Mark
12:13-27Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
God and
Caesar
13 Then they sent some of
the Pharisees and the Herodians to Him to trap Him by what He said.[a] 14 When they
came, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know You are truthful and defer to no one,
for You don’t show partiality[b] but
teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or
not? 15 Should we pay, or should we
not pay?”
But knowing their hypocrisy, He said to them, “Why are
you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.” 16 So they
brought one. “Whose image and inscription is this?” He
asked them.
“Caesar’s,” they said.
17 Then Jesus told
them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the
things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.
The
Sadducees and the Resurrection
18 Some Sadducees, who
say there is no resurrection, came to Him and questioned Him: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote
for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaves his wife behind,
and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife and produce
offspring for his brother.[c] 20 There
were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying, left no offspring. 21 The
second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third
likewise. 22 So the
seven[d] left
no offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the
resurrection, when they rise,[e] whose wife will she be, since the
seven had married her?”[f]
24 Jesus told them, “Are
you not deceived because you don’t know the Scriptures or 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 Now
concerning the dead being raised—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the
passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him: I am the God of
Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?[g] 27 He is not
God of the dead but of the living. You are badly deceived.”
Questions:
1.
Why were the Pharisees and
Herodians asking Jesus if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?
A. They did
that because they wanted to trap him. If
Jesus says YES, then He would be saying that He ultimately agrees that Caesar
is a God, or King. If he says No, then Jesus is saying He is against Caesar and
people would want to hurt Him.
2.
Why were they trying to
trap Jesus?
A. They were
trying to get Jesus in trouble with either Caesar or with the people that are
following Him. He would lose credibility
if he says Yes, and the Roman guards would arrest Him if he didn’t agree that
Caesar was a God.
3.
What does Jesus need a coin
for?
A. He will
show everyone that Caesar is on the coin, so it belongs to Caesar. What belongs to Caesar is Caesar’s, and what
belongs to God, is God’s.
