Mark 12:13-17

Ultimate Warrior

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Everyone will answer to Jesus.

Even those now skeptical of Jesus will one day marvel at Him.

Jesus does not give a straight answer to those with crooked intentions.

God is not obligated to bless you if you by your thoughts, words and deeds cursing Him.

Last week, He has the right to ask questions of us. He will question all those who question His authority.

Danger of flattery. Give all of yourself to his. Gif is the giver of all

Insincer praise. Who is guilty of that?

Flattery is the epitome of self centered selfish ambition. Do you have any selfish ambitions?

Flattery is the outward expression of an inner state of a selfish heart

Attacked at all times. Unguarded statement.

they could snare him into making an unguarded statement they might be able to succeed in destroying him.

Lane, W. L. (1974). The Gospel of Mark (p. 422). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

The evil one knows where you are vulnerable and will attack early and often.

attempt to discover something which could be used against him

Mark 12:13–17 ESV

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?” 15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.

Mark 12:13 (ESV)

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.

Ok, let’s set the scene. Remember context is king in biblical interpretation. The “they” is this passage are the one’s spoken of in verse 27 of the last chapter. They are the “chief priests, the scribes and the elders.”

These guys collectively demonstrated their incompetency in a public way when they couldn’t answer a simple question from Jesus. They questions His authority, but He obliterated theirs and the walked away with their tails between their legs, but that didn’t stop them from doubling down on their foolishness. They went and tagged a few more religous elite to jump in the ring with them to engage in a Royal Rumble with Jesus in teh temple.

Look at this. They, the “chief priest (s), the scribe (s), the elder (s),” sent “some” of the Pharisees and “some” of the Herodians to “trap” Jesus.

Let’s do the math. If we take the most extreme conservative approach as say that when Mark used the plural forms, he was intending to only mean “2” and if by the word “some” He also meant 2, and there are 5 different categories of people; if you multiply those numbers you get 10 people. 10V1

The odds of Jesus pulling this off were pretty slim; unless He is actually the King that was coming from the Line of David.

And we will see by the end of the passage today, those that showed up to question Him, ended up marveling at Him. And Assuming their were only 2

In 1st century Palestine, the chief priests, scribes, elders, pharisees, and herodians differed in their roles, beliefs, and relationships with Jesus:

Chief priests Members of the high priestly families or those acting with their authority. They were part of a broader group of influential religious leaders who shared administrative and judicial responsibilities. Scribes Interpreters of Jewish law. They were specially trained in writing and were often lawyers and judges. They were influential as teachers of the law and agents of the rulers. Elders Community leaders and judges who applied the law. Pharisees A strict religious sect of the Jews who sought to restore the kingdom of David. They were more representative of the common working people and had the respect of the masses. Herodians Wanted political independence for the Jewish people and to restore a member of the Herodian dynasty to the throne in Judea.

Okay, let’s do a quick straw poll, who thinks this is going to work?

These leaders didn’t get it. We must get it. Install the leadership and commission them to take to the people the elements that represent the means by which have been made right with a Holy God. It came by an infinitely costly sacrifice.

You are about to hold in your hands the symbolic representation of the the GOSPEL. You are going to hold in your hands trays and distribute those trays to rows of people who will pass on what you are giving to them.

This should send a shiver up your spines. What a holy privilege to do this work of the ministry. Do not take this lightly. What an honor to do this once a month in our corporate gathering andbe willing to bring the Gospel to bear in the lives of these sheep in this local flock 24/7.