SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). A Question About Caesar (vs 20-26).
(2). A Question About Moses (vs 27-40).
(3). A Question About David (vs 41-44).
SERMON BODY
Ill:
• An antique dealer spotted a valuable antique bowl in a small bric-a-brac shop.
• And he knew right away that the bowl was worth thousands of pounds.
• And here it was being used to feed the owner's cat.
• Not wanting to alert the owner to the bowls value,
• The clever dealer thought of a cunning plan to get it cheap.
• He said to the shop owner, “I'd like to buy your cat. I'll give you twenty pounds for him.'”
• The owner resisted, “Saying I can’t sell my cat”
• Well, a period of bartering took place,
• And eventually the dealer offered £100 at which point the man sold the cat.
• The dealer then said, “I assume I'll get the bowl to go with the cat?”
• The owner replied, “Oh no, that's my lucky bowl. I've sold 34 cats with it this week!”
• TRANSITION: Sometimes the people who try to trap others with their words,
• Wind up being the victims themselves.
• In this chapter of Luke’s gospel.
• Three groups of religious leaders try to trap Jesus (vs 1).
• “The chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders”
These leaders were the religious heavyweights who were trying to trap Jesus in his own teaching.
• This was not just an act of dishonesty, it was also an act of deceit,
• Luke who wrote this gospel uses a specific Greek word (vs 127) translated as ‘rejected’.
• The word means, ‘to reject after investigation.’
• These leaders were doing their job investigating Jesus,
• As guardians of the faith, guardians of the truth,
• They were in their rights.
• To check out and make sure this new & popular preacher was sound.
• The big problem was this,
• They came to check out Jesus with their minds already made up,
• They did not come to weigh up the facts,
• Instead, they had already rejected Jesus,
• And now they wanted or needed evidence to rid themselves of him.
The irony of this chapter is they came to examine Jesus:
• But all the time Jesus was examining them!
• Jesus is never on-the-back-foot, he is always in charge, in command.
• The religious leaders, responses to Jesus,
• Shows to us their ignorance, their hatred and their unbelief.
• Last week you looked at ‘A Question About John the Baptist’ (vs 1-19).
• This week we will look at three more questions found in these verses.
• Two questions asked by the religious leaders and one asked by Jesus.
(1). A Question About Caesar (vs 20-26).
“Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: ‘Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’
23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 ‘Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?’
‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.
25 He said to them, ‘Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’
26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.”
Ill:
• In one of Aesop’s Fables,
• A donkey is walking through the woods and he finds the skin of a lion.
• Hunters had killed the lion and gone away for a short while,
• Leaving the skin to dry in the sun.
• The donkey finds the lion’s skin and put it on and to his surprise it fits him perfectly.
• As he wanders through the jungle,
• He soon discovers that all the other animals are now terrified of him,
• They ran away whenever he appears.
• Enjoying his moment of power and newly found respect.
• The donkey brayed his happiness,
• The trouble being that his voice gives him away as being a donkey.
• The moral of the fable is clear:
• Fine clothes may disguise, but stupid words will reveal a fool.
• TRANSITION: The Pharisees and the chief priests come to Jesus in their fine clothes.
• But their words reveal their foolishness!
• Note: usually the Pharisees and chief priestly family do not get along,
• But here they are united in their hatred of Jesus.
Ill:
• Jesus was often scathing at the religious leaders,
• He hated their hypocrisy and hated their exploitation of the poor.
• On one occasion he called the Pharisees, “White-washed tombs”
• (Matthew chapter 23 verses 27-28)
• Because they were beautiful on the outside but full of decay and corruption on the inside.
• That is not the way to win friends and influence people!
• A few days earlier Jesus to this incident.
• Jesus was in the temple and he threw out the moneychangers & drove out the animals.
• Now the chief priest's family, which profits from commercial activity in the temple,
• Where not impressed, it hit them in their pockets, so they too are out to get him.
These spies (Pharisees and chief priests) have a common goal:
• Their aim is to get Jesus in trouble with the Romans,
• Specifically, the governor, Pontius Pilate,
• Pilate is the only one in Jerusalem who has the authority to exercise the death penalty.
• These spies (Pharisees and chief priests) want rid of Jesus,
• They want Jesus arrested and killed.
• They are looking for an unwise comment, a careless word, a flawed answer.
• Note the verb "catch" in verse 20 and "trap" in verse 26.
• Their questions are loaded to lay a trap for Jesus.
• If Jesus says one wrong word,
• They know they can twist its meaning and involve the Romans,
• This can then move on from a religious argument to a charge of treason.
The flattery used in verse 21 is shameful:
“Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.”
• I like the fact that their flattery bounced off Jesus,
• Like raindrops bounce off an umbrella.
• What they say may be true, but it does not come from truthful hearts.
• And Jesus knew that their words were hollow.
Now the loaded question (vs 22):
• Verse 22 is a ‘catch 22’ situation,
• By that I mean a situation, a question in which that you just can’t win!
• Whatever you choose to say, the question is designed to catch you out.
• Now the question is a ‘hot potato’ - it is political not religious,
• And it is designed to be controversial.
• "Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
Ill:
• The Romans liked their taxes!
• All governments seem to like their taxes.
• Quick joke:
• What's the difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion?
• About 10 years.
• TRANSITION: The Romans liked their taxes!
• In addition to property taxes, the Romans also required.
• An annual payment of one denarius, a day's wage, per adult male.
Catch #1:
• If Jesus agrees that Roman taxation is right,
• Then these religious leaders can possibly turn public opinion against Jesus,
• Because the people hated paying tax and had an intense hatred for the tax collectors,
• So, if Jesus sides with the paying of taxes,
• He is on the side of the Romans; he is on the side of those despised tax collectors!
• He agrees with Rome's right to occupy Israel & place burdensome taxes on its citizens,
Catch #2:
• If Jesus sides with the people and says taxes are wrong or even better,
• That taxes should not be paid.
• They can go to Pilate and say he is a rebellion against Rome.
• They can paint Jesus as a Zealot, a freedom fighter, a rebel,
• One who is stirring up trouble against Roman domination.
A wise answer (vs 23-25).
• Notice how Jesus (vs 23) sees through their deceit:
• Jesus refers to their trickery as "duplicity" (NIV) or "craftiness" (KJV),
• Greek word ‘panourgia’, "cunning, craftiness, trickery,"
• Literally "readiness to do anything."
• Now notice the coin that Jesus asks for,
• It is the very coin that must be paid for each year by each male member of the family.
• So, it is the coin at the heart of the issue.
• The fact they have the coin indicates that they should have already known the answer.
• Also, for a Jew this coin was blasphemous!
• Because on one side was the image of Caesar referring to him as a god.
• On the other side of the coin
• Is the emperor's mother Livia is also called a goddess and a "High Priest"
• So, for any Jew this coin was blasphemous!
I love the answer Jesus gives - it is stunning in its simplicity and effectiveness:
• "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
• Brilliant insight and wisdom in this answer.
• Caesar is on the coin, it bears his image, so you had better give it him,
• Notice Jesus continues, "And [give] to God what is God's."
• I think there is the implied question here,
• Jesus is asking whose image do you bear?
• Remember every Jew is taught in the Torah, The Law of Moses.
• That they bear the image of God (Genesis chapter 1 verse 27).
• So, Jesus is subtly saying, God is truthful, God is honest, God is genuine,
• That is the image you should be bearing, not one of dishonesty and deceit.
(2). A Question About Moses (vs 27-40).
• This question comes from the Sadducees.
• These religious Jews only accepted the first five books of the Bible as inspired.
• They believed only The Torah, The Law of Moses.
• The Sadducees did not believe in angels, spirits or the resurrection of the dead.
• (If you forgive the pun, that why they were sad-you-see!)
Laying the Trap (vs 29-33)
• These Sadducees concoct a question about marriage based on verses found in:
• Genesis chapter 38 verses 8-26 and Deuteronomy chapter 25 verses 5-10)
• The question is purely a hypothetical question,
• It just would never happen,
• But they are not worried about that because it is a trap a means to catch out Jesus.
• They know that Jesus believes in life after death,
• So, they come with a theological puzzle for Jesus to solve.
• Verses 29-33:
"Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"
Ill:
• William Chillingworth in 1648 wrote of clergymen disputing the question:
• ‘How many angels can stand on the head of a pin’
• We would think, surely, they had more important things to debate!
• The Sadducees question seems to be along the same line as the angel’s question.
• It is trivial, it is hypothetical, it is unimportant.
• Yet, it was a serious attempt to discredit Jesus.
So, those who do not believe in a resurrection, argue the case:
• Whose wife will she be at the resurrection -- if there is a resurrection?
• They are trying to show up problems and inconsistencies,
• With the view of resurrection of the dead.
THE ANSWER OF JESUS:
• In his short answer (vs 34-38,
• Jesus teaches some important truths about the resurrection.
FIRST: It is a privilege (vs 35).
"Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage and they can no longer die.' "
• Jesus replies that we are not to take the resurrection from the dead for granted!
• He says, those who experience the resurrection must be considered worthy,
• And therefore, not all people will experience this.
Question: How can we be made worthy?
Answer: By our relationship with Jesus Christ!
• The resurrection to life is a gift granted by God,
• Not something to be assumed or earned!
• Salvation is a gift from God to those who come in repentance and faith.
i.e. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8:
“For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, for it is the gift of God; For ye are saved by grace, through faith; and this not of yourselves; it is God's gift: for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:”
i.e. Romans chapter 6 verse 23:
“The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”
SECOND: It is an immortal state (vs 35).
"Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage and they can no longer die.' "
• Resurrection from the dead.
• Brings a believer to a state where he or she can never again experience death.
• e.g. Romans chapter 6 verse 9 the apostle Paul wrote:
"For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him"
So, we only die once as believers.
• You probably know the old saying.
• “If you are born twice you die once, and if you are born once you die twice”
• Every true believer is born twice:
• We had a physical birth, but we also had a spiritual birth (“Born again”
• (John chapter 3)
• Jesus and elsewhere in the New Testament we are told,
• At the resurrection from the dead.
• The believer will be raised never again to experience death.
THIRD: Marrying is Temporal, Not Eternal (vs 34-36a):
"Jesus replied, 'The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage and they can no longer die.' and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.”
In this life some of the key things are:
• Finding a husband or wife, marriage,
• We all want to experience a loving stable relationship.
• But in the age to come,
• Jesus says, people will no longer marry or be given in marriage.
• Marriage will be obsolete; God has another focus for us!
Ill:
• Loving couples may be saddened by this teaching.
• Unless you live with an impossible irritating partner,
• Then you will be relieved!
• But DO NOT read more into these verses than they say.
• It is not a lengthy discourse explaining heaven and all that will take place.
• It is a simple answer to a trick question,
• And the main point is this – in heaven relationships will be very different.
• In the age to come, marriage will not be the defining relationship of our lives.
• As it often is here on earth.
• It will be different!
FOURTH: Like the Angels (vs 36).
"... and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection."
• In what sense are those in the age to come angel-like?
• The answer would appear to be that "they can no longer die."
I like the way Jesus answers the Sadducees' question:
• He will undermine the basic idea behind their argument.
• Remember that the Old Testament laws were given for a reason,
• Mainly to preserve the family name and existence after someone had died.
• Jesus argues that those in the age to come will no longer die.
• In heaven marriage and reproduction are not necessary for the believer’s existence.
• On earth people live and die, but in heaven, things are different.
Notice how Jesus then ‘hits-the-hammer on-the-head’! (vs 37-38)
• Having answered the foolish question asked by the Sadducees' argument.
• Jesus kind of says; you want to quote Moses, try this one!
• He then quotes Moses to prove the resurrection (vs 37-38).
"But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."
• Jesus argues simply that the idea of being the God of a dead person is foolish.
• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be alive.
• Or you can confidently expect that God will raise them to life.
• Notice his words:
• He “is” not WAS the “the God of Abraham, & the God of Isaac, & the God of Jacob”
• God will raise the dead, because he must keep his promises to them to be their God.
Look at the irony in this passage:
• The religious leaders who came united in the hatred of Jesus,
• Are suddenly divided and the Pharisees of all people,
• End up giving him a symbolic pat on the back.
"Some of the teachers of the law responded, 'Well said, teacher!' And no one dared to ask him any more questions."
• But you can be sure that the Pharisees and scribes, division would not last for long.
• Just a few minutes as Jesus throws out a question to them,
• And they will not answer it because they cannot answer it!
(3). A Question About David (vs 41-44).
"Then Jesus said to them, 'How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:
'The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.'"
(quoting Psalm 110 verse 1)
• Then the tough question these religious leaders did not want to ask:
• "David calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"
The Pharisees used the term "Son of David" to refer to the Christ, the Messiah:
• Every Jew knew that David was Israel's greatest king.
• Every Jew believed that the Messiah would restore David's kingdom.
• Now Jesus points out to them.
• What David, the author of the clearly Messianic Psalm 110, says:
• "The LORD (that is, God, Yahweh), says to my (i.e. David's) Lord (Adonai)..."
There was no other king in Israel, only king David,
• This means that King David called someone else his Lord.
• He was referring to God (Adonai) in this Psalm.
• Today, Jewish rabbis claim that Adonai refers to the “king.”
• But this does not make sense since King David wrote the Psalm.
• There was no other king in Israel.
King David called someone else his Lord (Adonai).
• The Jews at the time of Jesus understood this to be a reference to the Messiah.
• So, the question is simple,
• How can one of David’s descendants be his Lord (Adonai)?
• There is only one explanation as to how this Lord (Adonai),
• Could be both David’s son and is also superior to David.
• The Messiah was and must also be God.
• Jesus seems to be saying to the Pharisees:
• That they don't really understand the Messiah and the age to come.
• Any better than the Sadducees who they have just derided,
In Conclusion:
• This passage seems just to have issues,
• Or rather theological questions of another era.
• But one thing jumps out to me,
• That should make us all perk up our ears about take note!
• Jesus makes it clear here and in many other places in the gospels,
• This age and the things we deem important in it will soon pass away.
• Money, sex, fame, and power,
• That which are so often the focus of most people’s lives today,
• Will soon have no importance.
• Even our health is of no long-term importance.
• We will die!
• Fact: one in one die!
Ill:
• On Wednesday this week I took a school assembly,
• My topic was Lent and Ash Wednesday.
• Well as the Bible says nothing about either of these man-made traditions,
• From a few of these traditions,
• I was surprised that I could make out of it a good assembly.
• But I learnt this week that In the Church of England,
• They make a cross on a person’s forehead from ash & water.
• And they say this prayer.
“Remember you are dust and to dust you will return.
turn away from sin and be faithful to Christ”
• Well, that prayer is based on biblical truth.
• Quote: Genesis chapter 2 verse 7:
Then the LORD God formed a man[a] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
• Quote: Ecclesiastes chapter 3 verse 20:
• "All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return."
Ill:
• And one day at our funeral service (unless the Lord comes first):
• We will probably have the words “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust” spoken over us.
• Those words are taken from the English Burial Service
• And are adapted from the Biblical text, Genesis chapter 3 verse 19 (KJV)
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
• The Bible makes it very clear; we are dust and we return to dust.
• And we leave behind everything this world tells us is important and valuable!
TOUCH QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON!
• Are we ready to die?
• Are we ready to face God?
• Will you fear that day or can you look forward to it?
• If this world is passing away and all the things it possesses.
• Then what am I living for?
• Am I laying up treasure in heaven or just investing on earth?
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=zfnzupWnEDXyLkvJduznqSUXJ3PZPqiJ
