March 5, 2014
Jesus Can’t Be Trapped
I By Whose Authority…. 11:27-33
II The Vineyard Parable 12:1-12
III God vs. Caesar 12:13-17
IV The Sadducees and Resurrection 12:18-27
(When Christian Herter was governor of Massachusetts, he was running hard for a second term in office. One day, after a busy morning chasing votes (and no lunch) he arrived at a church barbecue. It was late afternoon and Herter was famished.
As Herter moved down the serving line, he held out his plate to the woman serving chicken. She put a piece on his plate and turned to the next person in line.
“Excuse me,” Governor Herter said, “do you mind if I have another piece of chicken.”
“Sorry”, the woman said, “I’m supposed to give one piece of chicken to each person.”
“But I’m starved,” the governor said.
“Sorry,” the woman said again, “only one to a customer.”
Governor Herter was a modest and unassuming man, but he decided, that this time, he would throw a little weight around.”
“Do you know who I am?” he said. “I’m the governor of this state.”
“Do you know who I am? The woman said. “I’m the lady in charge of the chicken, and I need you, to move along mister.”)
The moral of this story is, that whoever is in charge, gets to call the shots, no matter who thinks they’re in control, or that they’re important.
And Jesus, over the last days of His earthly life, most definitely, made it clear, to His disciples, to the great crowd of followers, to the high priests, to the Pharisees, to the Saddusees, and to the Herodians , that He was the ultimate authority, on all things in heaven and on earth….
By Whose Authority 11:27-33
Jesus stood on Solomon’s porch, on the east side of the court of the Gentiles, at the feet of a forest of Corinthian columns, each rising almost 40 feet, to a richly ornamented roof, which formed a colossal veranda, extending several hundred feet to the north and to the south. And below the immense porch, was the breath-taking Kidron Valley, which was 450 feet down. And looking out, into the distance, was the Mount of Olives and the sun-drenched Judean hillside.
Jesus didn’t have time to enjoy the view, though, because He was engaged in the conflict of His life. He had entered Jerusalem was openly proclaimed the Messiah, had cursed the fig tree, (which represented the spiritually lost nation of Israel) and with righteous anger, had cleansed the temple of the moneychangers and all the brouhaha, that went along with it.
He was standing on Solomon’s porch, surrounded by the chief priests, the teachers of the Law and the elders---basically the whole Sanhedren ----and He was hesitant to tell them, where His authority came from, because of their obvious, and very dangerous, disbelief.
So, with all the ease, of the person, in charge, Jesus asked them His counter-question about John the Baptist, and when they didn’t dare to answer him, then, He was free to refuse to answer their question too, about where His authority came from. Jesus had succeeded in putting in putting them in their place, and there was not one thing they could say or do about it.
The religious leaders were caught in a quandary ------they had wanted to trap Jesus with a question that would show Him to be either a blasphemer or a weird fanatic….but ,He turned the tables on them and reminded them, that they were the ones, at fault…. because, they should have recognized John the Baptist, and his message, but they chose not to-----by their silence, they chose to side with Herod over his arrest and imprisonment….they hadn’t even tried to help John; they hadn’t even tried to get him released----they had just left him to die, in Herod’s hands.
John had threatened them, just like Jesus was doing…and they were determined to get rid of Him…., as the official guardians of the Law, the members of the Sanhedrin, had both the right, and the responsibility, to investigate anyone who claimed to be sent by God----and that included Jesus. But, these religious leaders didn’t have sincere motives or open minds-----they were always cloaked in self-interest, they were only concerned about their position and their reputation and their ability to wield power; they weren’t looking for the truth----they just wanted evidence that could get rid of Jesus, once and for all.
In reminding them of John the Baptist, Jesus was letting them know, that by ignoring God’s prophet, they had forfeited their privilege of gleaning any more knowledge from the Lord-----in John 7:16-17, Jesus said, “My message is not my own; it comes from God, who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God, will know whether my teaching is from God, or is merely my own….”
God doesn’t teach us new truth, if we reject the truth He offers us, first.
The truth is, the religious leaders had not accepted what John had tried to teach them, so there was no reason for God to try and teach them anything else; it would have been like, casting pearls before swine. But if they had accepted John’s message, then they would have been ready for the Lord Jesus, and what He had to say-----and they would have welcomed Him with open arms.
The Sanhedrin, and everybody attached to them, were caught in a big mess, of their own making-----they weren’t asking, “what is true?” or “what is right”-----they were asking “what is safe?”, “what gets us the most, with a minimum amount of effort?” Jesus didn’t actually refuse to answer their question, He just refused to accept, and to endorse their hypocrisy and their selfishness and their lies-----He wasn’t being evasive---Jesus was the only person, present, who was being honest.
And before they had the opportunity to escape, Jesus made it even
clearer, by the parable that He told them, just exactly where their sins were leading them…
II The Vineyard Parable 12:1-12
When Jesus told the parable of the Wicked Vineyard Keepers, the religious leaders, in their minds, would have immediately gone back to Isaiah 5:1-7, where, the great O.T. prophet, described, in beautiful poetic language, the nation of Israel, as God’s beautiful, well-cared-for, beautiful vineyard, and what would happen to them, when the garden rejected Him, and His care. They would have known Jesus’ meaning from His very first words…
It was meant to pull them up short, and to show them God’s gracious desire to reach their hearts, by encouraging them to turn from the wicked path they were heading down…As Jesus tells the story, He reveals 4 major things about God the Father:
The hope of God for His people.
The kindness of God to those He loves.
The Severity of God’s wrath.
The Ultimate triumph of God in history.
And this parable can speak to us today, just as clearly, as it spoke to those men that Jesus was talking to----the parable indicts Israel for hurting God’s prophets, physically and for rejecting them spiritually….. And it applies to us, in the same way, in the spiritual sense---- every time we reject one of God’s messengers---- whether it be a pastor, a bible teacher, a spouse or a friend, who has spoken truth to us, that we don’t want to hear…and for believers….the failure to follow Jesus, leads to a loss of spiritual gifts, and the loss, of a sense of Gods presence and His power. We run the risk of Him giving our responsibilities and our opportunities to another person who will use them appropriately.
Jesus began by describing God’s hope and love for Israel, as the same thing as a man, who had built a vineyard, and then waited expectantly for it to produce fruit. He trusted his tenant farmers to care for, and to cultivate the vineyard. The farmer planted a wall around it, to protect it, to keep wild animals out, as well as 2-legged intruders…then he dug a pit for the winepress out of solid rock, forming 2 vats---- an upper, shallow place, where the grapes were trod and a lower vat, that the juice ran into, through a channel in the rock….. and he built a watchtower, that was 15-20 feet high, which insured that nothing, or no one, could sneak up on the vineyard, to harm it in any way… Then he went away on a journey….He did everything he could to insure good fortune for the vineyard.
The vineyard was a national symbol for Israel----even the Temple, near where Jesus was standing, was decorated with a richly carved grapevine, seventy cubits high, sculpted around the door, which led from Solomon’s Porch, into the Holy Place. The branches, the tendrils and the leaves, were made out of the finest gold. The bunches of grapes, hanging from the vine, were made out of the finest jewels. Herod is who first placed it there and then rich and patriotic Jews would add to it from time to time… Those religious leaders only had to look up, to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, who and what Jesus was talking about…
God expected great things to come from His spiritual vineyard. And it was not an uncommon thing to do, for a farmer to rent out his property…and to get about 1/3 to ½ of the produce, or of the money made, by the sale of the produce…God, as the owner of the vineyard had such high hopes and expectations for His vineyard of Israel----He wanted them, to so radiate Him, that they would be a gleaming light, to the Gentiles, around them…But Israel, as a whole, refused Him!
To realize God’s great hope for us, we have to take great care that we don’t ignore the spiritual relevance of this parable for us…We farm a much richer vineyard than that of ancient Israel. We don’t have any prophets, like Isaiah or Daniel, but we do have the complete Word of God filled with the the testimonies of all of His messengers---and we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the blessing of the life accounts, of the Saints for the last 2000 years. We have the same opportunity to be blessed, that the Sanhedrin did, but we are even more richly blessed spiritually, intellectually and materially, on this side of the cross, than they were….Luke 12:48 says, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much; much more will be asked.”
God the Father, was the man who planted the vineyard---He carefully tended it and made it beautiful----He chose the Jewish nation, protected them from their enemies, gave them His Word, and over and over again, His love and forgiveness; the vineyard is the nation of Israel, the tenant farmers are Israel’s religious leaders, down through the ages; the servants, are the O.T. prophets and priests, as well as John the Baptist, who remained faithful to God, and came as His messengers, to remind the people of God’s Words and His promises, and their destiny; the Son is Jesus; and the others, that the vineyard was finally leased to, are the Gentiles, who have been adopted into God’s family.
The religious leaders not only led their people away from God, instead of toward Him, they also killed the ones who were trying to fulfill God’s purpose for them. They were so jealous and possessive that they ignored the welfare, of the very people that they were supposed to be bringing to God. By telling this story, Jesus was making it very clear, that the religious leaders were plotting to kill Him and He was warning them, that their sins would be punished.
You would think that after sending messenger after messenger, who was either stoned or killed, that God would have long ago, lost patience and would have gone ahead and destroyed them, but He didn’t----He loves us so much that He just kept sending His messengers, one by one, to give us chance after chance, to turn back to Him, till finally, He made the ultimate sacrifice, and sent Jesus to die once and for all, and ended any question about who was in charge…
Then Jesus went on to tell them, that they would reject Him, but that there would be another group of people who would receive Him----He referred to Himself as the stone that was rejected by the builders, the Jewish leaders---but that He would become the cornerstone of a “new” building, the Church…A cornerstone, is used as the base of a building’s foundation, to make sure that the other stones of the building are straight and level----As the cornerstone of the Church, Jesus’ life and teachings are the foundation of the church.
As Jesus, finished His story, and His final words, that day, echoed through Solomon’s Porch and then died away, leaving behind, the memory, of what He had just told them, about God’s hope and love for them, and His kindness toward them, and His severity, that would come to discipline them, and finally His triumph, that would be realized in the end… And the beauty of it, had all been spoken by the most authentic voice that had ever been heard…..
And what did the religious leaders do…they continued to look for a way to arrest Him----but because they were afraid of how the crowd was responding to Him, scripture says, “that they left Him and went away”-----I think this is one of the saddest things I’ve ever read-----how lost they were. The leaders of Israel were standing at the pinnacle of the Temple; above their heads, was the great, glorious vine, symbolizing Israel, gleaming in the sun; in front of them stood Jesus, the cornerstone of God’s eternal kingdom; and stretching below them, as far as the eye could see, was the glorious vineyard-rich Valley of Kidron, representing their nation, that God loved so much----and still, they chose to willfully reject Him---
The choice is just as dramatic today, and so are the consequences. The Lord Jesus’ plea, is just as eloquent and just as poignant today, as it was then----and it’s our responsibility as well as the responsibility of every believer, by prayer and example, to encourage people to choose the Lord Jesus, above anything and everything else.
III. God vs Caesar 12:13-17
( In the late 1970’s, there were large numbers, of skilled construction workers, known as “Boomers”, traveling around the country, looking for work, on electric power plant maintenance projects. These were short-term (4-8 weeks) with high-overtime (60-70 times per week) projects.
The Boomers loved the overtime, but they hated to pay taxes on their earnings…So, they came up with a scheme to by-pass Uncle Sam… Their scheme worked great for a while, until suddenly, when the U.S. Payroll Dept. noticed something unusual about the W-4’s many of the “Boomers” were filling out, each time they were hired. For most people, the normal number of tax exemptions is 2, 3 or 4 or so, depending on family size. The higher the number of exemptions, the less tax is withheld, from the weekly paycheck. What the Boomers were doing, was filing their W-4’s, with 99 exemptions, which had the effect of eliminating any tax-withholding, from their paychecks.
Needless to say, the IRS took exception to this practice, and required the Boomers to justify, their claim of exemption, from withholding taxes.
But the Boomers were ready for any interference from the IRS-----Each worker promptly produced a letter/certificate from a so-called School of Theology, in Illinois , which declared each Boomer, to be an ordained minister. The Boomer’s letter was on stationary, with letter heads, from made-up churches in Illinois, professing that the Boomer was the pastor of the church, and that all his labor was rendered in the name of God, and therefore, all earnings, belonged to the Church, and since the Church was a non-profit organization, they were, completely, tax-exempt.
The IRS didn’t like that, nor believe it, so the Boomer’s scheme was smashed.
The Boomers were not unlike the Pharisees-----they all, wanted to use God, to deny Caesar, what was Caesar’s. The Boomers were greedy and so were the Pharisees-----but the Pharisees had a deeper agenda----they wanted to trap Jesus---which was a Big Mistake!-----Jesus shocked them, and set them straight, yet again, when He said, “for us to give Caesar what belongs to him, and give to God, what belongs to Him…” Jesus was not of this world, but He lived in this world, and so do we, so we are called to be good Christians, who are known for our good citizenship…
A common threat, forced two enemies to unite, the Pharisees and the Herodians. The Herodians were Jewish collaberators, who wanted to be in charge so badly, that they had no qualms, about cowtowing, to the family of Herod, as well as to the Romans, so that their political party, would be given the authority to rule.
The Pharisees hated the Herodians-----they thought that the Herod clan were evil usurpers to the throne of David----because Herod wasn’t really Jewish, he was an Edomite, descended from Esau…Plus, the Pharisees hated the Roman’s presence, in their land and they bitterly resented, that they had to pay Rome a poll tax (which is a tax levied against an individual, just because that individual exists)… and they despised the fact, that a lot of the tax mone,y went to maintain the pagan temples, and the luxurious lifestyles, of the Roman upper class….
Their temporary alliance was a subtle trap, because no matter which way Jesus responded to their question about paying Caesar, taxes, He was going to be in trouble with the Sanhedrin, Herod or Rome----they thought they had Him right where they wanted Him----but Jesus was so wise…. Because He moved the discussion, from politics to principle, and caught the hypocrites, in their own game…
If we paraphrased the Lord’s response to the Pharisees, it would read something like this…”Caesar’s image is on this coin, that you’ve just gave me---- so, they must have been minted by Caesar’s authority. The simple fact, that you possess these coins, and use them for purchasing things, indicates that you believe they’re worth something…. which means that you are already accepting Caesar’s authority, or you wouldn’t use his money! But don’t you ever forget that you were created in God’s image, so you are compelled to live, under His authority, too”
In some versions of the scripture, it says, “render unto Caesar what is his and render unto God, what is His…”---the word render, means to pay back, or to pay a debt. Jesus looked at taxes, as a citizen’s debt to the government, in return for services performed for them…
In our world, those government services, would include, fire and police and EMT protection, National Defense and Homeland Security, the salaries of State Officials, special programs for the poor and underprivileged, state universities, state and county hospitals, the armed forces, and many, many, other programs, which make the U.S., the best country in the world to live in. We, as individual Christian citizens might not agree, with all the ways our tax money is used, or how much we have to pay, and even though, we do have the privilege and right to vote, so that we can have a say in things---- but, the bottom line is, that God has established human government, and, ultimately, it’s for our good… Even if we don’t respect the people in office, we need to respect the office----- and the best thing we can do for them, because, badmouthing accomplishes nothing….
But we can never forget, that , as believers, our primary, eternal citizenship, is in the Kingdom of Heaven-----and that requires, for us to pledge our primary obedience and commitment, to God, the Father. As God’s children, we have legitimate obligations to both God, and the government… but its important that we keep our priorities straight----when God’s authority, and the authority of the government, conflict, our duty to God, always has to come first. The coin, bearing the emperor’s image, should be given to the emperor; but, our lives, bearing God’s image, belong to God….. And how to we bear God’s image? In so many beautiful ways….the first of which, is that we have an awareness of existing----in Exodus 3:14, God said, “I am who I am….” This was a statement of his eternal existence-----we are the only creatures in the universe who can say, “I am Yours”------ because God created us, with an awareness, of our existence in Him…and, we have a moral sense of right and wrong…and, we can express emotion---mad, happy glad or sad, we can express it----and, we have the free will to choose, what we want to choose----
What wonderful gifts the Lord has given us by creating us in His image----and how marvelous that we will be able to bear His image for all eternity….And the most wonderful thing of all, is, because we are God’s coin, bearing His image, He owns us, and we can trust Him to take care of us, and use us, in any way, that He wants, or needs to.
Because we are created in God’s image, He can re-sculpt his character in our hearts…this is part of the work of the Holy Spirit, which begins with His sealing our redemption, for eternity…..Just like when an ancient wax seal was placed on a container or a letter, and the owner took his ring and pressed it into hot wax, so that everybody knew that it belonged to him and he was authenticating it------the Holy Spirit does the same thing for us------He warms us up, makes us pliable, and then presses His character into us….And as we grow in the Spirit, the mark of His divine imprint, burns deeper and deeper into us, and as we conform, more and more to His image… it becomes clearer and clearer, who we belong to….
IIII. The Saddusees and Resurrection 12:18-27
(A lot can be learned by the questions people ask. Two physics students wanted to go to a party, in a town 50 miles away, even though they had a major physics test, first thing, the next morning….the only way that they could go to the party, was to spend the night there, and then return late, the next day, long after the test had been given….
That’s ok, one student said’, “we’ll tell the professor that we had a flat tire. He can’t punish us for having a flat tire…
The other student agreed, so they went to the party and had a wonderful time. When they got back to school, the next day, they told the professor, that they’d had a flat tire, and asked if they could take a make-up test…the professor agreed.
The next day, as they took their seats, for the make-up test, the professor handed out a sheet of paper. “There are only 2 questions on this test, one on each side of the paper”, he said. “Question 1, is worth 10% and Question 2, is worth 90%. Take your time, and answer the questions fully and completely. This final will make up 50%, of your over-all grade, in this class.” He walked to the front of the room and sat down, s that he could moniter the test…
Both students read the first question: “Who came up with The Theory of Relativity?” Both students smiled. “Albert Einstein.” They wrote. “What an easy test”, they thought, as they flipped to the back-side, of the sheet of paper.
And then they saw the second question….Question 2 was, “Which tire was flat?” And their hearts sank….
This must have been how the Saddusees felt, when Jesus turned the tables on them----they had approached Him, with an irreverent smugness and an attitude of superiority, and Jesus put them in their place, in no uncertain terms…
This is the only place in Mark, where the Saddusees are mentioned. They were a sect of Judaeism, which only accepted the Law of Moses, as their religious authority---if a doctrine couldn’t be defended, from the first 5 books of the O.T., then it wasn’t true, so they didn’t accept it…Because they weren’t addressed in the Pentateuch, they didn’t believe in the existence of the soul, life after death, resurrection, final judgments, angels, or demons. Most of the Saddusees were the wealthy priests, in their community….They considered themselves to be the “religious aristocrats” of Judaism…and they tended to look down on everybody else.
The hypothetical question, that they brought to Jesus, was based on the Law of Marriage, given in Deuteronomy25:7-10. “If woman had a series of seven husbands during her lifetime, all brothers, and they all died, and then the woman died---leaving no heir---if there is a future resurrection, who would she be married to in heaven----would it be one husband, or all seven…?” It seemed to the Saddusees that they had asked Jesus the perfect question---one that He couldn’t answer----- which would turn the tide of support away from Him, if He couldn’t answer such an important question……
The Saddusees thought that they were so smart, but Jesus, very quickly, exposed their ignorance, of 2 things: the power of God and the truth of scripture. The question about the woman was just a smokescreen---so, Jesus ignored it and went straight for what was wrong----their inability to look beyond themselves, and see God.
What they didn’t understand, is that resurrection, is not the restoration of life, as we know it, it’s the entrance, into a new life, that is different from any other life. It is a life where, the creator of the universe, who gave us our original, earthly bodies, will give us new, wonderful, perfect, bodies, that we will need, for our new lives, in heaven. God’s power was beyond their comprehension…
In John 17:22-24 and 1 John 3:1-2, Jesus didn’t say that we would become angels or be like the angels in every way, because God’s children are higher than the angels, because we’re created in God’s image….What He was saying, is that, in our resurrection bodies, we will be sexless like the angels-----because there will be no need for marriage, because there won’t be any need for procreation and the continuance of the race, because there will be no death…In His statement about, no marriage, in heaven, Jesus didn’t mean that we won’t know our spouses---He just meant that God’s new order will not be an extension of this life, and the same physical and natural rules, that we obey here, will not apply, there. And Jesus’ comment wasn’t meant to be the last word on marriage, in heaven, either------it was more that, it was Jesus’ refusal, to answer the Saddusees’ question, and falling into their trap. But the truth is, in heaven, our relationships with our spiritual brothers and sisters will be so perfect, and so filled with love, that earthly marital bliss will seem shallow, in comparison…
What life will be like, after the resurrection, is far beyond our ability to understand or imagine. But we don’t need to be afraid of eternal life, because of the unknown….instead of wondering, what our heavenly life is going to be like, we need to concentrate on our relationship with the Lord Jesus, right now….because we’ll be with Him in heaven, if we learn to love and trust Him now, then we won’t be afraid, imagining, how heaven is going to be different…
The Saddusees were also ignorant of the whole scripture-----they claimed to accept the authority of Moses, but they failed to notice that Moses taught the continuation of life after death…The Lord took them back to God’s irrefutable conversation, with Moses, at the Burning Bush, in Exodus 3…..in that conversation, God did not tell Moses , “I was, or I used to be, the God of Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob-----He said, “ I am the God of Abraham; I am the God of Isaac; and I am the God of Jacob. The patriarchs were alive when God spoke those words to Moses, which means that the Penteteuch does teach life after death… With one sharp stab…the Lord punctured all the Saddusees believed in and what they didn’t believe in….When God spoke to Moses at the burning bush, Jacob had been physically dead for 200 years, and Isaac for 225 years and Abraham for 330 years…the reality is, they wear’nt dead, at all, they were very much alive-----and Jesus knew that they were------
Jesus told the Saddusees, that they had made a serious error-----willful blindness is inexcusable----these men had all the evidence that they needed to understand the truth of the scripture, and it wasn’t that they couldn’t believe, it was that they chose not to believe-----and that is the greatest error of all….
