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Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?" But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it." So they brought it. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." And Jesus answered and 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.
Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. And the second took her, and he died, nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife."
Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken."
- Mark 12:13-27
In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem. It is the beginning of Holy Week. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?" But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me." And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Then He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated. And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some. Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not even read this Scripture: 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.
Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. My study bible tells us that the Herodians were Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great and thus willing servants of Rome.
When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?" But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it." So they brought it. And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They said to Him, "Caesar's." And Jesus answered and 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. My study bible tells us: "The conflict intensifies. Jesus must be discredited, but their attempts fail. Even His enemies marvel at His answers. They are dealing with God in the flesh, their long-promised Messiah, but they are blind to that fact because of the hardness of their hearts." We note the flattery as the question is asked, although their words are true regarding Jesus' own truthfulness and lack of false flattery in His dealings with people. Another note tells us regarding Jesus' answer to them: "Civic and religious duties need not necessarily clash. While each has its own sphere, there is no separation between God and Caesar, because God is Lord over all. However, obedience to God takes precedence over obligations to the state, should conflict arise." We make note for ourselves again, as in yesterday's reading, how Jesus is in control of this situation. His incredible oratory skills are always used to purvey precisely the point of view that He wishes to teach. His own lack of "regard for the person of men" allows Him to teach the precise point He wishes to make; at the same time the Gospel teaches us that Jesus recognizes clearly their hypocrisy.
Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring. And the second took her, and he died, nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise. So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife." My study bible has a note which tells us about the Sadducees: "The Sadducees represent landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem. They hold many high offices within Israel, controlling the temple and the Sanhedrin. They differed from the Pharisees in that they were politically prudent and they adapted to the presence of the Romans. They interpreted the Law even more rigidly than the Pharisees and, unlike them, the Sadducees rejected belief in angels and in the resurrection of the dead at the end of the age. The Sadducees completely disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem."
Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." My study bible says, "At the Second Coming, the bodies of the faithful will be transformed into incorruptible bodies; there will no longer be marriage or begetting of children. That does not mean, however, that family relationships are broken or ignored. The Sadducees are taken off guard by Jesus' answer."
"But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken." A note here tells us that "this part of Jesus' answer is similar to what the Sadducees expect from the Pharisees, who are right about the resurrection. Old Testament passages such as Ex. 3:6, 15 were the foundation for the Pharisees' belief in the resurrection from the dead."
If we look at Jesus' remarks here, there are a couple of things that grab our attention, and that's when He says to the Sadducees, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?" This is something that speaks to all of us. First of all, in Jesus' word in the Greek, to be mistaken has a few connotations. It's like saying they've wandered off course, or even more powerfully, that they've been misled. It implies also how we can mislead ourselves through our own ignorance. Here, their ignorance is said to be of both the Scriptures and the power of God. Jesus' always-potent regard for Scripture tells us a story in itself. As the Word, we consider Him to be, in fact, the author of the Scriptures, and His presence to be in the living word of Scripture. But an even more powerful statement here is His teaching that they are misled or mistaken, off-course, because they do not know the power of God. Here, "mistaken" can also be translated as "deceived." In this potent phrase, this hint, about the power of God, is all the difference in our concept of what we worship. If we are to say, based on our own notions of power, energy, and dynamics, "This can't happen," or "That is impossible," then we're bound to be off-course by our own limited notions of what is possible. We simply do not possess the knowledge of what is possible with God, because to some extent, we're all lacking in conceptual potentials for just what is within the power of God. Whatever we might think or conjecture, the power of God is going to be beyond our conceptual abilities. What Jesus is alluding to here is the entire change of nature, of our lives, that is possible in the cosmic scheme of things. Whatever else we may say or think about God, one thing we can always count on: God can't be limited by our own assumptions about God. A kind of healthy awe, in this respect, is a good thing, because it keeps us from assuming that we know all there is to know about God, and about the mystery we enter into when we worship. The terror that we occasionally read about in Scripture, in encounter with God's power, is also something that speaks to us of a power beyond our concept and measuring. When we try to limit God, we are always misleading ourselves into error, and straying off course. It's a kind of denial that deceives us. Jesus has also told us, in a recent reading, that with God all things are possible. When we ask such questions for ourselves, let us retain these two healthy awarenesses of which Jesus speaks today to the Sadducees: a knowledge of Scripture and an awareness of the power of God that is beyond our understanding of power.
