Bible Study series: Mark 12:13-17. His answer was stunning and brilliant. Even his opponents acknowledged this. His answer always impresses me, no matter how many times I read it. Every. Time.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together how to apply these truths to our lives.
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If you would like to see the original Greek, please click here:
At that link, I also offer more commentary and a Summary and Conclusion, geared towards discipleship. Scroll down to the bottom and check it out!
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Mark 12:13-17
13 Then they sent to him some of the Pharisees and Herodians so that they may trap him by a statement. 14 When they came up to him, they said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are truthful and are not swayed by anyone, for you are not intimated by people, but you teach God’s path of truth. Is it right to pay a tax to Caesar or not? Should we give or not give?” 15 But seeing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so I can look at it.” 16 They brought one. Then he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him. (Mark 12:13-17)
Comments:
This is the third of six “controversy stories” between Jesus and the Jerusalem establishment (11:27-12:44). They saw him as a threat.
13:
In this confrontation, the temple and Jerusalem establishment strike back. The chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders send Pharisees and Herodians, with the intention of trapping him into making a statement about taxes. They wanted him to say, “I’m a political revolutionary! I denounce Caesar and his tax requirement! I signal my followers! Now! Let’s all revolt!” They wanted to intimidate Jesus, so they could win the cultural battle of shame and honor. They would get the honor in public with other experts standing around, while Jesus would slink away. But Jesus was not flustered or startled. He held his peace.
“trap”: the verb appears only here, and it can mean to trap someone like an animal trap, or it can mean to hunt someone. Clearly the Pharisees and Herodians were commissioned to trap Jesus.
For many years now there has been a teaching going around the Body of Christ that says when Christians are challenged, they are supposed to slink away or not reply. This teaching may come from the time of Jesus’s trial when it is said he was as silent as a sheep (Acts 8:32). No. He spoke up then, as well (Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:32; Luke 23:71; John 18:19-23; 32-38; 19:11). Therefore, “silence” means submission to the will of God without resisting or fighting back. But here is about to reply to the test and pass it. Get into a discussion and debate with your challengers. Stand toe to toe with them.
Further, during his ministry, he did not cower or surrender. He fought back. His growing movement and lives were at stake. If he let his opponents get away with their criticism, his silence could have been misinterpreted as weakness, so he would not have been worthy to be followed. The listeners would have gone home, and rightly. “He’s not sure of his own message? He lets the religious leaders walk all over him? He’s not the Messiah!” Often silence can be misinterpreted as agreement. And if the sparring match is over eternal truths (as distinct from nonessential issues), don’t give in to your erroneous and broken opponents.
No, don’t be rude or contemptuous or defiant or stubborn, especially when you don’t know very much of Scripture or basic doctrine or particularly to your pastor who has a good heart and knows the Word. But if the Scripture is really, really clear, be firm and resolute about your interpretation of such issues as healing is for today or Christ is the Lord, or sin should not be accepted in the church, despite the culture’s pressure to compromise (e.g. about same-sex marriages).
“Pharisees”:
See this article about them and the Herodians:
Quick Reference to Jewish Groups in Gospels and Acts
The Pharisees, among others, were the Watchdogs of Theology and Behavior (David E. Garland, Luke: Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Zondervan, 2011], p. 243). The problem which Jesus had with them can be summed up in Eccl. 7:16: “Be not overly righteous.” He did not quote that verse, but to him they were much too enamored with the finer points of the law, while neglecting its spirit (Luke 11:37-52; Matt. 23:1-36). Instead, he quoted this verse from Hos. 6:6: “But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matt. 9:13; 12:7). Overdoing righteousness, believe it or not, can damage one’s relationship with God and others.
“statement”: it is the Greek noun logos, and its definition is huge, but I like “statement” because it is as if the Pharisees and Herodians are the religious police. But if you want to translated it as “words,” you may certainly do so.
14:
“you are not swayed by anyone”: literally the Greek says, “It is no concern of yours about anyone.” I just couldn’t go literal this time. In sum, the flattering Pharisees and Herodians tell him that he doesn’t care what people say. He’s not easily swayed by shifting opinions. They were literally correct, but the motives were wrong. The church also needs to be careful about following the trends in society.
“for you are not intimidated by people”: literally it says, “You do not look towards face of people’s.” I just could not go literal here, either. Preachers often look at the faces of people and get intimidated. Don’t.
Yes, Jesus was a man of truth or integrity, so that much was literally true, but the Pharisees and Herodians did not really believe this. They were not being truthful and integrous themselves.
“right”: it could be expansively translated as “right before God” (Strauss) or in my opinion “lawful according to the righteous demands of the Torah.”
15:
“hypocrisy”: Hypocrites were originally Greek play actors on the stage. They wore masks and played roles. There were stock characters, such as the buffoon, the bombastic soldier, or the old miser. The Septuagint (pronounced sep-too-ah-gent and abbreviated LXX for the “seventy” scholars who worked on it) is a third to first century translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek. It uses the term hypocrite to mean the godless. However, in the Synoptic Gospels, it is more nuanced. Hypocrites appeared one way, but in reality they were different. They appeared outwardly religious, but inwardly they were full of dead men’s bones (Matt. 23:27). They wore religious masks. They actually did many things that the law required, but they failed to understand God’s view of righteousness. They were more self-deceived than deceivers, though in Matt. 23, Jesus denounced the Pharisees and experts in the law for teaching one thing but living another. They are religious show-offs who act out their righteousness to impress others but are out of touch with God’s mercy and love. Eccl. 7:16 says not to be overly righteous, but that is what they were and displayed it publicly. Their flattery made them hypocrites because they did not really believe their words.
They pose their question. To be honest, it was an effective strategy of entrapment. However, we are about to watch the literal genius and literal anointing of Jesus on full display. It is stunning (to me at least) that he could come up with such a piercing and clarifying and rich answer immediately after this challenge. At the end of the discussion the Pharisees and Herodians will be hushed, and Jesus will emerge victorious in public.
Jesus used his discernment to perceive or recognize their wickedness or evil. He knew that they were testing him.
A denarius was the standard daily wage for a laborer (Matt. 20:1-16).
16-17:
“image and inscription”: The Caesar, a generic name for the emperor, was Tiberius (ruled AD 14-37). It may have read as follows:
TI[BERIUS] CAESAR DIVI AUG[USTI] F[ILIUS] AUGUSTUS
Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of divine Augustus, Augustus
(Strauss’ comment on vv. 16-17; Lane in his comment on v. 16, and I follow his translation). Lane also notes that the reverse said: “Pontifex Maximus” (literally “Great Bridge-Builder,” but it means “High Priest”).
How would he reply? A revolt? Then his enemies would have reported this defiant reply to the governor, who would have come out and arrested him at the wrong time, before the connection to Passover. He was going to be the Passover lamb who would die for the sins of the whole world (1 Cor. 5:6; John 1:29). The flow of events would have been out of line. He had a higher and different mission, from God.
If he had said to pay taxes to Rome, then his accusers could claim he sympathized with the hated Romans. If he said not to pay taxes to Rome, then they could call hi, a rebel and report him instantly.
Instead, his answer is going to be brilliant and revealing. Even his opponents were amazed.
Caesar’s image and inscription are on the coin, which, representing the entire worldly economy, belongs to him or his administration as represented by him. Jesus’s kingdom does not belong to or is tied down by this kingdom. His kingdom rises above it. However, let’s not overlook the truth that ultimately all kingdoms are overseen by God. In his sovereignty, he is the Lord of the world, not Caesar, though all government officials nowadays may believe that they are.
Key online and TV Bible teachers have said that the unstated implication is the humans have God image embedded in them (Gen. 1:26-27). People have the image of God restored to them by entering the kingdom of God and following him. They find their true identity in him, not in seeking their own way and their own image. It is best to let God make his image in them.
One prominent NT scholar said on youtube that this passage does not separate off Caesar’s kingdom from God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom overarches and influences Caesar’s kingdom. That’s partly true, for God’s kingdom should influence kingdoms of the world. However, God’s kingdom is eternal, while the earth-bound kingdoms are all doomed to pass away. So this passage does separate off God’s kingdom from Caesar’s. But see my comments just above, for a slightly contrary view. God in his sovereignty does rule over everything.
Jesus’s answer was brilliant. This was a word of wisdom, delivered by the Spirit of God (see 1 Cor. 12:10). Some say all of Jesus’s miracles and wisdom were brought out by the Spirit; others say most or all were done by his divine nature, which he took with him when he left heaven. The dominant picture of Jesus is that he worked by the Spirit; the Spirit worked through him by the Father’s will. However, if his divine nature shone out, as at the Mt. of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13), then who am I to argue? It is great that he answered by the Spirit and divine nature.
1. Gifts of Spirit: Word of Wisdom
The general outlook of the NT is that he answered by the Spirit (Acts 10:38).
In this post I cover Phil. 2:6-8 and the attributes he took with him when he “emptied himself”:
4. Do I Really Know Jesus? He Took the Form of a Servant
Recall that Jesus lived in an honor-and-shame society. When someone wins, the other guy loses or is shamed. As noted, people wrongly believe that Jesus was meek and mild out in public, as if he would just stand there and say nothing, but let his opponents steamroll right over him, as he sneaked off in defeat. These interpreters must be getting their bad ideas from a misreading of his trial, which is about to happen. Even in that case he replied. In his public ministry, he also answered back their questions and devious strategies. He shamed them in public. No, don’t do this to shy people who mean you no harm, but stand up to the bullies. There is nothing wrong if you win the debate, and they slink away and not bother you again.
In any case, Jesus brilliantly separated off the Roman empire from the kingdom of God.
However, his accusers at his trial or arraignment before Pilate accuse him of these crimes: 1 “Then the whole group of them got up and led him to Pilate. 2 They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We have found this man to be misleading our nation and forbidding them from giving tribute to Caesar and saying of himself that Christ is king.’” (Luke 23:1-2)
So the accusations were false.
I like Garland here, which I use as a summary to this pericope:
Caesar’s coin belongs to him. Since they have no qualms about doing business with Caesar’s money, they had better pay Caesar’s taxes. And since they are able to produce the coin, Jesus also exposes that they have no qualms about brining an image of Caesar and an emblem of his worldly power and his pretension to deity into God’s temple. He makes them look foolish and impious. They already pay a kind of tribute to Caesar by possessing his coin. Therefore, they owe Caesar the tribute he demands from taxes. In effect, Jesus says, “Let Caesar have his idols!” (p. 463)
GrowApp for Mark 12:13-17
A.. Read Gen. 1:26-27. You have God’s image in you. With this image, how do you belong to God, like a coin with Caesar’s image and inscription belongs to Caesar?
For more ideas, please see my post:
RELATED
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2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
2. Archaeology and the Synoptic Gospels
14. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels
1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
SOURCES
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