CIX.
JEWISH RULERS SEEK TO ENSNARE JESUS.
(Court of the Temple. Tuesday, April 4, A. D. 30.)
Subdivision A.
PHARISEES AND HERODIANS ASK ABOUT TRIBUTE.
aMATT. XXII. 15-22; bMARK
XII. 13-17; cLUKE XX. 20-26.
a15 Then went the Pharisees,
and took counsel how they might ensnare him in his talk.
c20 And they watched him, and sent forth {bsend unto
him} atheir disciples, bcertain of the Pharisees
and of {awith} bthe Herodians, that they might catch
him in talk. [Perceiving that Jesus, when on his guard, was too wise
for them, the Pharisees thought it best to speak their cunning through
the mouths of their young disciples, whose youth and apparent desire to
know the truth would, according to their calculation, take Jesus off his
guard. Having no ancient statement giving us the tenets or principles of
the Herodians, we are left to judge them solely by their name, which shows
that they were partisans of Herod Antipas. Whether they were out-and-out
supporters of the Roman government, or whether they clung to Herod as one
whose intervening sovereignty saved them from the worse fate of being directly
under a Roman procurator (as Judæa and Samaria then were), would
not, as some suppose, affect their views as to the payment of tribute.
If they accepted Herod merely for policy's sake, policy would also compel
them to favor the tribute, for Antipas, being appointed [597] by
Rome, would have to favor the tribute, and could count none as his adherents
who opposed it.] cspies, who feigned themselves to righteous
[sincere seekers after truth], that they might take hold of his
speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the
governor. [Pontius Pilate was the governor. We are not surprised at
the destruction of Jerusalem when we see the religious teachers of the
nation employing their young disciples in such a work as this. To play
detective and entrap a rogue in his speech and thus become a man-hunter
is debasing enough; but to seek thus to entrap a righteous man is simply
diabolical.]
b14 And when they were come, they say unto him, {csaying,}
Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, bwe
know that thou art true, and carest not for any one; for thou regardest
not the person of men, cand acceptest not the person of any,
but of a truth teachest the way of God: ain truth [The meaning
of their preface is this: "We see that neither fear nor respect for the
Pharisees or the rulers prevents you from speaking the plain, disagreeable
truth; and we are persuaded that your courage and love of truth will lead
you to speak the same way in political matters, and that you will not be
deterred therefrom by any fear or reverence for Cæsar." Fearless
loyalty to truth is indeed one of the noblest attributes of man. But instead
of honoring this most admirable quality in Jesus, these hardened reprobates
were endeavoring to employ it as an instrument for his destruction],
17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou?
c22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Cæsar, or
not? b15 Shall we give, or
shall we not give? [The Jews were required to pay annually a large
sum of money to the Roman government as an acknowledgment of their subjection.
About twenty years before this Judas of Galilee had stirred up the people
to resist this tribute, and the mass of the Jews was bitterly opposed to
it. To decide in favor of this tribute was therefore to alienate the affection
and confidence of the throng in the temple who stood listening to him--an
end most desirable to the Pharisees. If, [598] on
the other hand, Jesus said that the tribute should not be paid, the Herodians
were present to hear it, and would be witnesses sanctioned by Herod, and
therefore such as Pilate would be compelled to respect. What but divine
wisdom could escape from so cunningly devised a dilemma!]
a18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, ccraftiness,
bknowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, {aand said}
Why make ye trial of me, ye hypocrites? [Thus, before answering, Jesus
exposes the meanness and hypocrisy in their question, thereby emphasizing
the important fact that he did not dodge, but answered it.]
19 Show me the tribute money. c24
Show me a denarius. bbring me a denarius, that I may see it.
[Religious dues and tributes had been paid in shekels or old Jewish coin,
but the tribute to Rome was paid in Roman coin of which the denarius was
a sample.] aAnd they brought unto
him a denarius. [See p. 376.]
20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? cWhose
image and superscription hath it? [The little silver coin had the head
of the emperor stamped upon it, and the superscription TICAESARDIVIAVGFAVGVSTVS,
which stands for the words Tiberias Cæsar, Divi Augusti Filius
Augustus; i. e., Tiberius Cæsar, the August Son of the Divine
Augustus.] And they said, {asay}
unto him, Cæsar's.
b17 And aThen bJesus said {asaith}
bunto them, cThen render atherefore unto
Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's; and unto God the things
that are God's. [Each nation uses its own coin. Had the Jews not been
under Roman sovereignty, they would not have been using Roman money; but
the coin which they brought to Jesus bore witness against them that the
Roman sovereignty was established in their land, and that tribute to it
was therefore justly due; for whoso uses Cæsar's coin must pay Cæsar's
tribute. This part of the answer satisfied the Herodians; and the last
part "and unto God," etc., satisfied the people, for it asserted, in a
manner which carried conviction with it, that the payment of enforced tribute
was not inconsistent with maintaining complete allegiance of God. [599] God
was no longer, as of old, the civil ruler of his people, and hence the
payment of tribute to a temporal sovereign is in no sense incompatible
with his service, but is enjoined as a Christian duty--Rom. xiii. 1, 7.]
c26 And they were not able to take hold of the saying before
the people: a22 And when they
heard it, they marvelled, bgreatly at him. cat his
answer, and held their peace. aand left him, and went away.
[They were amazed to find how far his wisdom transcended that of the teachers
in whom they had such supreme confidence.]
[FFG 597-600]
