15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. 26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh. 27 After them all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”
29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The Pharisees were intentional in trying to trick Jesus so that He would be discredited as the Messiah. They begin with flattery in an attempt to get Jesus to let down His guard by calling him a teacher who teaches God’s way truthfully without regard to others’ opinions. Then they ask their carefully crafted question, “is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” The question is tricky because if He says it is lawful, then how can He be the Messiah who is to free Israel. If He says it is not lawful, then they can hand Him over to Caesar for treason. But Jesus is aware of their scheme and answers skilfully. He asks for a coin and then asks them who’s inscription and image was on the coin. They answer that it was Caesar’s and so Jesus tells them it is right to give back to Caesar what he owns. It is also right to give back to God what He owns (which is our life and all our possessions). A key part of our obedience to God is through obedience to our parents and our government even when it doesn’t suit us because God put them in authority over us (Eph 6:1; Rom 13:1).
Next, the Sadducees came to Jesus. They didn’t believe in the resurrection and so they too ask a question loaded to trick Jesus. They present a hypothetical question that is intended to show that the doctrine of the resurrection is illogical (and therefore false). They say that Moses taught that if a man dies without children [to inherit his land] that his brother should marry his wife and produce an heir for him. Their situation involves seven brothers who all die having married one woman in an attempt to produce heirs for their dead brothers. Now, if there is a resurrection, whose wife will she be? Jesus tells them they are wrong because they don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God. Their question was based on an aspect of Scripture but they didn’t know it well enough. Jesus points out that those who are resurrected will be like angels (spiritual) and will not marry or be married. Then He addressed their underlying problem by pointing to how the Scriptures (in their case, the Pentateuch, or first 5 books of the Bible) alluded to the resurrection when God said, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (Ex 3:6) God said this after they had died using the present tense to show that He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living—the resurrected. It is important that you know the Bible well if you are going to avoid being led into error. Today people still use the same tactic to lead people astray. They point to some aspect of the Bible and then use logic to show that it can’t be true. Their supposed logic can often be refuted with a broader understanding of the Bible.
This passage is a reminder that it’s important for us to know our doctrine, for many reasons but especially because Satan will always try to trick us.
I was reminded to respect authority like Jesus told them to because these people are put in place by God. Unless they go against the bible we must respect them