You don't know the Scriptures and the Power of God?

Let's pray.

Father God, we thank you for your word.

We pray that we would not tonight make the mistake

of these who confront Jesus,

who play loose and fast with the truth,

who deny some of the central tenets

of what it means to be part of your kingdom.

We pray, Lord, that we would read your word,

we would hear your word,

we would understand your word

and that we would not ignore it.

We pray, Father, that in what we're doing tonight

that we will not miss you, we pray.

So we pray that we would get a greater glimpse

of your glory, your purposes,

and the part that we play in that as your people.

And so be with us now as we open up your word

that we might not just hear it,

but that we might experience something of your power.

And we pray it for your sake.

Amen.

So get your Bibles open to Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

Our recent sermon series on the kingdom of God,

I think, is particularly helpful

when we're coming to looking at Mark 12

and this little short series that we got here

last week, this week, and next week

on the clash with ultimate authority.

For anyone out there,

remember how we define the kingdom of God

in our series, Kingdom of God?

God's people in God's place under God's rule.

Yes, God's people in God's place under God's rule.

Fantastic.

Straight at the top of the class.

Tashi, you should consider a ministry internship

at some point.

For the people of God in the Old Testament,

much of their expectations of the kingdom

centered around Israel and Jerusalem

and the temple and the rituals in the temple.

And what we saw in our series

was that the consistent problem

was that they did all the religious practice stuff

but they rejected God

and they rejected his authority,

they rejected his word.

They looked the part

but in the actual fact,

their hearts were a long way from God.

The eventual consequence was exiled from God's place.

God stuck them over there in the naughty corner

for 70 years in Babylon

and to fine tune them a bit.

And during the course of that,

God was speaking to his people

and prophesying about a future day

where there would be a future king,

a Christ, a Messiah,

who would restore the kingdom of God.

And when this king comes,

he will give his people new hearts

which would internally be moved to obey Christ

or the king, the Messiah.

And so the opening words of Jesus' ministry

right at the beginning of Mark's gospel

are very significant for us.

So chapter one says this,

the time, this is the words of Jesus,

the time has come.

The kingdom of God is near.

And so Jesus is talking about the fulfillment

of all of these promises for the people of God.

Jesus then goes on to demonstrate the kingdom's realm,

the rule of this king.

And he, as the king of the kingdom of God,

by calling disciples to follow him,

complete strangers,

come, follow me,

and they leave their nets

and they go and follow Jesus.

He drives out demons,

he heals lepers,

the blind, the paralytic,

he raises the dead,

he calms the storm.

He demonstrates that there is nothing

outside of his control.

As the king of the kingdom,

he rules everything.

And so the kingdom of God

is not restricted to Israel

and Jerusalem and the temple.

He is the king over everything,

all encompassing.

And then as you move further into Mark's gospel,

you get to chapters nine and 10

and we discover the surprising nature

of this rule,

of this king.

He is, in fact,

a servant king

who has come to serve

and not be served.

He has come to give his life

as a ransom for many.

And the second great surprise

is when you move out of chapter 10

and into chapter 11

and you see that the king arrives

at his,

the city.

He arrives at Jerusalem,

Jesus arrives

and there's a crowd there.

They've got palm trees,

you know,

and they're waving

and they're cheering.

The king has arrived.

And what you discover

is that when the king

goes to the temple,

he is rejected.

He's rejected.

He first of all

rejects the temple

and the old order of things.

He gets a whip

and turns over tables

and drives people out.

He rejects the old

religious system

of pomp

and corruption

and hypocrisy

and he replaces

that system

with himself.

He says,

you don't come

and meet God

now through this temple.

You meet God with me.

So three days,

I'm going to pull it down

and I'm going to rebuild it again.

So everything

that this temple stood for

is now going to be

met in me.

You meet God

through me.

You want to relate to God?

It is through me.

And what happens then

out of there,

chapter 11,

Jesus curses a fig tree.

It's a symbol

of God's rejection

of the old order of things.

And so that

it is completely clear

what Jesus is on about,

we hear the story

of the parable

of the tenants

that Chris preached

on last week.

Sorry,

Sam preached

on last week here.

that the people

of Israel

have consistently

rejected God

and rejected

the messengers

of God

and now

I'm rejecting you.

I'm rejecting

the old order,

the old system.

And so in the temple courts,

the scene

of the king's

rejection

of the old order,

if you like,

out on the deck,

we see the rejection

of Israel king

by the leaders

of Israel.

Israel.

Jesus' credibility

and even his life

are at stake

in these encounters

that he has

with these religious leaders.

Jesus uses

each of these

encounters,

these clashes,

as an opportunity

to reveal something

striking

about the kingdom

and what it means

to be part

of that kingdom.

Last week,

we had round one.

Chief priests,

teachers of the law

and the elders

confront Jesus

and they go away

with their tail

between the legs.

Round two

is introduced

in verse 13.

Later,

they,

that's talking

about the Sanhedrin,

that's the Jewish

ruling council,

the Sanhedrin,

they send

some Pharisees

and Herodians

to Jesus

to catch him

in his words.

There are two kinds

of powers

that bind people together.

One is love

and the other

is hatred.

Naturally,

love is preferred.

Love is the glue

of the Trinity.

It is,

love is God's gift

to the church

and his command

for the church

but hatred

can bring together

diverse people.

People is diverse

as the Pharisees

and the Herodians.

There could be

hardly,

I think,

two groups

with such opposing

views in Israel.

The Pharisees

were fierce

nationalists.

The Herodians,

on the other hand,

were supporters

of Herod,

the Roman ruler

over Israel.

The Pharisees

represented

a narrow,

conservative Judaism

and the Herodians

were liberal

in their convictions.

The Pharisees

were right-wingers,

the Herodians

were left-wingers.

The Pharisees

represented resistance

to Rome,

the Herodians

accommodation

to Rome.

And what cemented

them together

as a group

was their hatred

of Jesus.

They've come together

because of their

hatred of Jesus

and the hope

that we can bring

this man down.

And then once

that's done,

we'll go back

to hating each other.

You see,

Jesus was causing

havoc with the

religious agenda

of the Pharisees

and he was causing

havoc with the

political agenda

of the Herodians.

And so they

unite in an attempt

to bring him down

and that's what it

says there in verse 12.

Later,

they sent

some of the Pharisees

and the Herodians

to catch him

in his words.

They want to

trap Jesus

in his words

so that they could

charge him

with treason

or heresy,

both of which

they can conspire

with the death

penalty in some way.

First though,

they have to

pave the way

for the question

in order to,

by throwing Jesus

off course if you like.

So verse 14,

they came to him

and said,

Teacher,

we know

that you are

a man of integrity.

You aren't swayed

by men

because you pay

no attention

to who they are

but you teach

the way of God

in accordance

with the truth.

And so their lips

are just dripping

with insincere flattery

as they attempt

to appear

as innocent inquirers

of Jesus

in a hope

that Jesus

will be thrown

off course

and they can slip

their question in,

he'll give them

a wrong answer

and bang,

we've got him.

They're hoping

to disarm him.

Ironically,

their flattery

contains at least

an element of truth.

Jesus isn't influenced

by man

and he wasn't

influenced

by their flattery

in any sense.

He wasn't going

to be intimidated

by them,

he was walking

into their trap

with his eyes

wide open

and the trap

is set in verse 14,

is it right

to pay taxes

to Caesar

or not?

Should we pay

or shouldn't we?

That's a very

clever question.

It would seem

that they have

learnt

something

from the last

encounter

between Jesus

and the chief priests,

the teachers

of the law

and the elders.

You remember

the last encounter

from last week

when Jesus

asked these guys

a question?

John's baptism,

was it from man

or from God?

And either answer,

they get together

and huddle

and either answer,

they know,

and so what do they do?

These gutless weasels

lied through their tooth

and said they don't know.

They hang loose

with their convictions

in order to

save their egos

and their skin.

And so the next group

have thought

that was a good idea,

turned Jesus' tactic around

and thrown it back

in his face.

They've hit him

with a question

where either answer

would be enough

to secure

the death penalty.

A refusal

to answer

would be disastrous

and so would evasion.

And so

if Jesus says,

yes,

pay your taxes

to Caesar,

he's a traitor

to Israel.

We can get him up

on blasphemy charges.

And those

with the religious agenda

would just have him

at that

and they just love that.

But if he says,

no,

then he's stirring up

a rebellion

against Rome

and those

with a political agenda

could have him

up on treason charges

and we'll get him

for that.

And so the

tension

you can imagine

in the air

is thick.

Pharisees

hoping for a yes,

the Herodians

hoping for a no,

but Jesus

is one step ahead.

He knows

their hypocrisy.

It says in verse 15

and he says this,

why are you

trying to trap me?

Bring me a denarius

and let me look at it.

You can just imagine

the hush

in the crowd

as Jesus

takes the coin

that's been given

to him,

probably not by Judas,

and he

holds it up.

He holds it up

in front of them

and says,

so whose portrait's

that?

Verse 16.

Whose portrait's

that?

Whose inscription

is on there?

What can they say?

It's pretty obvious.

It's the face

of Tiberius Caesar

was on the inscription.

It was the face

that was on there

and the inscription

on it says,

Tiberius Caesar,

son of the divine

Augustus.

That was the

inscription on it.

Whose picture is it?

Who made it?

What do the people

say?

Caesar.

And so Jesus

says to them

in verse 17

what some have regarded

as the single most

influential political

statement ever made.

Give to Caesars

what is Caesar's

and to God

what is God's.

And they were

all amazed

at him.

And Jesus

temporarily

saved his life

as well as

giving the guidelines

of a proper

relationship

with God

and Caesar.

In saying

give to Caesar

what he

seizes,

Jesus recognizes

there is

a place

under God

even for a

Gentile ruler

in society.

The Apostle Paul

writes this

in Romans 13

Romans 13:4–7

verses 4 to 7

that such a

ruler

is God's

servant

to do you

good.

But if you

do wrong

be afraid

for he does

not bear

the sword

for nothing.

He is God's

servant

an agent

of wrath

to bring

punishment

on the

wrongdoer.

Therefore

it is necessary

to submit

to the

authorities

not only

because of

possible punishment

but also

because of

conscience.

This is also

why you pay

taxes

for the

authorities

are God's

servants

who give

their full

time to

governing.

Give everyone

what you owe

him.

If you owe

taxes

pay taxes

if revenue

revenue

if respect

then respect

if honour

then honour

and Peter

says the same

has the same

idea in 1 Peter 2

13

when he calls

for submission

for the Lord's

sake

to every

authority

instituted

among men.

Every

authority

instituted

among men.

And so

the New

Testament

assumes

the validity

of the

secular state

and it

demands

even when

the secular

state

is controlled

by a man

who thinks

he is

God

it still

demands

allegiance.

submission.

A

poorly run

state

is better

than no

state at

all.

Of course

there are

some

exceptions

but the

overall

point is

that

Christians

are called

to a

profound

obedience

to their

government.

Cheating

on taxes

is completely

ruled out.

there ought

to be

respect

and

submission

to those

in authority

and must

pray for

those who

rule over

us.

More often

than not

though

the reason

we obey

is for fear

of punishment

not because

of the

Lord's sake

right.

Not because

it's right

but because

we fear

to be

punished.

Such as

driving along

the M7

on the way

to Katoomba

and all

of a sudden

the traffic

is all

slow.

We're way

below the

speed limit

and why

are we

way below

the speed

limit?

Because a

policeman has

pulled up

someone on

the side of

the road

and we

just all

assume

automatically

that we

are guilty.

We fear

punishment.

Not because

we think

it's right

to stick

on 100

kilometres

an hour.

We just

fear to be

caught.

And when we

say we fear

to be caught

we're worried

about the

cost it's

going to be.

$200 or

whatever it

is for,

I don't know

what the

speed and

fine is,

but whatever

it is,

depends on

how fast

you're going.

We submit

for the

Lord's sake

but Jesus

brilliance

really comes

to the

fore in

the second

half of

the answer.

Give to

God what

is God's.

Because it's

the second

half of

the statement,

it is the

emphasis of

the statement.

See what I'm

saying there?

Give to

Caesar what

ceases,

give to

God what

is God

means that

that second

half of the

statement

usurps it.

that's the

primary point.

The kingdom

of Jesus

that Jesus

is talking

about isn't

primarily about

you pay your

taxes,

it's about

giving God

what is

due to

God.

Our

submission to

God's

authority will

be evidence

in our

submission to

God by

obedience to

what he

commands.

In other

words, you

can't say

Christ is my

ruler, I

submit to

Christ as

my king and

then ignore

what he

commands, such

as submission

to governing

authorities or

being generous or

to meet together

as a church or

to turn the

other cheek or

to reject anger

or to not

judge or to

let no unwholesome

talk come out

of your mouth.

You can't say

he is my king

and then reject

what he

commands.

In saying

give to God

what is God's,

Jesus is

recognizing that

there is only

one God

which subtly

puts Caesar

in his place.

but it

doesn't just

put Caesar

in his place,

he puts us

in our place

as well.

You see, the

essence of

sin is to

rebel against

God.

It's an attempt

to remove

God and

his authority

over my

life so

that I am

king.

It is to be

the determinants

of our own

life and our

own destiny

and direction.

And yet

what this

passage is

saying is

that whether

you realize

it or not,

even those in

positions of

authority,

we are all

people under

orders.

We are all

under orders.

Jesus subtly

states God's

ownership of

everything,

giving to God

what is God's

is exactly

what the

Pharisees have

not been

doing.

They have

been playing

religious games.

It's a very

clear warning

for us here

to check

our allegiances.

Jesus.

And so the

Pharisees and

the Rodians,

they have

played their

ace card and

they've been

trumped.

Two groups

have now

confronted Jesus

seeking a

reason to

arrest him.

Both have

walked away

with their

tail between

their legs.

And now it's

time for the

Sadducees to

have a shot.

Not with a

political question

but with a

theologically loaded

question.

And again,

lips just

dripping with

insincerity.

There's a bit

of scoffing

and a bit

of ridicule

thrown in

amongst it

all.

The Sadducees

were a

powerful Jewish

faction.

Mark tells

us in

verse 18

that the

distinctive

doctrine of

the Sadducees

is they

don't believe

in the

resurrection.

Which is

why they

were sad,

you see.

They

some of

them are

just getting

it now.

It's an

old one,

I know,

but every

time Sadducees

are there,

you've got to

give it.

Anyway,

they basically

denied the

spiritual life.

The Sadducees

were the most

conservative group

in Israel.

They accepted

only the

Old Testament

law, that

is the Torah,

the Pentateuch,

the first five

books of the

Bible.

They only

accepted those

first five

books as

the word of

God.

They rejected

everything else.

They rejected

the rest of the

writings of the

prophets from

the Old

Testament.

And they

were legalists,

that is,

they were

legalistic about

the obedience to

those laws as

they saw fit.

But they were

legal liberalists,

which means they

obeyed the bits

that they believed,

but the bits that

they don't believe,

they basically read

the Bible with a

pair of scissors.

They cut out the

bits they don't

like.

And so

they were a

pretty nasty

bunch of

people.

people.

In fact,

Josephus,

who was a

historian around

that time,

who himself was

a Sadducee,

said that the

Sadducees were

rude, harsh,

and callous.

And that was

just amongst

themselves,

with their own

kind.

Forget about

anyone else,

they just hated

everyone else.

So they had a

pretty bad

reputation of

being not nice

people.

They weren't

well regarded in

the community

at all.

And they

reckon that the

Old Testament

law doesn't say

anything about

life after death.

And they come to

Jesus with a

hypothetical theological

situation, a

ridiculous situation.

It's an attempt to

make resurrection

look ridiculous,

and in the end

make Jesus look

stupid.

Just suppose,

they say,

there are seven

brothers, and the

first brother is

married, he dies,

and leaves a wife

with no kids.

Now Moses says,

back in

Deuteronomy,

that this

brother, one of

his other brothers

is meant to take

over and marry

the widow.

So the second

brother marries

her, but he

dies too.

And it's the

same thing for

the third, the

fourth, the

fifth, the

sixth, the

seventh brother.

Kind of like

seven brides for

seven brothers

except the other

way around,

sort of.

And last of

all, say the

Sadducees, the

woman finally

dies, exhausted

from seven

marriages and

having to put up

with seven

husbands.

So here's the

question.

You reckon

there's going to

be life after

death, whose

wife's she going

to be in

heaven?

What they're

trying to do is

they're trying to

take a central

theological truth

and make it look

so stupid.

And Jesus, the

foundation of

Jesus' answer is

in verse 24.

Are you not

in error?

Because you do

not know the

scriptures or the

power of God.

You see, their

problem had two

sources, ignorance

of God's word

and ignorance

of God's

power.

And I want to

say that they're

both, in fact,

connected.

In their

reading of the

Bible, even

their bit of the

Bible, they've

missed God.

And in missing

God, they've

missed his

character, they've

missed his

power, they've

missed everything

that God can do.

You see, a

thorough knowledge

of the word of

God is the

only way to

safeguard us

from error.

And yet, these

guys knew it.

At least the

bit they

accepted.

Their problem

was a lack of

submission to the

word of God.

They won't attack

the Bible with a

pair of scissors.

Anything they

like, get rid

of.

And Jesus

addresses the

problem of

their ignorance

of God's word

by diving right

into the very

heart of the

Old Testament

law.

which they

claim resurrection

can't be found.

And so Jesus

takes them to

Exodus 3, one of

the most famous

passages in the

Old Testament,

where God speaks

to Moses the

burning bush, and

God says to

Moses, I am the

God of Abraham,

the God of

Isaac, the God

of Jacob.

Now you see,

Abraham, Isaac,

and Jacob were

dead hundreds of

years when God

said that to

Moses the

burning bush.

And notice he

doesn't say, I

was, he doesn't

say, I used to

be, he says, I

am, I am,

I still am the

God of Abraham,

Isaac, and

Jacob.

I am still very

much their God

because they are

with me.

He's not the

God of the

dead, he's the

God of the

living.

And in one way

when he says

that, he's a

bit of an

uppercut to

these Sadducees,

I'm the God

of the living,

not the dead,

which is why

you're not

accepting me as

your God because

you're dead.

Sort of a bit

like that, he's

having a crack at

them as well.

So Abraham,

Isaac, and

Jacob enjoyed a

special covenant

relationship with

God which was so

dynamic and so

profound that it

demanded a

continued living

relationship with

God after death.

So Hebrews 11,

Hebrews 11:10

verse 10 tells us

that the patriarchs,

which are Abraham,

Isaac, and

Jacob, knew that

the covenant

promises extended

beyond life in

this world.

It says,

Abraham was

looking forward

to the city

with foundations

whose architect

and builder is

God.

They were all

still living by

faith when they

died.

They did not

receive the

things promised.

They only saw

them and welcomed

them from a

distance and they

admitted that they

themselves were

aliens and

strangers in the

world.

And verse 16 of

Hebrews 11 says

this,

Instead, they

were longing for a

better country, a

heavenly one.

Therefore, God is

not ashamed to be

called their God

for he has

prepared a city

for them.

And that's when

Jesus comes in with

his concluding

thrust.

He's not the God

of the dead but

the living.

Take that, you

Sadducees.

It's right out of

book two of the

five books that you

accept as the word

of God.

And that's just one

example.

He could have used

at least half a

dozen different

examples.

What it seems to

me is that their

whole reading of

these five books

of the Bible,

their whole law,

what they accept

as the word of

God, in all their

reading of it, it

appears that they've

missed God.

Completely missed

God.

Who is the whole

point?

They had read the

Bible and they had

judged it, they had

evaluated it and they

believed it based on

what they thought

their minds were

reasonable.

What their minds

thought was reasonable.

What they had had is

they gained a whole

heap of rules in

order to govern

their life.

They had pursued

some kind of

moralism.

But they missed

God.

They missed God's

agenda.

They missed his

purpose.

They missed his

character.

They missed his

miracle working power

to resurrect the

dead.

And in missing

God, they missed

life.

That is why I think

our core value of

Christ-centered Bible

saturation is crucial

for us as a church.

It's not just Bible

saturation.

It's not just know

your Bible.

It's know the Christ

of the Bible.

Because he's the

point.

God is the main

thing.

We go to the

scriptures to see

God and his

glory, his

purposes, his

character, so that

we would be aligned

with him.

And so giving to

God what he's

God's is a call to

total allegiance

that would flow

over into every

aspect of your

life.

Clearly it didn't

for the Pharisees,

for the Herodians,

or for the

Sadducees.

They had sort of

packaged their life

life, so they

had all these rules

and it didn't seem

to impact anything

relationally.

Total allegiance

with God flows

over into all

areas of life.

If you have a

problem with the

submission to

authority, let me

tell you, it

flows up to your

submission to

Christ.

It is a reflection

of your submission to

Christ.

They're not

disconnected.

And why is this

allegiance to

Christ so

essential?

Because eternal

life, resurrected

life, is not a

destination, it's a

person.

John 17, Jesus

says this,

now this is

eternal life,

that they may

know you, this

is Jesus

speaking, that

they may know

you, God, the

only true God, and

Jesus Christ whom

you have sent.

You miss Jesus,

you reject Jesus,

you ignore Jesus,

and you reject

life.

life.

To know Jesus is

to know the

power of God's

gift of a

resurrected life.

And that is the

problem with the

Sadducees.

They have read the

Bible, missed God,

and missed life.

What is implicit in

these encounters,

which will become

explicit next week,

in Jesus' last

encounter,

is that the

allegiance God

requires is not

a mere obedience

to a set of

rules, it's

not an

impressive

religious

practices,

but a heart

that loves God,

that treasures

Jesus, treasures

the Lord Jesus.

And in the

very temple

precincts,

at the very

center of the

religious practices

of the people

of God,

Jesus has

encounters with

the leaders of

the religious

practices of the

people of God.

The leaders of the

people of God.

And they have

their pomp,

and they have

their ceremony,

and they can quote

the scriptures,

and they can pray

impressively,

and yet they

reject their

king.

Right in the

very temple

precincts,

they reject

their king.

The very place

where you would

think that

people would be

waiting for the

fulfillment of all

the promises of

God, waiting for

the Messiah to

come, longing

for him,

and he gets

rejected there.

So, I want to

ask you,

what if these

encounters that

Jesus had

happened on our

deck,

straight after

five o'clock

congregation?

Would Jesus

find hearts and

lives that

treasure him?

Amen.