Over the last 47 weeks, since the post on Day 770, we have read
the gospel of Mark (not always in sequential order) from the first verses to its
end save a few verses in chapters 2 – 6 and 8. We have been reading steadily
from the end of chapter 8 through today's reading of Mark 12: 13-27. The closing
chapters (11-16) are a slow, step-by-step description of the final week in the
life of the man Jesus.
For the record in case you desire to use these reflections
if you pick up Mark’s gospel and study it the posts are:
Mark –“The gospel for the abused”
Day
763
Mark 1:1-15 Day
770
Mark 1:14-20 Day
775
Mark 1:21-28 Day
785
Mark 1:29-39 Day
791
Mark 2:23-3:6 Day
805
Mark 3:19-35 Day
909
Mark 4:26-34 Day
919
Mark 4:35-41 Day
924
Mark 5:21-34 Day
932
Mark 6:1-13 Day
943
Mark 6:14-29 Day
946
Mark 7:1-23 Day
994
Mark 7:24-36 Day
999
Mark 9:2-10 Day
798
Mark 9:30-37 Day
1011
Mark 10:2-16 Day
1026
Mark 9:30-10:16 Day
824
Mark 10:17-31 Day
1032
Mark 10:35-45 Day
1041
Mark 10:46-52 Day
1048
Mark 10:17-52 Day
833
Mark 13:1-8 Day
1077
Mark 14:3-9 Day
939
Mark 15:46-16:8a Day
846
A Bible Study for Second
Presbyterian Men’s group, Chattanooga, TN., Dec. 3, 2015
Mark 12:13-27 - The
confrontation by the Herodians and Sadducees with Jesus”
13 Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some
Herodians to trap him in what he said. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher,
we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not
regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with
truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? 15 Should we pay them, or should we not?” But knowing their
hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a
denarius and let me see it.” 16 And they brought one. Then he said to
them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” They answered, “The
emperor’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Give to the emperor
the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And
they were utterly amazed at him.
The Sadducees and Herodians were the crème de la crème of Jewish
society. The Sadducees were the powerful lay-leaders of the Temple, they were not the
priests, but lwell-to-do, influential laypersons. The Herodians are a stark reminder of the days of
Judah just prior to its destruction by Babylon when the religious leaders and
King had allied themselves with the occupying nation, currying favor by being
the eyes and ears and “representatives” of the occupying state and bringing
Babylonian deities into the Temple. This behavior of the king, the priests and
social elite ultimately was a leading cause of their destruction. Now here in
Roman times, the Saducees and Herodians are repeating the same mistakes of the Sadducees and Herodians after the Jewish uprising.
"Herodians” were a political cult-like group who allied themselves
with King Herod and contributed to his coffers. The modern political PACs that
support political candidates in the US are quite similar. What makes the
Herodians so outrageous is that both Herod, a puppet king set up by Rome, and
the Herodians were Jews who on theological grounds were never to worship or
give favor to foreign kings.
Do the Sadducees
and Herodians pose this argument intending to trap Jesus on religious grounds
or on political (Roman) grounds? One answer puts him in opposition to Rome, the
other in opposition to the Law, a hypocrisy these Herodians have already
accomplished, a hypocrisy Jesus immediately calls out in v. 15
There are some important
nuances to this interchange. The Gospel proclaimed by Jesus on one level is a
direct assault against Rome. Rome represents the antithesis of the message that
Jesus brings. Jesus represents the force of humility against Rome’s power.
Caesar proclaimed himself of divine origin, a god, the Messiah, the liberator
of the people and the epitome of power. Much of Caesar’s religious language to
Romans can be matched to the description of Jesus. The gospels throughout carry
a countercultural, frontal assault on Rome that is veiled in symbolism, parable
and irony.
This interchange
is a classic. The Sadducees and Herodians want an answer from Jesus that either
puts him at odds with Judaism or with Rome. Jesus looses in either case and at best his
answer should force the hand of Rome to kill him, or destroy his credibility
with the people.
But Jesus forced
the Sadducees and Herodians to produce the seditious answer. By pointing to the
coin of the realm and saying give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to Godwhat is
God’s he actually does not directly answer the question but his words cannot be
held against him, Only when the Sadducees and Herodians state what is God’s and what is Caesar’s do
the yield an answer. They are in the exact quandary they tried to place Jesus.
If they acknowledge that all things belong to God they impugn Caesar; if the
say it is Caesar’s tax money and acknowledge Rome “owns” Judah, they have admitted
heresy as temple leaders. Jesus has forced them to provide an answer that makes
them culpable in denigrating Rome or the Lord explicitly.
His adversaries can only stand in amazement at his deft reversal
of the question back upon them.
But they persist…
Mark 12:18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to him and asked him a question, saying,
19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that ‘if a
man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow
and raise up children for his brother.’ 20 There were seven brothers; the first
married and, when he died, left no children; 21 and the second married her and died,
leaving no children; and the third likewise;
22 none of the seven left children. Last of
all the woman herself died. 23 In the resurrection whose wife will she
be? For the seven had married her.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Is not this the
reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of
God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are
given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book
of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite
wrong.”
Verses 18-23 are
a classic rabbinical discourse. Typically a point is hypothesized and followed
to its natural end and its consequences. Now in this case, we must realize that
the Sadducees did not believe in resurrection. While Jewish ideas about bodily
or spiritual resurrection after death were varied, the overriding consensus was
that one lived and died. Life after death was the continuation of family
lineage of the of the ancestors. Bodily resurrection was not widely accepted but
procreation was highly honored because of this. This puts some emphasis of the
rules concerning brothers marrying the wife of a deceased brother and general
rules on procreation and sexual conduct. (Hence the nature of the argument the
Sadducees pose argues against Jesus’ good news of salvation. It is a oblique
argument or subterfuge using the Law against the message of resurrection after
death, rebirth and eternal life that Jesus proclaims.
Reflection
This argument
about whose wife is the woman goes to the heart (and often controversy) of the
gospel. Jesus does proclaim the essential message of eternal life. However the
entire gospel is predicated on rebirth, new clothes, repentance (that means to
turn away or reverse course). These actions very profoundly emphasize the
criteria is how we live, or what is
written in our heart.
Some reduce this trivially to the old works versus faith argument, but the message of being
the God of the Living is rooted in the essence of the Law and Gospel. One
follows the law and Gospel because it is written in one’s heart. (See Jeremiah 4:1-4, for example.) It is embodied
in the compassion of one’s whole existence as a child in God’s family. The law
is not followed as a path to righteousness. The gospel is not followed as a
path to faith. Neither present a set of rules for living, they present the
image of a new life centered on God.
Jesus is
pointing to the importance and significance of our creation as living beings by
God. By saying, God is the God of the living, Jesus is saying we live by his
grace and our focus is living a life with a focus on glorifying the Lord and
enjoying that grace forever, not on our own status as husband or wife. If our
task is to live so that we glorify God and enjoy his grace forever then
arguments such are trivial. In our next passage Jesus brings this point
to its finest expression.
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