"They sent some Pharisees and Herodians to him to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' They were utterly amazed at him." (Mark 12: 13-17)
Homily
“And they were all utterly amazed”
There were those who didn’t like the message that Jesus was preaching. Some, like the chief priests, the scribes and the elders might of have been jealous that Jesus was becoming a more popular religious leader than they. Herod may have been afraid that what he was preaching might lead people to rebel against Rome and that would certainly spell an end to his rule. Others just liked the status Quo.
And this is just one of those occasions.
These men were sent, to Jesus in order to “trap” him, to “ensnare” him. They were on the hunt. They were prowling around like lions ready to devour their prey. They had a pretty slick question with which to catch him off guard. If he answered yes, he’d get himself in trouble with Jewish law and if he said no, the Romans would have reason to arrest him.
Jesus, we would say, was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
But Jesus got himself out of the trap brilliantly! And we are told that “they were utterly amazed.”
That is the power of God’s word. It amazes us.
There was once a commercial for an investment company. There would be some kind of party or gathering and the room was all abuzz. The camera would zoom in on a particular person that would say, “Well, my broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says…” and everyone in the room would stop, and every thing was very quiet because they all wanted to hear what E.F. Hutton had to say.
This was the tag line, “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen.”
What about when Jesus speaks? Does everything grind to a halt? Does everyone stop and listen? - Hardly.
But when Jesus speaks something much more important happens. When we hear his voice our hearts change; we become different people; and we are utterly amazed at what we hear in the depth of our souls and how it changes our lives – when we listen; when we don’t let the buzz around us get in the way.
So let's encourage one another to pick up our bibles, read the words of Jesus in the Gospels, let Him speak to our hearts and see for ourselves just how utterly amazing our God is.
They came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion. You do not regard a person's status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?"
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at." They brought one to him and he said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?" They replied to him, "Caesar's." So Jesus said to them, "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.' They were utterly amazed at him." (Mark 12: 13-17)
Homily
“And they were all utterly amazed”
There were those who didn’t like the message that Jesus was preaching. Some, like the chief priests, the scribes and the elders might of have been jealous that Jesus was becoming a more popular religious leader than they. Herod may have been afraid that what he was preaching might lead people to rebel against Rome and that would certainly spell an end to his rule. Others just liked the status Quo.
And this is just one of those occasions.
These men were sent, to Jesus in order to “trap” him, to “ensnare” him. They were on the hunt. They were prowling around like lions ready to devour their prey. They had a pretty slick question with which to catch him off guard. If he answered yes, he’d get himself in trouble with Jewish law and if he said no, the Romans would have reason to arrest him.
Jesus, we would say, was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
But Jesus got himself out of the trap brilliantly! And we are told that “they were utterly amazed.”
That is the power of God’s word. It amazes us.
There was once a commercial for an investment company. There would be some kind of party or gathering and the room was all abuzz. The camera would zoom in on a particular person that would say, “Well, my broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says…” and everyone in the room would stop, and every thing was very quiet because they all wanted to hear what E.F. Hutton had to say.
This was the tag line, “When E.F. Hutton speaks, people listen.”
What about when Jesus speaks? Does everything grind to a halt? Does everyone stop and listen? - Hardly.
But when Jesus speaks something much more important happens. When we hear his voice our hearts change; we become different people; and we are utterly amazed at what we hear in the depth of our souls and how it changes our lives – when we listen; when we don’t let the buzz around us get in the way.
So let's encourage one another to pick up our bibles, read the words of Jesus in the Gospels, let Him speak to our hearts and see for ourselves just how utterly amazing our God is.
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