Matthew 22:15-22

Scripture Reading: Romans 13:1-10

Introduction

Finish this Phrase if You Know it:

“The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend ”

What Does that Phrase Mean?

It’s an Ancient Proverb that Suggests:

“Two Parties can/should Work Together Against a Common Enemy”

Example:

“Ralph & I Don’t Really Like Each Other”

“But We’ve Got One Thing in Common”:

“We Can’t Stand Gary Hogue”

“So, Ralph & I are Going to Join Forces Tonight & Cover Gary’s House with Toilet Paper”

I’m J/K Gary… Or Am I?

“The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend”

We’re Going to See this Method of Alliance…

Used Against Jesus in Our Text this Morning

Matthew 22:15-22

Last Week, We Saw the Religious Leaders in Jerusalem…

Question Jesus’ Authority After Finding Him Teaching in the Temple

He Proceeds to Tell Them 3 Parables…

That Depict the Religious Leaders…

Being Removed from God’s Kingdom, Destroyed…

And Then Replaced By Those Who will Obey God

Now, Matthew is Going to Show Us…

3 Subsequent Encounters Jesus had with the Religious Leaders

We’re Going to Look at the 1st Encounter Today

Matthew 22:15 (NET)

15 Then the Pharisees went out and planned together to entrap him with his own words.

After Jesus’ Parables, the Chief Priests & Pharisees…

Wanted to Arrest Him, But They were Afraid of the People…

Because the People Believed Jesus was a Prophet

They Knew the Only Way to Bring Jesus Down…

Was to Trick Him into Messing Up

If They can Design the Perfect Question…

And Get Him to Say Something Unlawful or Offensive to the Crowds…

Then They Won’t have to Worry about Bringing Him Down

He’ll Bring Himself Down

But They’ve Dealt with Jesus Enough to Know…

That He Always has the Perfect Response to Every Question

They’re Going to have to Come Up with Something Really Good

So They Get Together and have a Brainstorming Session

Matthew 22:16 (NASB95)

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.

The Cowardly Pharisees Didn’t Go to Jesus Themselves

They Sent Their Disciples - Their Students

Along with Them are a Group Called the “Herodians”

The Only Information We have on These People…

Is What Their Name Reveal to Us:

They were Obviously Supporters of the Herodian Dynasty

The Herods were a Horrible Family…

Who were Given Power Over Different Regions of Palestine…

Because of Their Loyalty to Rome

The Herodians were Loyal to the Herodian Dynasty

So, We could Assume They were Also Loyal to Rome

If that’s the Case…

Then the Pharisees & Herodians Likely Hated Each Other

“Pharisee” Comes from an Aramaic Word which Means:

“To Separate, Divide”

They were a Sect of Jewish People Who Held Strictly to the Law of Moses

And They Sought to Separate Themselves From:

Gentiles

Uneducated Commoners

Sinners

Greek & Roman Sympathizers

That Being Said, the Pharisees, Typically…

Wouldn’t Want to Be Caught Dead with Herodians

But, Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

“The Enemy of My Enemy is My Friend”

Both the Pharisees & the Herodians Wanted to Get Rid of Jesus

The Pharisees were Envious of His Popularity Among the Jewish People

The Herodians Wanted the Herods to Rule…

Not this Messiah from Nazareth

They’ve Joined Forces on this Occasion…

To Bring Jesus Down By Trapping Him in His Own Words

And They Begin with Flattery:

“Teacher, We Know that You are True”

NIV: “We Know You’re a Man of Integrity”

NLT: “We Know How Honest You are”

They’re Essentially Saying:

“We Know that You have Truth in Your Very Being”

“You can Always Be Relied Upon to Say What is Right/True”

We Know that You “Teach the Way of God in Truth”

The Message: You “Teach the Way of God Accurately”

“When You Teach the Things of God…”

“You are Exactly Right”

“You Teach God’s Word Truthfully”

We Know that “You aren’t Concerned about Anyone”

They’re Not Saying He’s Inconsiderate of Others

They’re Saying:

He Tells the Truth Regardless of What People Think…

And Regardless of if They Like it or Not

“For You Don’t Look to the Face of Men”

LEB: “You Do Not Care What Anyone Thinks, Because You Do Not Regard the Opinion of People”

ESV: “You Do Not Care about Anyone’s Opinion, for You are Not Swayed by Appearances”

NIV: “You aren’t Swayed by Others, Because You Pay No Attention to Who They are”

To Summarize Their Flattery:

“You Tell the Truth Regardless of Who it Offends!”

This is Absolutely True of Jesus, isn’t it?

But, of Course, They Don’t Actually Mean it

They’ve Strategically/Skillfully Worded this Flattering Statement…

In Order to Give Them the Best Shot…

At Trapping Jesus with Their Following Question

Matthew 22:17 (NASB95)

17 “Tell us then, what do You think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?”

“Since You Tell the Truth Regardless of Who it Offends…?

“Tell Us the Truth on this Matter”:

“Are We Authorized to Give a Poll-Tax to Caesar?”

Those Pharisees Worked Hard to Come Up with this One…

Because this is Absolute Genius!

Every Jew Above the Age of 14 Who Lived in a Roman Occupied Territory…

Had to Pay the Poll-Tax

The Poll-Tax was the Most Hated of All the Taxes Paid to the Romans

It Directly Signified Their Political Subjection to a Foreign Government

And this Tax Financially Supported These Pagan Oppressors

Deuteronomy 17:15 Says that Israel was Not to have a Foreigner as Their King

That Passage Likely Caused the Jews to Believe…

That They were Not Authorized to Submit…

To a Foreign Leader By Paying Taxes to Them

Just Over 20 Years Prior, Judas of Galilee…

Led a Revolt Against the Romans Because of this Poll-Tax

This Revolt would then Inspire a New Movement Among Patriotic Jews

We Know this New Movement as “Zealots”

And Around 66 AD (After Jesus’ Ascension)…

The Zealots will Lead a War Against Rome for Independence

This will Result in Jerusalem Being Destroyed in 70 AD

I Say All that to Give Us a Little Background…

Into How Badly the Jewish People Resented the Roman Poll-Tax

Revolts & Even Wars were Started Because of it

Don’t Read this with 21st Century American Eyes

This isn’t a Simple Question about Paying Taxes

This Question Stirred More Jewish Emotions than We can Imagine

The Pharisees Hated Their Subjugation to Rome…

And the Poll-Tax that Came with it

The Herodians, on the Other Hand, were Likely Loyal to Rome…

And Thus would Consider Paying the Poll-Tax…

The Duty of a Good, Loyal Citizen

So, Think about Their Question with Me:

“Jesus, Since You Tell the Truth Regardless of Who it Offends…”

“Which Party are You Willing to Offend on this Occasion?”

If He Says, “Yes, We are Authorized to Pay the Poll-Tax”…

Then He’s Good with the Herodians & Rome…

But He’s Now Got the Pharisees…

And the Majority of Jewish People Against Him

He’ll have Officially Lost His Standing with the Jews

If He Says, “No, We’re Not Authorized to Pay the Poll-Tax”…

Then the Pharisees & Jewish People will Be Satisfied…

But the Herodians will Likely Turn Him Over to Roman Officials…

Where He’ll Be Tried for Treason

“We Know You Always Tell the Truth & Don’t Care to Offend Anyone”

“So Which is it Jesus?”

“Yes or No?”

“Who are You Going to Offend?”

They Wanted to Trap Jesus in His Own Words

They couldn’t have Done Any Better than this

Matthew 22:18–20 (NET)

18 But Jesus realized their evil intentions and said, “Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? 19 Show me the coin used for the tax.” So they brought him a denarius.20 Jesus said to them, “Whose image is this, and whose inscription?”

Jesus Knew Exactly What They were Up to

He Asked Them to Show Him the Coin that would Be Used to Pay the Poll-Tax

They Brought Him a Denarius

It was a Silver Coin

The Amount a Day Laborer would Earn for a Day’s Work

Then They Ask Him Whose Image & Inscription is on the Coin

They’ll Answer in the Next Verse…

But Let’s Look at the Coin for Just a Minute

The Front of the Coin had the Image of Caesar

And the Inscription Read:

“Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus”

The Back of the Coin had the Image of a Seated Woman…

Possibly the Goddess Pax or Roma

The Inscription Around it Says “High Priest”

So, the Poll-Tax Alone was Bad Enough for the Jews

But to Add to that, the Money Used to Pay the Tax…

Has Images of Caesar & a Pagan Deity

And the Inscriptions Refer to the Son of God & High Priest

It was Blasphemous & Idolatrous

Matthew 22:21–22 (NIV)

21 “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 22 When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Jesus Didn’t Fall for the Trap By Answering “Yes” or “No”

“If it has Caesar’s Face & Name on it…”

“Then Obviously it Belongs to Caesar”

“Give it Back to Him”

They were Blown Away By this Answer

The Pharisees couldn’t Deny Who the Owner of the Coin was

And Jesus was Technically Encouraging the Jews to Pay the Tax…

So the Herodians Can’t Arrest Him for Treason

They Just Knew this Foolproof Plan would End with Jesus Offending Someone

But All They could Do Now is Walk Away

Jesus had Beaten Them

Application

There are 2 Applications that are Worth Taking from this Text:

Submission to Government IS Submission to God

This was a Concept Somewhat Foreign to the Jewish People

They Felt that Submitting to a Foreign Ruler…

Was to Replace Honor for God with Honor for Emperor

Jesus Shows Us in Principle that isn’t the Case

And Paul & Peter Tell Us the Same

Paul:

Romans 13:1–2 (NIV)

1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Romans 13:6–7 (NIV)

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Peter:

1 Peter 2:13–14 (NIV)

13 Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.

1 Peter 2:17 (NET)

17 Honor all people, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the king.

It isn’t Just Possible…

To Be a Good Citizen of the State & the Kingdom of Heaven…

It’s Absolutely Necessary

Our Commitment to God Demands Our Commitment to Earthly Rulers

We Serve the Empire BECAUSE We Serve King Jesus…

Not in Spite of

But We have to Always Remember this One Thing:

Earthly Rulers Stay Down Here

And God Stays Up There

He’s the Ultimate Authority

Give Back to God What Belongs to God

Jesus Said, “The Coin Bears Caesar’s Image, so Give it Back to Him”

But What Did He Mean By Give Back to God the Things that are God’s?

Well, What Bears His Image?

Humanity was Made in the Image of God (Genesis 1:26-27)

We were Made to Be like Him

Only Jesus Ever Succeeded in that

But Those Who Choose to Follow Jesus…

Are Being Sanctified & Transformed into His Image

We are Becoming God’s Image-Bearers…

As was Our Original Design

Every Time a Person was Given a Denarius…

They would See Caesar & Be Given a Description of Who He was

Every Time a Person Interacts with a Christian…

They should See God & Be Given a Description of Who He is

But that will Only Be the Case…

If We as Christians will Truly Give Ourselves Back to God