“And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”” Mark 12:14 ESV
Reflection: do you have any enemies? If so, who are they?
If you turn on the nightly news, or open any newspaper, you will quickly hear about who our enemies are. If you live in Western Europe, it is the Russians. If you live in the United States, it is the Iranians. Possibly the Russians and the Chinese, depending on the day. And, of course, the Muslims in general. Let’s not forget white men in general. And of course climate change. And, for some, the government, big pharma, insurance, Wall Street, etc. The list of enemies is pretty long, if you listen to the news or any popular podcast. But, put all of that aside for a moment, and spend a few moments thinking about who you think your enemies truly are? If you consider yourself a Christian, would Jesus consider your enemies, also His enemies?
At the time of Jesus, the Jews were under Roman occupation and military control. The people were clearly not free, having to pay taxes to Caesar, to the Roman occupiers. But, although they were under Roman occupation, many had established a mutually beneficial working relationship with the Roman occupiers, such as the religious leaders and political figureheads like king Herod. Even to a point of using the Roman military to enforce their will on the people. We see this play out in the final days of Jesus’ life, how the religious leaders orchestrated the capture, the false accusations and conviction of Jesus, and got the Romans to complete their plan by executing Jesus. And when you read the gospels, it is pretty clear who Jesus saw as His enemies. It wasn’t the Romans. It was consistently the religious leaders; the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the teachers of the law. He considered them
the enemies of God.
In today’s story, we learn how the religious leaders are trying to trap Jesus in words using deceptive tactics. And we have to question ourselves why they wanted to do that. Let’s read it. “And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”” Mark 12:13-14 ESV. Did you notice the language they used here? It sounds an awful lot like what the serpent said in the garden. They first called Jesus “Teacher”, and then confirming that “He was true”, and what He taught was “truly the way of God.” Can you believe the audacity, the slyness, the hypocrisy of these people? If they actually knew that, why didn’t they believe Him? It is amazing. So let’s read on.
“But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.” Mark 12:15-17 ESV. What is so beautiful to learn here is how elegantly Jesus is handling His enemies. He makes them realize how foolish they are, using their own tactics and words. Whether or not they will decide to repent, and turn away from their wicked ways, is up to them.
Jesus knew very well who His enemies were and He called them out. Not the Romans. Not the homeless or the beggars. Not the tax collectors. Not even the prostitutes and the sinners. In fact He said He came to save the lost. His warning was consistently about the religious class, the religious hypocrites and the false prophets, whom He called these “wolves in sheep’s clothing”. If you have time, read Matthew 23 where Jesus describes why they are His enemies in more detail.
So who are our enemies?
Probably not who the media tells us they are. As a Christian, our enemies are God’s enemies, those who are in the errand of Satan, trying to deceive us by twisting and changing God’s word and commandments, trying to corrupt our children, trying to destroy our families and communities. Let’s make sure we fight the right enemies, remembering “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 ESV
