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St Matthew 22:15-22
'They Came to Trap Jesus'
22nd Sunday After Pentecost, 2005
Divine Service (II)
Hope Lutheran Church, Aurora, CO
Pastor Wolfmueller
Dear People of God,
It's Tuesday of Passion Week, two days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, three days before Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday,and Jesus is in the temple preaching and teaching. Jesus is in the thick of things. The plotting of His enemies surrounds Him. And they come to Him and question His authority, “By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave You this authority?” [St Matthew 21:23] In answer to their question, and to expose their hypocrisy, Jesus tells three parables: The parable of the Two Sons, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, and the Parable of the Wedding Banquet of the King's Son. We have heard these three parables these last three Sundays. Each of them drove home the point that the unbelieving people, and especially the Pharisees and the religious rulers, who would not have Jesus as their Messiah and Savior, would be rejected by God.
Listen to how Jesus talks in these three parables about the judgment that follows unbelief:
The Parable of the Two Sons: “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.” [Matthew 21:31]
The Parable of the Wicked Tenants: “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.” [Matthew 21:43]
The Parable of the Wedding Feast of the King's Son: Concerning those who would not come to the wedding banquet, “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murders, and burned up their city,” and concerning the man found in the wedding without his wedding garment: “Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'” [St Matthew 22:13]
Jesus is not mincing words. He is being very clear in His teaching about the results of unbelief and rejecting Him as the one sent from the Father to save the people from their sins. But instead of repenting of their sin, turning from their wicked plans, and trusting in Jesus for salvation, instead of this, the hearts of the Pharisees are hardened. This is where our Gospel text this morning begins, “Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap Jesus in his words.” [22:15]
This plotting and planning is not unfamiliar. Throughout that last part of His ministry the Lord Jesus was opposed on every side by the religious rulers of Israel. St John tells us in His Gospel that from the raising of Lazarus from the dead, which was perhaps a little over three months before the Passion Week, concerning the Pharisees and the Sadducees: “Then from that day on they plotted to put Him to death.” [St John 11:53] And see how the plot unfolds, on this day in the temple, the Pharisees send their disciples with the Herodians. First, they butter Jesus up, “Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are.” [22:16] You can hear the sarcasm, the wicked insincerity in their voices that are anxious, not for the truth, but to see the Lord Jesus squirm, to see Him caught in His own words.
And here comes the trap: “Tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” [22:17] And now they think they've got Him. This really is a cunningly laid trap, a question that seems to have no answer. If Jesus answers “No, you should not pay taxes to Caesar,” He would be guilty of rebellion and insurrection. This is why the Pharisees brought along the Herodians, that they would be sure to see, note, and report this answer to the authorities, saying, “That Jesus is forbidding people to pay their taxes.” On the other hand, if Jesus were to answer “Yes, you should pay your taxes to Caesar,” He would be guilty in the eyes of many of the Jews who looked for the Messiah to come and throw off the bondage of Roman rule. It was an insult to the national Jewish pride to pay the tribute money to the Caesar, and no Messiah would approve of this tax. If Jesus answered “Yes, pay the tax,” He would be, in their mind, renouncing the claims of being the Messiah.
Do you see how clever the question was? Why they were so happy? There was no way out, no good answer. Heads they win, tails Jesus loses. They came to trap Jesus, and they thought they had done it. But Jesus will not be trapped. He answers neither 'yes' or 'no', but first He rebukes their hypocrisy and then says, “Show me the tax money.” [22:19] When the produce a denarius He asks, “Whose image and inscription and image is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar's.” [22:20-21] Then Jesus answers their question, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” [22:21]
What words! What a teaching! With one answer Jesus sends them away reeling. “When they had heard these words, they marveled, and they left Him and went their way.” [22:22] Jesus will not be trapped.
Now, there is much to say about Jesus' teaching, that we are to render unto Caesar the things that are his, and render to God the things that are His. St Paul teaches us the same in Romans 13:
(1) Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (2) Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, (4) for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. (5) Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. (6) For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. (7) Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.
We could say much more on this topic, and I refer you back to you catechisms, the fourth commandment and the first article of the creed, but this morning I hope to draw your attention to the fact that all the human wisdom in the world could not trap Jesus, and could not find Him guilty of any crime. He was perfectly righteous and holy in every way. He could not be trapped, or captured.
What this means, dear people, is that Jesus went to His death freely, willingly, by His own choice. He was not tricked or caught or trapped into dying. Jesus' death was not the result of man's wisdom, but God's foolishness [see 1 Corinthians 1:25], not the result of man's plots, but God's plan, His eternal plan to save and rescue you from your sins. [see Revelation 13:8] Jesus is not trapped; He lays down His life freely for you, out of His great love and compassion for you.
And so, dearly beloved, rejoice. They came to trap Jesus, but He is not trapped. He is free. Freely He went to the cross to die in your place, winning for you the forgiveness of all of your sins. Freely He rose from the death and destroyed the power of death. Freely He ascended to the right hand of God where He sits praying for you and interceding on your behalf. Freely He comes to you today, speaking words of forgiveness and life. Freely He puts His body and blood into your mouth of the forgiveness of your sins. Freely He will return, and bring all who believe in Him into the new heaven and the new earth where there will be rejoicing without end. Amen.
And the peace which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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