The Pharisees and Sadducees Put to Shame

Transcription

1 The Pharisees and Sadducees Put to Shame The Scripture Lesson Matthew 22:15-33; Mark 12:28-37 The leaders of the Jews had already heard three parables from Jesus on this Tuesday of Passion Week. In each of them Jesus had told how wicked they were. And after each one they hated him all the more. But they did not have the courage to take Him and kill Him, so they tried instead to get Jesus to say something that would get Him into trouble. First there were some Pharisees who came to Jesus with a question about whether or not it was right to pay tribute to Caesar, the emperor of the Romans. They hoped that Jesus would say that it was wrong, or at least say something that would make it seem as if He were against the power of the Romans. If He would do that, the Jews could then hurry to the Roman governor and report that Jesus was trying to stir up the people against Caesar. The Romans would then surely kill Jesus, and at last the Jews would be rid of Him. But Jesus did not say that it was wrong. He said, Show me a penny. And when they did, He asked, Whose image is this on the penny? They answered, Caesar s. That settled it. They were using Caesar s coins because they were part of Caesar s empire. And because they are under Caesar, they must pay tribute. Render unto OUR GUIDE is published by the Protestant Reformed Sunday School Association. Caesar the things that are Caesar s, Jesus told them, and unto God the things that are God s. So the Pharisees went away defeated. Then a little later the Sadducees came. They came with a question about life after death. First they told Jesus that Moses had commanded that, if a man died without having any children, his brother must marry that man s wife. Now, they said, if this happens in a particular family, a woman will in this life, according to Moses command, have more than one husband. When this woman gets to heaven, the Sadducees ask, whose wife will she be? Now, the Sadducees did not believe that there is a resurrection. They claimed, too, that Moses agreed with them. For, if there were a resurrection, Moses would surely never have given such a commandment. But Moses did give that command. So it must be that there is not a life after death. How, then, they thought, can Jesus answer their question? He can either agree with them that there is no resurrection, or He can insist that there is a resurrection, and then they could accuse Him of teaching that Moses did not know what he was talking about. But Jesus did neither one. He told the Sadducees that they did not know what they were talking about, for they did not understand the Scriptures.

2 The woman in their question, Jesus said, would in heaven be the wife of no husband at all. For in heaven there are no husbands and wives, or fathers and sons, or uncles and aunts. All will be brothers and sisters in the Lord. And besides, Jesus told them, Moses very clearly teaches that there is a resurrection of the dead. For he wrote that God said, I am the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. And God would never have said that, if Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were not still alive, in heaven. For, Jesus said, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. So Jesus put the Sadducees to shame also. And all the people were amazed at His wisdom. The Widow s Mites Mark 12:41-44 The Pharisees had come to Jesus with a question. Then the Sadducees had come with another. Both groups had hoped to be able to put Jesus to shame before the people. But Jesus had always been able to answer their questions in a way which made the people admire Him even more for His great wisdom. So the leaders decided not to ask Jesus any more questions. But then Jesus asked them a question. He asked them about the Messiah Whose son is he? That is an easy question, the Pharisees thought, and they answered quickly, The son of David. They were right, too, for the Messiah surely would be David s son. But is that all? The Pharisees thought so. They looked for a Messiah who would be nothing more than a man, who would be an earthly king. And that was wrong. Jesus would therefore show them that the Scriptures said more about the Messiah than that He would be the son of David. Jesus pointed them to Psalm 110, where David talked about the Messiah as being his Lord. Now, Jesus asked, If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? The answer to that is that Jesus is not only the son of David, but also the Son of God. And as the Son of God He was David s Lord. The Pharisees did not answer Jesus question. They would not believe that Jesus was the Son of God. And they refused to believe that they were 2 Pharisees-Sadducees Put to Shame/Widow s Mites wrong in looking for an earthly Messiah. But Jesus had certainly shown them that they were rejecting not only Jesus, but also the Word of God. Later that day, Jesus went to a different part of the temple, where there were big boxes into which people put their gifts for the temple. Jesus sat near one of those boxes and watched as the people gave their gifts. Rich people put in much money. Christ watched these rich people without saying a word. Then a poor widow came along and put in two mites. That is only a quarter of a penny. Two mites would seem like nothing, when others had put in gifts that amounted to many dollars. But Jesus does not judge the way man judges. He said to His disciples, This poor widow hath cast in more than they all. Only two mites! but they were more precious in the eyes of the Lord than were the many dollars that the rich people gave. Why is that? That is because the rich gave money that they would never miss; and they gave in order to have people see how good they were. But the poor widow, in love to God, gave all that she had. In our giving we must be like that poor widow. We must not, for one thing, be stingy when we can give for things for God s kingdom like Catechism, Sunday School, and church collections. But the most important thing is that we must give out of the love of God. The woman loved God so much that she was willing to give her last two mites for His kingdom. And Jesus said her gift was precious. Jesus watches us too, you know, and when we give willingly and freely for His sake, He says the same thing about us. Let us therefore, in our giving, remember the poor widow woman and her two mites. Memory Work Group A Matthew 22:30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. Group B Matthew 22:21b Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar s; and unto God the things that are God s.

3 3 ACTIVITIES This paper has been prepared in the hope that it will be used by students of all ages. The activities are designed so that the oldest will be challenged, and the youngest will find some of it within reach. Parents should encourage their children to attempt only what they can handle without frustration. For some that will be much, for others little. Do You Agree? If you do, write Yes; if you do not, write No. 1. The Pharisees sent their disciples and the Herodians to ask Jesus if it was right for Jews to pay taxes to the Romans. 2. Jesus answered them by teaching that children of God should give their money only for the work of the church, not for the work of the wicked world. 3. Next Jesus was approached by a group of Sadducees, who asked Him what He thought should be done to a woman who had married seven different husbands. 4. The Sadducees were Jews who taught that there is no resurrection from the dead. 5. Jesus proved to them, from words of Moses himself, that there is a resurrection. 6. After the Sadducees were put to shame, a scribe (or lawyer ) came to Jesus and asked Him which commandment of God He thought to be the most important. 7. Jesus answered that, of the ten commandments, the first one is the greatest of all. 8. The scribe told Jesus that He had answered well and that He spoke the truth. 9. Jesus then had a question for the Pharisees: Whose son is the Messiah? 10. Jesus asked this question because He wanted to teach the people that the Messiah would be the son of David. 11. Later that day Jesus went and sat near the treasury, to watch how the people put into the boxes their gifts for the temple. 12. When Jesus saw the poor widow put in two mites, He said to His disciples that the woman should have kept the mites, for God does not require that we give to the church all of our money. QUESTIONS FOR YOUNGER READERS 1. The Pharisees decided to ask Jesus if it was right for people of God to pay taxes to the Roman government. Do you know why they did that? 2. How did Jesus answer the Pharisees question? To render means to give. Can you think of some things that we must render to Caesar, and some things we must render to God? 3. What did the Sadducees believe about life after death? 4. The Sadducees must have looked hard to find proof in the Bible that there is no resurrection. In whose writings in the Bible did they finally think they found such proof? 5. The Sadducees hoped therefore that they would be able to accuse Jesus of not believing Moses. But Jesus proved very quickly that the Sadducees were wrong. Why, according to Jesus, would there not be a problem in heaven if a woman had had more than one husband on earth? 6. What proof did Jesus give, from Moses himself, that there is a resurrection from the dead? 7. Why did Jesus enemies stop asking Him questions? 8. Jesus then asked them a question. Do you remember what that question was? 9. When the Pharisees answered that the Messiah would be the son of David, they were right, but their answer was not complete. How did Jesus show them, from Psalm 110, that the Messiah would be more than the son of David? 10. Jesus watched people put money in boxes that were placed in the temple court to receive the gifts of the worshipers. How much did the poor widow give? 11. How was the widow s gift more precious than the gifts of all the rest? Do you know how we can be like this widow whose giving was so highly praised by our Lord?

4 Pharisees-Sadducees Put to Shame/Widow s Mites 4 Lesson 39 COMPLETING SENTENCES 1. Hoping still that they can outwit Jesus, the took counsel how they might him in his talk. Their devilish cunning is apparent already in that they decide not to go themselves to Jesus. They want to catch Jesus off His guard, and they know that He will be at once suspicious of their motives. So they sent to Him instead their (probably young men whom Jesus had never met), and with them the, who as supporters of Herod would also be ready to support the Roman power, which gave some authority to the Herods (Matt. 22:15, 16). 2. The Pharisees hoped that Jesus would view these men as honest inquirers, who went to Him for help in deciding an issue that divided them the Pharisees insisting that payment of taxes to support an ungodly world empire was wrong, and the Herodians just as insistent that taxes must be paid to Caesar. In a further attempt to put Jesus off His guard, the men came to Jesus with sweet words of praise:, we know that thou art, and teachest the way of God in, neither thou for any man: for thou not the of men. And then came their question: What thinkest thou? Is it to give unto or not (Matt. 22:16, 17). 3. Jesus was, of course, not fooled for a moment. At once He their and said to them, Why ye me? Then, with a view to answering their question, Jesus said, Show me a. And when they produced the coin, probably from their own pockets, Jesus asked, Whose and hath it? (Luke 20:23, 24). 4. The penny they produced was a small silver coin that was stamped with the name and title of the Roman emperor and with an image of his face. The Herodians and the disciples of the Pharisees therefore answered quickly,. But in so doing they had unwittingly answered their own question. For the Jews use of the coins of Rome was their own acknowledgment that their nation was part of the Roman empire, and that they were therefore subject to its rule. therefore unto, Jesus said, the things that are Caesar s that is, tribute money, honor, and obedience in all things not contrary to God s law. And, He added,...unto the things that are God s repentance, sorrow for sin, love to God, faith, and obedience. 5. Thus did Jesus make it clear that the problem posed by the Pharisees was no problem at all. For there is no conflict whatever between proper obedience to the state and proper obedience to God. The Pharisees therefore could not take of his words before the that is, they could not find fault with His words. In fact they at his, and held their peace (Luke 20:26). 6. Undeterred by the failure of the Pharisees to entangle Jesus in his talk, the Sadducees came to Him, later that day, with a question of their own. Matthew tells us that the Sadducees believed that there is no (Matt. 22:23). And we learn from Acts 23:8 that they hold also that there is neither, nor. They therefore denied both the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul. The Sadducees were, thus, unbelievers, but they come nevertheless to Jesus with the Scriptures. For they had concocted what they thought was a very clever question one that would force Jesus either to deny the resurrection, or to deny the authority of Moses. They reminded Jesus of Moses commandment that a man must marry his brother s widow, if his brother died childless. This commandment, they said, could result in a woman s having husbands. In the, therefore, they asked,

5 whose shall she be of the seven? For they all had her (Matt. 22:23-28). 7. Their argument was that Moses, the great law-giver, would never have given such a commandment if there were a life after death, for these successive marriages would make for an impossible situation in heaven. The argument may have stumped the Pharisees, but these selfconfident, learned Sadducees found out very quickly that it posed no problem at all for Jesus. Jesus told them to their face, first of all, that they knew neither the (which clearly teach the resurrection) nor the of God (who is able to raise His people to a glorified state in which relationships will be entirely different from those which we know in this world). For in the, Jesus said, they neither, nor are given in marriage, but are as the of God in heaven (Matt. 22:29, 30). 8. Jesus went on to demonstrate what the Scriptures do teach, namely, that there is a resurrection from the dead. In fact, He quoted to them Moses: Now that the dead are, even showed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of, and the God of, and the God of. For he is not a God of the, but of the (Luke 20:37, 38). 9. The people saw that the intellectual giants in Jerusalem had just been completely confounded by an untrained teacher from Galilee. This was an amazing thing to the people. They were therefore at Jesus doctrine (Matt. 22:33), and even some of the scribes were compelled to acknowledge, Master, thou hast said (Luke 20:39). 10. Apparently the Pharisees decided to make one more attempt to get Jesus involved in public controversy. For we read that one of them, which was a, asked Him a 5 Pharisees-Sadducees Put to Shame/Widow s Mites question, Him, Master, which is the commandment in the law? (Matt. 22:34-36). 11. That was a controversial matter among the Jewish rabbis, some of them putting forth one commandment, others another, as being the greatest in the law. Because the Pharisees believed that obedience to the law was a matter of outward deeds, they could wrangle for hours over which deeds were the most important. Jesus, however, taught that the heart of the law was love to God, and love to the neighbor for God s sake. To the lawyer therefore He said, The of all the commandments is (and then He recited for them Deuteronomy 6:4, 5) Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt the Lord thy God with all thy, and with all thy : this is the commandment. And the is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy as. There is none other commandment than these (Mark 12:29-31). 12. The lawyer must have understood clearly what Jesus was teaching, for he replied, Thou hast said the, for there is God, and to love Him with all the heart is more than whole burnt and. Thus he saw the difference between mere outward observance of the commandments, and perfect love of God, as the heart of the law. And Jesus response was, Thou art not from the of God (Mark 12:34). 13. Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, scribes all had learned that attempts to discredit Jesus before the people by entangling Him in His talk had the opposite effect, namely, to discredit the questioners and to make Jesus look all the better. From that point on, therefore, no man ask Him any (Mark 12:34). But Jesus had a question for them. He asked, What think ye of? whose is

6 he? A simple answer, the Jews thought, and one on which they were all agreed: The son of. The Jews however had failed to reckon with the fact that the Scriptures taught more than that. Not only was the Christ to be born in the line of David (as to His human nature), but He also was the very Son of God (as to His divine nature) who would be exalted to the Father s right hand. The Jews wanted a human Messiah who would sit on David s earthly throne. If Jesus made any reference to His divine Sonship, they accused Him of blasphemy. But what do the Scriptures say? Jesus put the question to them: How then doth in spirit (that is, by divine inspiration) call him, saying, The LORD (Jehovah) said unto my Lord (the Messiah), Sit thou on my hand, till I make thine thy? If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? (Matt. 22:42-45). 14. The Jews knew that Jesus was talking about His own person. They saw, too, that they would have a hard time denying that the Messiah was to be God s Son, without at the same time denying the Scriptures. So no man answered Him a (Matt. 22:46). 15. Later that day, Jesus went and sat over against the. The reference here is to boxes placed in the temple court to receive gifts for the maintenance and the services of the temple. Jesus sat there in order to behold how the people cast into the treasury. He noticed, first of all that many who were cast in. But then there came a certain poor, and she dropped into a box two (Mark 12:41, 42). 16. In the eyes of Christ, that gift counted for more than the combined contributions of all of the rich who had also brought their gifts that day. For God does not measure the worth of a gift, as men do, by its dollar value, but by the heart of the giver. To teach that truth, to His 6 Pharisees-Sadducees Put to Shame/Widow s Mites disciples and to us, Jesus called unto Him His disciples and said to them, This poor widow cast in than all they which have cast into the. For all they did cast in of their ; but she of her did cast in all that she had, even all her (Mark 12:43, 44). QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT 1. Do you see why the Pharisees would send their disciples (see Matt. 22:15, 16) rather than go to Jesus themselves with a trick question? 2. Though the Pharisees would have preferred a No answer from Jesus (to their question about tribute to Caesar), they must have figured that Jesus would end up a loser no matter which way He answered. Can you explain how that could be? 3. Why, do you suppose, did Jesus first ask His questioners to show Him a penny? 4. The Sadducees would point to Moses commandment that a man marry his brother s widow, and they would argue that that commandment proves there can be no resurrection from the dead. Do you understand their argument? 5. Jesus told the Sadducees that their question about the resurrection showed that they knew neither the word of God nor the power of God. Can you explain how both of those charges are true? 6. Can you tell how the words I am the God of Abraham... prove that there is a life after death? 7. A lawyer then came to Jesus with a question: Which is the greatest commandment? Jesus answer was new, in that it was something that the people would never have heard from the Pharisees. Why would the Pharisees not have gotten to the heart of the law, as Jesus did? 8. Jesus then had a question for the Pharisees about David s having called the Messiah his Lord. Jesus did not ask the question in order to stump the Pharisees. Rather, He was proving the truth of a claim for which they would, later that week, condemn Him to death. What was Jesus point? 9. When Jesus sat for a while near the treasury, He saw the rich deposit their gifts for the temple, and He saw the widow drop in her two mites. What exactly was it that made the latter of more value than all the rest combined? How can we, then, imitate the widow if we are not now as poor as she was?