“Why Are You Testing Me?”
“Why Are You Testing Me?”
Blessings folk!
The Religionists were seeking to seize Jesus.
They wanted to destroy Him.
Yet, they feared the people.
So, they left.
They waited.
They plotted.
So, they came up with what they thought would be a “fail-proof” trap.
Mar 12:12-17
And they were seeking to seize Him, and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them. And so they left Him and went away.
Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.
They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.
Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?
“Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.”
They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.”
And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,
and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.
The “conservatives” had the first attempt at entrapment.
The Pharisees - the “conservative” wing of the Religionists.
The Herodians - the political leadership.
It does not take much discernment to read the sarcasm and snarky tone in their initial words.
“Teacher" - they hated to even acknowledge this. But, the people viewed Jesus as a teacher.
“We know you are truthful…” - Perhaps they did know. They likely lied about their belief.
“You defer to no one” - they hated this. Jesus refused to “play the game”.
“You are not partial to any” - another convicting trait of the Lord.
“Teach the way of God in truth” - true, though they likely did not believe it
With this context…
With this setup…
They questioned.
“Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar or not”?
They thought they had him.
They had no concern for the truth of the matter.
How do I know?
Because of Jesus’ response.
He knew their hypocrisy.
He confronted them.
“Why are you testing Me?”
You read the moment.
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
Render to God the things that are God’s.
Amazement among the people…and I suspect the questioners.
Resentment and anger among the Religionists.
Nothing changes…