15 Then the Pharisees met together to plot how to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested. 16 They sent some of their disciples, along with the supporters of Herod, to meet with him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You teach the way of God truthfully. You are impartial and don’t play favorites. 17 Now tell us what you think about this: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
18 But Jesus knew their evil motives. “You hypocrites!” he said. “Why are you trying to trap me? 19 Here, show me the coin used for the tax.” When they handed him a Roman coin,[a] 20 he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”
21 “Caesar’s,” they replied.
“Well, then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”
22 His reply amazed them, and they went away.
23 That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’[b] 25 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow. 26 But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them. 27 Last of all, the woman also died. 28 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
29 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 30 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
31 “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said,[c] 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[d] So he is the God of the living, not the dead.”
33 When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’[e] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[f] 40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
41 Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
43 Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’[g]
45 Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
46 No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Matthew 22:15-46
Dear God, the thing that struck me about this story this morning is something I’ve noticed in some of my observations about some people in our community and the world. There’s just so much anger! And behind the anger is fear. Fear of losing control. Power. Position. Influence. Security. Certainty.
I was on Facebook earlier this week and I saw someone taking random figurative shots at our local Chick-fil-A. Service was slow. Food was not good and overpriced. While I disagree with the person (and I tried to politely make a positive post about my experience at Chick-fil-A) I was more struck at the why behind their criticism. Someone had posted asking about why they had a flag pole out front with no flag. A reasonable question. This person decided to leaveabout how to apporachin their negative, unsolicited comment. I thought about their anger. I felt bad for them. I didn’t pray for them. I probably should now.
I see these Pharisees and Sadducees and their fear. Who Jesus was and what he represented was alarming to them. He had the potential to take away their power, position, influence, security, and certainty. But wouldn’t it have foiled the whole plan if they had realized who Jesus was and endorsed him?
Father, I want to respond to the people and situations around me out of love. I prayed yesterday about being convicted on how to approach someone in town for whom I have criticism. I want to do it in a loving, constructive way. I don’t want to be accusatory. I don’t think this person is evil. I think he loves people and wants to do good work. At least that’s the supposition I’m working from. So fill me with love. Fill me with joy. Holy Spirit, fill me with your peace.
I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
