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to the discussion with the Pharisees and that he was favorably impressed with Jesus. But whatever his personal feel ing, he acted as spokesman for the hos tile Pharisees and was involved in their guilt. V. 36. Which is the great command ment . . . ? Literally, “What sort of commandment is great in the law?” (cf. 19:18, 21, 23). The Jews classified com mandments as great and small, weighty and light (23:23; cf. 5:19). The purpose of the question was evidently to entice Jesus to take His stand against the tradi tions which the scribes had added to the law of Moses. V. 37. Thou shalt love. Mark (12:33) quotes the passage fully (cf. Deut. 6:4-5). This was recited daily by devout Jews. Perhaps this very scribe was wearing on his forehead a phylactery—a leather case in which was enclosed a bit of parchment bearing these words from Deuteronomy. With all thy heart, . . . soul, . . . . mind. All the faculties and desires must be fully occupied with love to God. There are slight differences in the words used in Deuteronomy, Matthew, and Mark, but they amount to the same thing. V. 38. Great and first. This command is greatest in importance and should al ways be put first in order of statement and consideration. God’s claims are al ways supreme. V. 39. Love thy neighbor. This is a summary of the second table of the law, quoted from Leviticus 19:18. It is not so important as the other but just as truly an obligation to God. Luke (10:29-37) in serts the question of the lawyer, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered this with the parable of the Good Samaritan, which teaches the lesson that every man who is in need and whom we can help, is our neighbor. Y. 40. On these two. Every command ment in the Old Testament is compre hended under one of these two general statements. There is no true love to God when there is no love for needy men; there can be no genuine love for the neighbor until the love of God fills the heart. * * * L esso n Q u est io n s V. 15. Who were the Pharisees? What were they plotting to do? V. 16. Who were the Herodians ? How did these two sects differ? What had they in common? What did these Herodians say? Did they tell the truth when they said “Thou art true” (John 14:6)? Did they tell the truth in saying “Thou teach est the way of God in truth,” and “Thou regardest not the person of men” ? If these things were true, what was wrong about their statement? V. 17. What was their question? What was their motive in asking the question? If Jesus had answered “No” to their question, whom would He have offended (cf. Luke 23:1-2) ? If He had said “Yes,” whom would He have offended? V. 18. Was Jesus deceived by their flatteries? What is meant by the expres sion, “make trial of me” ? Did Jesus on other occasions call the Pharisees hypo crites ? V. 19. What question did Jesus ask? What did He say the image on the coin indicated ? V. 21. What is their answer to His question? What is the meaning of the word “render” ? (See Luke 4:20; 9:42,
people alone restrained them from open attempts to destroy Him (21:46). Their one hope was that they might by hard questions ensnare Him and get from Him some statement that would arouse public prejudice or be the basis of a charge against Him to the Roman authorities. With this in mind, three questions were asked of Him ; the first by Pharisees and Herodians united, the second by Sad- ducees, the third by a lawyer. We shall see that they failed in all of their at tempts, and that the contest ended with Jesus a complete victor. * * * H eart of t h e L esso n I. The Trappers. V. 15. The Pharisees. The strictest and most orthodox Sect of the Jews. Jesus had frequently denounced them for their perversions of the truth by their man II. The Pharisees’ Trap (16-17). V. 16. Their disciples. The rabbis them- selves kept in the background to watch the result. They probably thought that Jesus might not suspect any plot if His questioners were ordinary pupils and not from among the leaders. With the Hero dians. The Herodians were the political party, friendly to the Herods, the ap- pointées of Rome. Religiously they were skeptics. They had nothing in common, either politically or religiously, with the Pharisees. The bond that drew these two groups together at this time was their common jealousy and hatred of Jesus. Master, we know. They professed to come as pupils to a teacher. Their hy pocrisy was at once recognized. Thou art true. They said a true thing but they themselves were false. They meant to capture Him by flattery. Their purpose was to prove that He was not true, but a deceiver (cf. 27:63). Teachest the way of God. They professed to follow Him and to trust Him as a Guide in the way Grod had appointed to them. At heart they rejected Him. Regardest not the person o f men. They were about to ask a question which they hoped would lead ta*e s’des in a controversial mat ter. They challenged Him to speak His mmd without reservation and without tear of any man. V. 17. Tell us therefore. After a shrewd preamble calculated to throw Jesus off His guard, the question is asked. Tribute unto Caesar, or not? A categorical yes or no is demanded—a clever lawyer’s trick to corner a witness. Truly this was a cunningly devised trap. If Jesus had answered “Yes,” the patriotic Pharisees and others would have been offended. If He had said “No,” the Herodians would have been angered and He could have been charged with sedition before the Roman authorities. If He had refused to answer or had attempted to dodge the question, He would have lost His reputa tion as a Teacher. III. The Trappers Trapped (18-22). V. 18. Perceived their wickedness. Théy pretended to be honest but were m a d e regulations. Ensnare him. They were c r a f t y and cruel, seeking some a d m i s s i o n from Jésus that could be t w i s t e d i n t o a c h a r g e a g a i n s t Him.
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false. They posed as learners but had their minds fully made up. They asked for guidance when they merely wanted a weapon against Him. Why make ye trial of me . . . ? That is, they were testing Him with questions designed, to bring injury to Him. Ye hypocrites. Their as sumed loyalty to God and to Rome, and friendliness toward Jesus, was declared to be mere pretense. On more than one oc casion the Pharisees were thus exposed. V. 19. Show me the tribute money. He called for a coin which was used in pay ing the poll-tax. A denarius. This was a piece of silver money, the price of a day’s labor (20:2). Apparently it was also the amount fixed as the poll-tax at that time. Whose . . . image. Such coins bore the portrait of the Emperor, with a su perscription” giving his name and the value of the coin. V. 21. They say, Caesar’s. This was the natural answer. They did not sus pect what the Lord was intending to prove. Render unto Caesar. Literally, “Pay back.” They are not asked to give it, but to give it back. In this answer, Jesus struck at a very difficult problem. Under the Theocracy, all the tithes were gifts to God. When the Theocracy passed, many patriotic Hebrews felt it was wrong to pay taxes to a heathen government. They did not distinguish between civil and religious duties. Jesus laid down a broad rule to the effect that it is our duty to God to acknowledge our obligation to human governments, because they are or dained of God (Rom. 13:1-7). The things that are Caesar’s. The citizen should give not only taxes but everything else that he owes to his country. The things that are God’s. On our souls is stamped the image of God. All that we have and are be longs to God; therefore give it back to Him. V. 22. They marvelled. These men were cunning and calculating, but they were easily defeated by Jesus and were amazed at His skill in confusing them. They went away, not convinced and chas tened, but to concoct a new plan. V. Pharisees Silenced (34-40). V. 34. The Pharisees. The Pharisees were pleased that the Sadducees were silenced (literally, “muzzled”) on the subject of the Resurrection, concerning which these two sects were at odds. How ever, the Pharisees were not content to leave; matters as they were. They again entered into argument with Jesus lest it should appear that they too were defeat ed. Gathered . . . together. A company came together, either to make a new plot or with the idea that there might be strength in numbers. V. 35. A lawyer, A scribe (cf. Mark 12:28), learned in the Jewish law. Try ing him. Compare verse 18. Mark (12:28) shows that this lawyer had been listening
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