Yesterday was a great day at our church. We had our regular morning activities and then in the afternoon, we hosted our annual church picnic. There is nothing like the smell of grilled burgers and dogs while you sit around in the shade and socialize with others. It is a great way to celebrate the changing of seasons as summer finally gives way to fall.
During our small group Bible study time, something we call Connect Groups, I had the privilege of leading our High school class. We studied Matthew 22. I want to walk through the lesson with you here in article form because I believe that you will be surprised to see that life 2,000 years ago was eerily similar to our modern times. The wisest man who ever lived, apart from God in the flesh, Jesus Christ, was King Solomon. God told Solomon that He would grant him whatever his heart desired. Solomon asked for wisdom! King Solomon wrote the wise words of the title of this article. Keep in mind that these words were written almost 3,000 years ago. They were relevant then. They were relevant 2,000 years ago. They are still relevant today.
Have you ever heard of the idea of “cancel culture“? Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 6 years, you are very familiar with the idea of cancel culture. It is not a new phenomenon. It existed 2,000 years ago just like it does today. Jesus experienced it in His daily life and ministry. How do we see it today and how did He handle it?
I. Conservative vs. Liberal
Our modern political world is a hot mess at the moment. Actually, it always has been. We just think we are unique in world history. We really are not. The Liberal vs. Conservative debate has been going on in society for a long, long time. I believe in conservatism because it is the Biblical model. I have written on the subject and you may read it here, an article titled, “Moses and Conservatism“. The Biblical idea of conservatism can be hijacked by politics. It was, during the days of Jesus, and it seems to have been in our modern times as well. How do we see the Conservative vs. Liberal debate in Matthew 22?
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said.
16 And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any. (Matthew 22)
The Pharisees were the religious leaders of the day. They also dabbled in politics. They would be considered conservative according to our modern labels. They enjoyed money and power and did not mind mixing religion and politics in order to acquire money and power. Their mortal, political enemies would have been the Herodians. The Herodians were secular leaders and political activists who disliked religion. They wanted religion out of politics and secular life. They would be labeled liberal-progressives today. They also enjoyed money and power and would do just about anything to acquire and maintain them. The Herodians did not get along with the Pharisees and the Pharisees did not get along with the Herodians. They would not have acted “neighborly” toward each other. According to verses 15 and 16, they had no problem laying down their grievances with each other in order to unite to try and cancel Jesus and His ministry. Verse 15 teaches us that they “plotted” together against Jesus. These two sworn enemies could not stand each other but, when it came to canceling Jesus, they could sit side by side and make plans. They are united in their goal of canceling Jesus. Does any of this ring a bell in our modern minds?
17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?” (Matthew 22)
They wanted to ensnare Jesus in a trap, discredit His ministry, and cancel Him. They came to Jesus and cloaked their true motives in the form of a question. They did not ask questions to learn anything. They crafted this question in such a way that answering the question would get Jesus canceled, so they thought. They try to manipulate Jesus. They try to butter Him up with the words that they use. Their words and their intentions do not align. How closely does this resemble our modern political landscape? Have you noticed any parallels? In order to appease the liberal secularists, the question asked to Jesus is about secular politics. They believed that they had Jesus trapped in a corner with no way out. They asked, “Jesus, should we pay secular taxes“? Both sides held their breath. Is He going to say no and upset the Herodians? Is He going to agree with the Herodians and upset the Pharisees? There seems to be no way out of this one.
18 But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, “Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?
19 “Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax.” And they brought Him a denarius.
20 And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
21 They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” Then He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 And hearing this, they were amazed, and leaving Him, they went away. (Matthew 22)
Jesus knew that it was a trap. He knew that their motives were not pure. He knew that they were not there to learn anything. He recognized the trap for what it was. His answer was that the people should pay their taxes to the government, that they owed those taxes as a citizen. That disarmed the Herodians. What about the Pharisees, were they successful in trapping Jesus with this scenario? No! Jesus went on to tell all of the people that they were to render the things to God that are His. Both sides lost this one. Jesus satisfied both of them with His answer. They should have apologized and asked Jesus for forgiveness. They did not apologize nor ask for forgiveness. They just walked away. How hard is it for people in the modern world to admit mistakes, apologize, and ask for forgiveness? Celebrities, businesses, organizations, and politicians hire Public Relations firms today in order to avoid admitting mistakes, apologizing, and asking for forgiveness. We are still the same. We think we are more sophisticated but we are the same today as they were back then. Conservatives and Liberals are able to join sides when it comes to hating Jesus.
II. Unplugged from reality
It would have been nice for cancel culture to quit after the first failed attempt. As know, in our modern world, cancel culture never stops. There is another group of people who decide to try and cancel Jesus with their question.
23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection ) came to Jesus and questioned Him, (Matthew 22)
Sadducees were religious leaders, similar to the Pharisees. They walked with their heads in the clouds and their feet did not touch the ground. They had unplugged from reality. As Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. supposedly put it, “A person should not be so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good“. They did not care for the physical things of this earth. They did not really care about the things that their neighbors were going through. They were super spiritual but they did not believe everything taught in the Bible. They had rejected the idea of a bodily resurrection. Check out the question that they ask Jesus in their hypothetical situation.
24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘IF A MAN DIES HAVING NO CHILDREN, HIS BROTHER AS NEXT OF KIN SHALL MARRY HIS WIFE, AND RAISE UP CHILDREN FOR HIS BROTHER.’
25 “Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother;
26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh.
27 “Last of all, the woman died.
28 “In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” (Matthew 22)
Have you ever known people like this? They always have a “what if” or “what about” question when it comes to spiritual things. The Sadducees did not care about the answer. They did not come to Jesus to learn something. Their hypothetical is simply a ploy to trap Jesus so that He can be canceled. They even used the Scriptures to form their hypothetical question. Jesus answers them beautifully.
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding 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. (Matthew 22)
The Sadducees were led astray about the Scriptures. They were leading others astray as well. Because they had been led astray, they did not understand the power of God. The Sadducees came to expose Jesus and they ended up getting exposed. They were not familiar with the Scriptures, even though they were religious leaders.
31 “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God:
32 ‘I AM 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.” (Matthew 22)
Jesus asked them, “why are you worried about hypothetical situations, what are you doing right now to get right and stay right with God“? The Sadducees, like the Pharisees, encountered God in the flesh, Jesus Christ and instead of surrendering to Him as their Lord and Savior, they tried to cancel Him. How have you responded to Jesus? Did you respond the way that the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians did or have you surrendered to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.
34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. (Matthew 22)
The average person was amazed at the answers that Jesus gave. The Sadducees were silent. The Pharisees try another tactic. As you can see, these people were not asking questions in order to learn something. They were asking these questions to try and cancel Jesus and His ministry.
III. Legal Attacks
Attack number 1 did not work. Attack number 2 did not work either. Now the cancel culture crowd seeks a legal method to cancel Jesus.
35 One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him,
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22)
This lawyer believed that he had the answer. He thought that he had asked the question that would trap Jesus and get Him canceled.
37 And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
38 “This is the great and foremost commandment.
39 “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’
40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22)
It turns out, the lawyer was wrong. Jesus’ answer reveals something about all the previous characters in this text. The Pharisees would have claimed to love God yet, they did not love their neighbors as themselves. They did not love the Herodians. The definitely did not love Jesus. The Herodians were not interested in loving God and they did not love their neighbors. They hated the Pharisees and they hated Jesus. The Sadducees were trying to cancel God so they were not living out the first part of the greatest commandment. Do you love the Lord with all that you are and is that manifested in your love for fellow human beings created in the image of God?
IV. Jesus’ Question
Everyone in this passage has had an opportunity to ask questions. Now, Jesus has His chance to ask His own question.
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question:
42 “What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He?” They said to Him, “The son of David.” (Matthew 22)
The Pharisees and Sadducees would have claimed to be waiting for the Messiah. They were big fans of King David and they knew that the Messiah was going to be born in the lineage of King David. This questions exposes the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were awaiting the coming of the Messiah. The Messiah was standing before them and instead of welcoming Him and surrendering to Him they try to cancel Him.
43 He said to them, “Then how does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying,
44 ‘THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD, “SIT AT MY RIGHT HAND, UNTIL I PUT YOUR ENEMIES BENEATH YOUR FEET “‘?
45 “If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his son?” (Matthew 22)
King David recognized the Messiah and called Him Lord. What about you, are you going to surrender to King Jesus as Lord and Savior? How are the Pharisees and Sadducees going to respond?
46 No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. (Matthew 22)
Did you notice that they did not admit who Jesus is, apologize for trying to cancel Him, and beg for forgiveness? What about you, my dear friend, are you ready to surrender your life to Jesus Christ?
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