Giving God What Is His

[0:00] Verse 13, and they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk. Now, there are many causes and circumstances that unite people who otherwise would totally avoid one another.

[0:21] But it seems like as we read through the Gospels, really even as we get into the epistles of the New Testament as well, it seems that no one brings diverse people together quite like Jesus does, right?

[0:38] That's why in studying Jesus and his 12 disciples, that's why we can understand how Matthew, Levi, a Roman tax collector, could then become friends and united with Simon, who we are told in the Gospels was Simon the Zealot.

[0:58] What he was known for was being a part of this zealot organization that was completely anti-Rome. Out of their love for Christ, they were able to set aside their social and political positions and convictions.

[1:18] Not that they changed those things about themselves, at least not immediately, but they're able to set those things aside, come together in unity out of love for Jesus.

[1:31] Willing to set aside firmly held political beliefs to unite together with Christ. And we see no greater picture of this than what we see in the composition of the church.

[1:46] Because for a Christian, the Gospel of Jesus takes priority over every other personal value, right? We can even see this even in our own church today, right?

[2:00] The diversity that God brings together, not only in an ethnic diversity, not only in a generational diversity, in some cases in our church, even a political diversity, God brings people from all kinds of different places, all kinds of different mindsets, all kinds of different backgrounds, and he unites them, not for any other reason than the Gospel of Jesus and our love for him.

[2:25] In our church, we have vaxxers and anti-vaxxers. Yet they can come together on a Sunday morning, and they can worship the Lord, and they can love one another, and they can be united in the Gospel and in the truth of God's Word.

[2:41] In our church, we have people with heritages from all over the world. We have many of us who our heritage is found right here in the United States. We have Mr. and Mrs. Kuo, whose heritage is found in Taiwan.

[2:55] We have Mark and Allah, whose heritage is found in Russia. We have Bob, whose heritage is found in the motherland in England. We have all kinds of different heritage, right? Yet, for the Gospel's sake, the Lord has united us together.

[3:10] We probably even have some people in our church who pull for the Tar Heels, and other people in our church who pull for the Blue Devils. It's amazing, the diversity that gets.

[3:23] And then there's the state people we just mentioned. We'll throw in there to be kind to you, right, Andy? And the North Carolina state. Jesus has a way of uniting people that's different than any other thing. Now, there's all kinds of causes and circumstances that we can get united around.

[3:36] But what's the foundation of our unity, typically? The foundation of our unity with another person is based on priority of values. Some people can look at what's happening with Russia and Ukraine, and you can say, okay, that has a particular priority in my value system.

[3:53] And so for other people who may differ than me on these other things that are lesser priority, I can unite with them in the fight against the evils that are taking place there, right?

[4:04] That's how unity works. In the church, we set aside everything because the number one priority is the gospel of Christ, our love for Jesus. Everything else takes second place.

[4:16] And churches begin to disintegrate, and they begin to split, and they begin to become a huge problem in tarnishing the name of Christ when they get that priority out of whack, when their unity is no longer based on Christ and the gospel, but their unity is based on their political preference, or their heritage, or their generation, or their way that they like their music, or whatever it is that they would do, right?

[4:37] That's when churches begin to really disintegrate. But it's not just the people who love Jesus who are united by him.

[4:47] What we actually find unfolding in this text is Jesus being the polarizing figure that he is and that he was unites not only those who love him, but he unites those who loathe him, who hate him.

[5:05] That's precisely what's happening as this short set of verses unfolds. The delegation from the Sanhedrin had failed to catch Jesus in his words as they had endeavored to do in the previous text.

[5:21] Israel's religious and political leaders regrouped, and they began to send wave after wave of representatives, each with a different strategy to try to trap the Lord.

[5:32] And that's where this chapter is going. It's first, we see it here in the Pharisees and the Herodians, and the very next one is the Sadducees, because that doesn't work, so they regroup and they send the Sadducees the next time.

[5:43] And then that doesn't work, so they regroup and there's a scribe that comes. Wave after wave, they're sending to Jesus, really with the same objective each time. Trap him in his words so that they might destroy him, discredit him publicly, and ultimately execute him.

[6:00] But their first attempt here in verses 13 to 17 bring together the unlikeliest of friends. The Pharisees and the Herodians in Jesus' day were religious and political enemies.

[6:19] The Pharisees were religiously conservative. They were mostly concerned with religious law, not just the law of God, but as we've studied many times in Mark's gospel, their own traditions and their own rabbinical law that they enforced upon the people.

[6:35] They were very morally conservative in that sense. The Herodians were the exact opposite. They were morally liberal, and they were most concerned not with religious law, but most concerned with Roman law.

[6:50] Pharisees despised the Roman occupation. The Herodians, loyal to the Herodian family, hence their name, capitulated to the Roman occupation.

[7:03] These groups hated everything about one another. But the one thing that they had in common was that Jesus of Nazareth had become a threat to their power, their authority, and their political agenda.

[7:21] And so just as Jesus united Matthew and Simon, and Matthew and Simon saw Jesus as priority number one, therefore will set aside all the other things in order to unite in our love for Christ in the gospel.

[7:36] Just as it happened in that sense with Matthew and Simon, so it happens with the Pharisees and the Herodians. Jesus becomes priority number one, except they're not setting aside all their other disagreements to love and follow Jesus.

[7:49] They're setting aside all of their disagreements to go and destroy him, to diminish his influence, and ultimately to execute him in their hatred.

[8:01] And their objective in approaching the Lord was once again to trap him in his words so that they could specifically turn him over to the Roman governor.

[8:13] We find that told plainly in Luke chapter 20, and of course we will find out eventually that Roman governor is a man named Pontius Pilate. That's what they're moving toward at this point. They feigned admiration for Jesus, and then they presented him with a dilemma that would put him on the outs with someone, either the common people of Israel or the Roman authorities.

[8:37] And their challenge was concerned here with what the people owed to Caesar. Jesus responds and counters by emphasizing what every person owes to God.

[8:52] So not only were the Pharisees and Herodians unsuccessful, but Jesus gives us this short, masterful lesson on wholehearted devotion to the Lord.

[9:03] And I don't want you to be confused. This story, this lesson is not about money. It's not about money.

[9:15] This is about loyalty. When the Pharisees and the Herodians asked Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar, they're not concerned about their money. They're concerned about Jesus's public statement of loyalty, either to or against Rome.

[9:31] And when Jesus responds, he's not concerned with their money. He's not concerned with them giving in the temple tax. That's not what this is about. What he is responding with is a challenge to their loyalty with God.

[9:47] And so let's look at it. It's a very simple passage. First, let's look at the challenge in verse 14. Luke wrote that Jesus was under the watchful eyes of the scribes and the chief priests.

[9:59] He is in the temple courtyards. He's interacting with people. He's teaching people. We see this over and over in this final week of Jesus's life. And as he is interacting with those people, the scribes and the chief priests are around and they're watching him closely.

[10:15] They're listening to him intently, not so that they can learn, but so that they can confront him in just the right way to accuse him. And the public nature of these confrontations was essential to their plot.

[10:33] It wouldn't do to trap Jesus in a private conversation. That wouldn't help them. They needed to trap Jesus in a public conversation. They needed to turn the people against Jesus.

[10:47] But they had already tried approaching him with a combative spirit. That's what we saw at the end of chapter 11. So they regroup and with wisdom on their part, they decide, okay, we're not gonna go in guns a blazing this time.

[11:01] This time we're gonna be a little more thoughtful about the way we approach him. And their strategy here was to disarm Jesus first with flattery before catching him with a clever dilemma that they have contrived to present.

[11:17] So let's look first at their laughable flattery. Verse 14, Now, the problem here is not what they said.

[11:39] All their statements about Jesus in this moment are absolutely true. And ironically, all of the things that they say about Jesus here represented the antithesis of their own behavior and their own spirit.

[11:54] They were the typical politicians. They were opportunist at heart. They led on the basis of consensus, not conviction.

[12:05] They used guile and deception to deceive the people. And they taught their own traditions as being equal to, and in some cases, even greater than God's law.

[12:16] We saw that in chapter seven. But Jesus was the opposite of that. He indeed was honest. He was honestly transparent with everybody he dealt with. His yes was yes, and his no was no.

[12:28] He wasn't trying to trick people. He wasn't trying to deceive people. He was plain and honest. That was true of Jesus. He was totally impartial. When they come to him and they say in verse 14, we know that you don't care about anyone's opinion.

[12:44] They're not saying that Jesus is a dismissive person, that he's got his mindset and he just doesn't even listen to what anybody else has to say. That's not what they're saying about him. They're saying he's impartial. That he doesn't have a group of people and see the rich people over here and decide that he's gonna capitulate to the things that they want while ignoring the poor people over there.

[13:03] That's what the Pharisees and Herodians did. Jesus didn't do that. That was true of him. He's totally impartial. He spoke only the truth of God. That's true.

[13:16] He could speak nothing but the truth of God. How do we know that? Because he himself is God. Everything he said was true. He taught the way of God.

[13:27] That was absolutely true. Nothing wrong with what they said. The problem is they didn't actually believe what they were saying about Jesus. They didn't believe those things. This is nothing more than hypocritical flattering.

[13:41] And it's laughable when you consider what we've already been told about these men in Mark's gospel. They'd been working together against Jesus to destroy him since the first time they encountered him in Galilee.

[13:57] Remember back in Mark chapter three, Jesus goes into the synagogue, probably near Capernaum. There's a man there probably planted by these men who had a withered hand and Jesus heals him on the Sabbath.

[14:09] And how do they leave that synagogue worship service? Verse six in chapter three, the Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy them.

[14:21] They'd been doing this for years at this point. They weren't being honest. Despite their words, they hated Jesus, which was no secret to anyone.

[14:33] That's why it's laughable. But there's a helpful warning in this for us, isn't there? The enemies of Jesus and his church will not always come across as adversaries.

[14:48] You understand that, right? Not everyone who will try to influence you under the banner of Christianity is your friend.

[15:02] Not every person who would claim to be an enemy and an adversary of the gospel is gonna present themselves to you as if that's true. And as the Pharisees and the Herodians approach Jesus, that's the route they take.

[15:17] And they take this as a nod from the one who they were most likely mimicking in this moment, which was Satan himself. Was that not part of Satan's deception of Adam and Eve in the garden?

[15:32] As Eve approaches the tree that God says, don't eat of this tree, the serpent doesn't present himself as an enemy of Eve's. He presents himself as a friend of Eve.

[15:44] He says, now that's just not true. You will be better off. You will become a God. This deception, he pretends to be a friend.

[15:57] There's flattery. There's smooth talk that's involved with what's happening. And that happens to us. Jesus in his perfection did not fall for that. We often do fall for that. And it's for this reason that the Bible warns so often against flattering lips and deceitful guile.

[16:17] Beware the people that think much more of you than they should ever think. I think it was, was it Spurgeon that said, not to be concerned with those who speak evil of you, for you are far worse than they think you are?

[16:31] Well, then there's another part to that, right? There are those who will make you think that you are far better than you should ever think that you are. And you should beware.

[16:42] Proverbs 26, 28, a lying tongue hates its victims. A flattering mouth works ruin. That's its goal, to ruin you.

[16:56] Romans 16, I appeal to you brothers, watch out for those who cause divisions in the church. Watch out for those who create obstacles that are contrary to the doctrine that you've been taught.

[17:08] Avoid them, Paul says. For such persons don't serve the Lord, they serve their own appetites. And by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive.

[17:20] What's Paul saying to believers? Wise up. Not everybody who says they're a Christian is a Christian. Not everyone who claims to speak on behalf of the Lord and of the gospel is truly speaking on behalf of the Lord and the gospel.

[17:33] There will be people in your life that approach with smooth talk and flattery. And if you're not careful, you'll fall into the trap. Don't fall into the trap. So we see laughable flattery.

[17:46] Then we see the clever trap that they actually said here. Verse 14, here's what they ask. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not?

[18:02] Now, it wouldn't have been hard for most people to see through their flattery, but this was very, very clever. Question was whether or not it's right, according to the law of God, should we be loyal to Rome?

[18:21] Is essentially what they're asking. It's not about money again. This is about loyalty. Rome levied many taxes on the people, income taxes, taxes on their buying and selling, taxes on their travel, all the taxes that we pay ourselves here.

[18:38] The specific tax in question here in Mark 12 was the annual poll tax. It was equal to one denarius for each person.

[18:50] And it was essentially a tax for existing. If you had life and you existed, you had to give Rome one denarius every year.

[19:02] And the implication of this from Rome's perspective is that you belong to Rome. You belong to Caesar. Therefore, it is your responsibility every year to give something to Caesar just to thank him for allowing you to stay alive and to be in his kingdom.

[19:22] Sinclair Ferguson said the tax served as a constant reminder to the Jews that they were a broken and subjugated people, which was why the zealots' refusal to pay them was regarded as an essential element in nationalistic loyalty.

[19:41] So this poll tax is hugely controversial for the Jews. It was in response to this very tax in 86 when Jesus is just a boy in Galilee.

[19:54] It was in response to this tax that Judas the Galilean raises up a revolt against Rome. And in response, of course, they had no chance. It was their hatred for this particular thing.

[20:05] And they go up against Rome, and Rome absolutely decimates the people that were a part of the revolt. 3,000 people were crucified in Galilee. They lined their crosses down the main thoroughfare in Galilee, cross after cross after cross.

[20:19] Anyone who had actually joined Judas the Galilean to go against Rome, they hated insurrection. They hated it. And the Jews hated this tax and their subjugation to Rome as much as the Romans hated insurrection against their rule.

[20:35] It would be this very issue that in AD 66, the zealot movement would finally grow to a point where they launch an assault against Rome.

[20:48] And you know how that one ends. For four years, they tried to revolt against Rome. What does Rome do? They besieged the city of Jerusalem. They decimate, utterly decimate Jewish life in Israel.

[21:03] And eventually, they make their way to the temple. And just as Jesus predicted would happen, they removed it stone by stone till it was nothing left, and they burned it to the ground. And what was the revolt all over?

[21:16] Remember, this tax. Do you see the cleverness in what these men are doing as they approach Jesus? It's a combination of these two elements between Rome and Israel that makes this so clever.

[21:31] If Jesus said that they should pay the tax, he would be public enemy number one. But if he publicly opposed the tax, the Pharisees and the Herodians would immediately turn him over to the Roman governor.

[21:45] They would claim that he's an insurrectionist. And that's precisely what they did about two or three days after this. Listen to this from Luke chapter 23.

[21:56] Then the whole company of them arose and brought Jesus before Pilate, who was the Roman governor. And they began to accuse him. And here's what they said. We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar and saying that he himself is king and Christ.

[22:18] That was an utter lie. Jesus actually tells them to pay their taxes in this passage. And yet they lie blatantly. Why? Because it's the only way they could destroy him.

[22:30] They had to lie. It goes to show you the hatred of Israel's leaders for Jesus at this point. Well, that's the challenge that Jesus is faced with. What's he gonna say?

[22:42] How's he gonna get out of this one? This is very smart on his enemy's sake. Well, that brings us to our last point. You'll be thankful for that. The counter. Let's look at the counter.

[22:54] Verse 15. Knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, why put me to the test? Why put me to the test?

[23:05] Of course, Jesus sees right through the flattery and the deception. They were hypocrites pretending to admire Jesus when they actually wanted to destroy him.

[23:17] And he knew that. But acknowledging that wasn't enough to get out of the situation. He couldn't just say, you're a bunch of hypocrites. Why are you doing this? And walk away. Because there's a lot of people around.

[23:28] And now, those hypocrites have caught the attention of the crowd. And they're awaiting for Jesus to give an answer to this. They wanna hear what he has to say. And of course, he provides this lesson, this profound truth that they would not soon forget.

[23:46] And I can just imagine, I don't picture Jesus. Maybe this is me. There's only so much that we have when we have the written word. We try to picture exactly how this unfolds.

[23:57] We can't see Jesus' expression to see exactly what was on his face. It doesn't read to me as if he was angry. It's almost like, really? Really?

[24:08] Are you gonna keep trying this? You know? Are you gonna keep trying this? And of course, he's a master teacher, isn't he? Let's look at two things about this. Number one, he just gives a simple object lesson. Simple object lesson.

[24:20] Verse 15. Bring me a denarius, Jesus says, and let me look at it. And they brought one, and he said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this?

[24:32] And they said to him, Caesar's. A denarius was a small silver coin. It's equal to a day's wage for a common laborer or sometimes even for a Roman soldier, a common Roman soldier.

[24:48] Caesar, and it represented this required pull tax. I actually have a picture of it. I think, Missy, if you wanna, it may be a couple slides over. This is the exact coin, not the exact one, but this is the type of coin that Jesus had asked for.

[25:01] This is a Roman denarius in the time of Tiberius Caesar. And I want you to notice, this is the front of it. This is the image of Tiberius Caesar in this moment.

[25:11] There's an abbreviated inscription around the outside. It says, Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus. So Caesar Augustus was considered to be a god.

[25:23] They had deified him. They continued to deify their Caesars. So whenever he puts his face on this sign, he's saying, I'm a god, this silver belongs to me. That was the point of the image in the inscription. And on the back of it is a image of what they think was Tiberius' mother.

[25:38] And this inscription says, high priest or chief priest in this moment. This is the coin that Jesus asked for, a Roman denarius, a silver coin. Romans, again, considered these Caesars to be gods.

[25:51] But the Jews considered these coins to be miniature idols because of that. That most of them refused to carry them. They weren't allowed to use these for their temple tax.

[26:03] They couldn't use any kind of coin that actually had the image of another person on it when they brought their temple tax to Jerusalem. That was the purpose of the money changers in chapter 11.

[26:14] Remember that? Jesus is turning over the money changer stations and their tables. That was the purpose of those men. They were trading out denariuses for something that was actually able to be used in the temple.

[26:26] But the annual pull tax could only be paid with a denarius. That's what they had to use. So Jesus asked for someone to bring him one. And masterfully, he doesn't ask the crowd.

[26:40] I think he asked the Pharisees and Herodians to answer whose imprint and inscription was on the face of the coin. I know this is simple, but hang with me. The inscription on this coin is what Jesus uses to set the context for his lesson.

[26:59] Okay? It's not just about the coin itself. It's about the image on it. It's about the inscription on it. That's the point of the object lesson. Look at this coin. Whose face is on this?

[27:10] Whose image is on this? Whose inscription is this? That's setting the context for the application to come, which we move to now. The spiritual application in verse 17.

[27:22] Jesus said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. So first, Jesus affirmed our responsibility to submit to civil authority.

[27:44] It's the first part of the answer. As the crowd awaits to listen and hear what Jesus has to say, he says, give Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

[27:59] Pay your taxes, he says. Pay your taxes. But he says it in a way that has so much wisdom that it communicates a perspective, a godly perspective of civil obedience.

[28:17] Kent Hughes said this, his answer could not be denied. Ancient coins were actually understood to be the property of the person whose picture and inscription were on them.

[28:29] who could object then to Jesus saying, give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. It's an amazing lesson, isn't it?

[28:41] Submit to authority because God has given that authority. Give to Caesar what belongs to him, but then he immediately moves on to another portion.

[28:52] He prioritizes that submission, that loyalty. unless we're asked to violate God's commands, it is our responsibility to submit to the authorities that God ordains in our lives.

[29:09] I think that's clear here in Jesus' teaching. to submit to the poll tax neither violated God's word nor did it violate a believer's conscience.

[29:20] They just didn't like it. They just didn't want to do it. God never gives us the option to disobey because we just don't like the rule, which is typically how I respond.

[29:35] I just don't like that. In fact, despite the incredibly oppressive culture in which they lived, the apostles continually taught the necessity of civil obedience.

[29:50] Romans 13, Paul, with the same Roman government that will eventually incarcerate him for four years and cut off his head, says, let every person be subject to the governing authorities.

[30:04] For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

[30:17] 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.

[30:29] Peter says the same thing in the midst of a letter when he's writing to a people that are being abused and persecuted for their faith. He says, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperors as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.

[30:49] For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. The apostles are just expounding on Jesus' own teaching of civil obedience, which all of us probably at one place or another in the last two years have willingly bucked.

[31:14] Not because it violated our conscience. Not because we were asked to do something that the Bible says we shouldn't do, but we just didn't like it so we didn't do it.

[31:30] I think there's an affirmation here that Jesus gives but that's not the main point. In fact, his point is that that's not the main point. He continues on to a more vital element though he doesn't deny our responsibility to submit to civil authority, he put it in its proper place behind obedience to God.

[31:54] And so Jesus is arguing here from lesser to greater. Yes, give to Caesar what belongs to him but don't forget the more critical issue of giving to God what is rightfully his.

[32:10] Jesus isn't, he's not referring to tithing here. This wasn't really at the end of the day about taxes and tithing. That's not what Jesus is saying. He's not saying make sure that while you pay your taxes to Caesar that you also give tithes and offerings to the church.

[32:27] That's not what Jesus is teaching here. He's talking about giving wholehearted worship. And remember the context of the lesson.

[32:38] his statement uses an object lesson that is focused on the image and imprint of this silver silver coin.

[32:49] You see that? The image of Caesar is on the coin give it to Caesar and then Jesus sees another coin that has another image on it except it's not a coin it's a life.

[33:01] It's you and it's me and imprinted on our lives is the image of the almighty God the image of our creator and he says look do the civil obedience thing but there's a much bigger picture here.

[33:18] Each of you have the stamp the image of God on your life give to God what is his namely your wholehearted worship your wholehearted surrender all of your obedience all of your affection all of your love with your mind and your soul and your strength that's the point that Jesus is getting across.

[33:40] These men had had in almost a syncretistic way had had married the religious things with the political things which we see happen all the time now. Everybody has to marry their religious position to their political position across the board no matter what it is.

[33:55] These men were doing the same thing. Jesus says look you've got things out of order here. You've got things out of order. Give to God what is his first and then obey God by obeying the civil authorities that he's put in your life.

[34:11] The kids are learning this right now. This image principle. Kiddos question number four how and why did God create us?

[34:21] What's the answer? God created us now and now and now and now now Genesis 1 27 so God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him male and female he created them don't you realize God has placed his very image on your life and by placing his very image on your life as an individual he has given you a purpose and that purpose kids is what?

[34:55] to glorify him to glorify him when we taught this lesson in the kids class we used these big mirrors over here you can look at them right now when you look in that mirror Tom what do you see?

[35:11] you see Tom right? you see Tom looking back that's Tom's image in that mirror and God creates us in such a way so that when he looks at us he wants to see a reflection of himself something that brings him glory something that fulfills the purpose for which it was created and Jesus says in this moment give God what belongs to him which is yourself kids question six how can we glorify God?

[35:48] Deuteronomy 6 4 and 5 the Jews recited this daily hear O Israel the Lord our God is one you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might Jesus is going to give the same answer later in this passage when the scribe comes and asks about the greatest commandment and Jesus responds here is the greatest commandment love the Lord your God with all your heart and your soul and your mind and your strength what's Jesus getting at when he says give God what is God's he's not talking about your tithe he's talking about your life give him your life give him your love give him your worship give him your affection give him your obedience give to God what's rightfully his and don't give it to anyone or anything else don't give to your spouse what belongs to God your spouse's image is not imprinted on your life

[36:56] God's is save your supreme affection save your supreme obedience save your supreme love and worship for him love him more than you love your kids and teach your kids to love him more than they love you love him more than you love your job love him more than you love your country love him more than you love your church don't let anything in this life have your affection and your worship only God deserves that his images on your life give to God what's rightfully his love your wife pay your taxes do the speed limit if you have to love God verse 17 in conclusion and they marveled

[38:01] Jesus is in a corner that if you didn't know this passage and you waited and just thought about it before you read his answer you'd think I don't know how he's going to get out of this I don't know how I would have gotten out of this I certainly wouldn't have said what Jesus said I don't know what I would have done but he's perfect isn't he he's the master teacher he answers and all they can do is marvel at his wisdom walk away and try again later that's all they can do and I want you to notice something as we move into communion here in just a moment no matter how hard they tried they couldn't find a way to actually trap him no matter how hard they tried this I think was the best attempt they had I mean it was clever it was good and it still wouldn't work no matter how hard they try they can't accuse him they can't arrest him they can't execute him no matter what they did and his eventual crucifixion it happens a few days later was not the result of the cunning ability of these enemies it was the result of his own authority to lay down his life

[39:30] John chapter 10 Jesus says for this reason the father loves me because I lay down my life that I may take it up again no one takes it from me because no one can take it from him do you see they'll fail every time no one takes it from me but I lay it down of my own accord I have authority to lay it down excusia I have an excusia to lay it down I have excusia to take it up again this charge I've received from my father you see you see they can't defeat Jesus unless he lets them which is no defeat at all eventually when it's time on the Passover huge imagery there Jesus lays down his life not because the Pharisees and the Herodians and the Sadducees and the chief priests and the scribes finally came up with a good way to do it because they didn't because he willingly laid down his life and according to Isaiah 53 he stood before Pilate and he stood before Caiaphas and he stood before the Sanhedrin and like a sheep who before his shearers is dumb he opened not his mouth why because the only way they could take his life is if he gave it that was the whole purpose he gave it he gave it why love love for God so loved that he gave that he