “You are not far from the kingdom of God .” The scribe understood what was necessary. All he needed to do was to act upon what he knew.
Conclusion:
Friends, God is the giver of life and has created every person here. Our life belongs to Him. There is a life after death, for the Lord has promised that all will be resurrected in the likeness of Christ. So how are we living our lives? Are we loving the Lord our God with all our heart? Do we love our neighbor just as much as we love ourselves? The answer to the questions is not through feelings but through actions. What are you doing for God? What are you doing for your neighbor? If we are not serving, then we are not loving. All of us are close to the kingdom of God when we understand that all of God’s commands hang upon these two commands. Everything we do is to be done from the motive of loving God and loving each other. If these are not our motives, we need to honestly look at ourselves, for there is a serious heart problem that must be repaired before we can enter the kingdom of God . If these are the motives we have, then all that is left is for us to obey. We give our lives to God through loving obedience, striving to put Him first every day.
