Luke 20:19-47 "Caesar and the Resurrection" Introduction: Three Questions about the Kingdom Today we are looking at three questions about the kingdom. The scribes and chief priests ask Jesus is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar? That sounds like a political question. Then the Sadducees ask Jesus about the woman who married seven brothers, and whose wife she would be in the resurrection. That sounds like a religious question. But then Jesus asks a question, How can they say that the Christ is David's son? The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. Jesus' question, which he leaves unanswered, is the key to the connection between the first two questions: the key to the relationship between Caesar and the resurrection. Last week we heard more in the news about this Baptist church from Kansas that is demonstrating at funerals, in order to call the nation to repentance. They are trying to connect Caesar and the resurrection! They use the public memorial of a soldier's death to highlight the need for repentance and faith. But it seems to me that they are trying to use the things of Caesar in order to accomplish God's purposes. As Jesus will tell Pilate only a few days later, My kingdom is not of this world. Jesus is a king and what is more, he is a king who challenges the legitimacy of all earthly kings but he does not challenge them in a worldly manner. Jesus views the priests and scribes as wicked tenants who are about to be destroyed, but he does not use the weapons of the world the things of Caesar against them. Rather, he conquers them by the resurrection. And that is the lesson for us. We do not conquer in this age by fine-sounding arguments, by techniques, by strategies. We conquer by the resurrection of Jesus. We conquer through the proclamation that Jesus is Lord, and that God has demonstrated that he is ruler over heaven and earth, by raising Jesus from the dead and seating him at his right hand. Those of you in the junior high/high school class have been seeing this over and over again in the book of Acts. The apostles go forth in the power of the Holy Spirit, proclaiming that the kingdom of God has been established through the resurrection of Jesus. And that is the basic point that Jesus is making. The scribes ask him a question about giving tribute to Caesar; the Sadducees ask him about the resurrection. These appear to be totally unrelated questions. But Jesus brings them together by pointing to Psalm 110 and the seating of the Son of David at the right hand of God. 1. Is It Lawful to Give Tribute to Caesar? (20:19-26) As we saw last time, it was obvious to everyone that Jesus told the parable of the wicked tenants against the scribes and chief priests. They were the ones whom God had given stewardship until the king returned. They were supposed to care for his vineyard and bring him the fruit. But they were wicked tenants and they wanted the inheritance for themselves, so they persecuted the prophets, and now they are trying to kill the son. But still they feared the people. This is a sign of bad leadership. You cannot effectively if you are afraid of those whom you are leading! The fear of man always leads to trouble! Because when you are more concerned about what others think of you, than with what God thinks of you, then you wind up doing stupid things. And of course, when you try to lay a trap for the Son of God, you will always find yourself falling into the trap that you made! We also need to remember why they are trying to kill Jesus. Jesus has just prophesied judgment against the temple, claiming that the priests and scribes are wicked tenants. In the claim that he is the cornerstone, he is claiming that the destruction of the temple will not be accompanied by a subsequent rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple. Rather, he is claiming to be the cornerstone of the new temple which means that Jesus offers no hope for Israel to continue as it has always been. The temple and the priests have become part of the problem part of the evil kingdoms of this world that Israel was sent to testify against. The scribes and priests, then, approach Jesus with a clear understanding that Jesus is making claims about the coming of the kingdom of God. If Jesus is a revolutionary, bringing a new Exodus like Moses, then one would expect Jesus to lead a revolt against Rome. After all, his cleansing of the temple would suggest that he is ready for action! Their question attempts to set Jesus up as a revolutionary: Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God (In other words, you are not a waffling politician who puts his finger to the wind, and fears either Caesar or the crowds in other words, you are not like us!!) Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? They are so right about Jesus! He does not fear Caesar or the crowds or them! And neither does he waffle in his answer. Show me a denarius. They brought one. Whose likeness and inscription does it have? Each emperor inscribed his coinage with his own image, and the denarius of that day would have said that Tiberius was the son of the 'divine Augustus.' The denarius bore Caesar's image and a claim that Caesar was the son of God. This was blasphemy for a man to claim to be the son of God. (Remember how the Jews treat Jesus when he claims to be the son of God!) Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. What does this mean? We often think of it as a reference to the fact that we live in two kingdoms we pay taxes to the kingdom of Caesar, but our true, spiritual allegiance is to the kingdom of God. I don't think that this is what his hearers would have heard. Yes, you could interpret Jesus' words as meaning "Caesar's image is on the coin, so therefore pay taxes to Caesar." But that is not what Jesus says. What he says, is render to Caesar Caesar's things. Or, perhaps "what Caesar deserves." Well, what does Caesar deserve? What does this blasphemous, idolatrous king deserve? He deserves the judgment of God. So did Jesus tell people to be submissive to Rome and pay their taxes, or did he tell them to revolt? Neither. And both. Both are true in one sense: yes, you should pay taxes even to wicked kings even wicked kings who use the money for wicked things! But you are not to submit to Rome. Caesar is NOT the son of God he is NOT Lord. (It might be better to say, "the only thing to do with this blasphemous coin is to give it back to its pagan owner!") (FF Bruce) Paying taxes is a good way of getting rid of blasphemous Roman coins! And so yes, you are to revolt but not the way that the Messianic pretenders had said. You are not to rise up in armed rebellion. Rather you are proclaim that Jesus is Lord, because God has raised him from the dead. And the key to this is the second half of the saying, and to God the things that are God's. If God is king, then you can have no other king but God. Give to the LORD the honor due to his name! You must renounce the service of the world, the flesh and the devil, and follow Jesus. God demands everything! You cannot split your allegiance between Caesar and God! The reason why you render to Caesar his blasphemous coins is because you worship the living and true God! You don't pay taxes because Caesar is such a great guy. You pay taxes because Jesus is Lord. 2. Whose Wife Will She Be? (20:27-40) The scribes and chief priests have been stumped. So now the Sadducees give it a try. The Sadducees were the Roman sympathizers. They denied the resurrection of the body. They figured that they could trap Jesus by going after an apparent flaw in the law: Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife. This is a great question. It really is! And if you do not understand the age to come, then it really is a difficult question! Some of you have been married twice. In the age to come, which one will be your spouse? In response Jesus makes two points: First, Jesus said, The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are counted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Marriage is an institution that belongs to this age. It belongs to an age where death is around the corner. Yes, marriage was given at creation, when all things were good. But even in the garden, death was a possibility. God said to his good son, Adam, In the day that you eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you will surely die. But in a world where humanity has come to the fulfillment of God's purpose, there is no need for procreation. "Equal to angels" does not mean that we will lack a body. After all, the whole point of "resurrection" is the raising of the body! Rather, "equal to angels" has to do with the lack of marriage. That is why Jesus refers to the inhabitants of the age to come as "sons of God" or "sons of the resurrection." So the first point is that the Sadducees misunderstand the nature of the age to come. Adam was the son of God in his infancy. Israel was the son of God in his minority. But Jesus is the son of God who brings his people into their inheritance through the resurrection from the dead. Death is the curse of this age. And by his own resurrection Jesus will demonstrate that he is the Son of God, the son of the resurrection, who brings his people into the age to come. In the resurrection of Jesus, death is defeated. And in our resurrection, we will come to the wedding supper of the Lamb, where our Lord Jesus Christ alone is the Bridegroom. And secondly, Jesus goes further and says, But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him. The Sadducees did not recognize the authority of the traditions of the Pharisees, but limited themselves to the scriptures. And so Jesus appeals directly to Moses. What do you make of Jesus' argument? Is Moses talking about the resurrection in Exodus 3? Not really! But what are the implications of calling Yahweh the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? If God is the God of the living, then that must mean that there is some sense in which Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are not dead! Moses may not have understood all this. But now that Jesus is about to be raised from the dead, we can see more clearly what God meant when he spoke to Moses. In the resurrection of Jesus we see clearly what God had revealed obscurely before: that God's purpose is to raise his people from the dead. Then some of the scribes answered, Teacher, you have spoken well. For they no longer dared to ask him any questions. Asking Jesus questions is a dangerous game! 3. How Can the Christ Be David's Son? (20:41-44) So with his attackers on their heels, Jesus comes right back with a question of his own: How can they say that the Christ is David's son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son? In Psalm 110 David is singing about how Yahweh has established the Davidic king as his son. In 2 Samuel 7 God had promised that he would adopt the son of David as his own son. Normally we look back to the founder of the dynasty as the greatest king of his line. Certainly all of his sons look back to him with great respect and honor. Because if he hadn't been king, then they would not be king! The heir owes his throne to his father. Therefore he will call his father "lord" or "master." But David calls his own son "lord" or "master." Why? Children, let me ask you a question: When was the last time that your father said to you, "Master, what would you like to do today?" Do you rule the house? Do your parents bow before you and let you do whatever you want? Does a father call his son, "Lord"? But David does. And the reason why is because David understood that his sons did not owe their throne to him! In some way, David understood that he owed his throne to his own son. God's purpose was to establish his kingdom through the Son of David the Anointed One, the Christ. And God would exalt his son and seat him at his own right hand, until he made his enemies his footstool. Yes, Israel had always thought that this meant that the Son of David would reign in Jerusalem. Because Zion was a picture of God's holy dwelling place. But God's purpose was far bigger than pictures. Indeed, the pictures were designed to show us the reality! The throne of David points us to the heavenly throne of God. The temple of Solomon points us to the heavenly temple. And these realities are coming to pass in history in the resurrection of Jesus. God purpose in Jesus is to bring us into the reality of the age to come! Those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead. Jesus identifies That age the age to come with the resurrection. When Jesus is raised from the dead, the age to come will begin. The road to Jerusalem is ended. The king has come. And therefore, the age to come has begun in Jesus. All that God had promised to Israel is coming true! The Kingdom of God is at hand. A kingdom that demands your entire allegiance. You cannot serve both Caesar and Jesus. You give your taxes to Caesar, but you give yourself to Jesus! This is a revolutionary call. Far more revolutionary than anything the Jews were expecting! They expected an ordinary revolution against Rome. But Jesus calls them to a revolution that will overturn the very gates of hell itself! This is why I'm not satisfied with the political tactics used by so many today. They seem to think that political activity is the way to further the agenda of the kingdom. But others seem to think that the church should focus solely on evangelism as if saving souls is the lone mission of the church. But if Jesus is raised from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father which makes him the King of kings and the Lord of lords then the way of the kingdom is not to pursue the agenda of Caesar (whether the agenda of the political right or the political left); but it is rather to pursue the agenda of King Jesus. And his agenda includes both body and soul. Conclusion: Beware of the Scribes (20:45-47) And that is plainly demonstrated by his warning that concludes our passage: Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, The scribes love to be first. They want attention and honor. I suspect you can think of many religious leaders today who would fit this description! "Long robes" indicates that they are immaculately dressed, wearing the finest clothing. "Greetings in the marketplace" "best seats" and "places of honor" show that they enjoy high standing in society. But in their actions, they devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation. They are not concerned with justice! They do not care for the poor! Rather, they use their social standing to further their own agendas. Whose agenda are you pursuing? In your work as you labor day by day in your own calling, whether as a teacher, a father, a student, a wife, or working at your desk, whose agenda are you pursuing? Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars. If you boss tells you to do something, do it. But also subvert it. Because your boss will tell you to do it for the furtherance of the company's agenda. But you must do for the furtherance of the kingdom of Christ! If you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, and you can't figure out how in the world to put this into practice then let's talk. Come to pastor in the pub, or if Thursday after work doesn't work, let's find a time that does. Perhaps this should be the theme for our men's breakfast this month! How do we pursue the agenda of the kingdom in our work?