The God of the Living

Matthew 22:15-33

Key verses 31-32

31But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

Benjamin Franklin famously wrote that "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."  Indeed, these days Americans are debating healthcare policy, and many people are afraid that government reforms will bring both death and taxes. These are not new concerns, however. Such issues have been fiercely debated for thousands of years. In today's passage, we see how the political and religious parties of Jesus' day tried to crush him with these controversies. In Jesus' responses to their questions, however, we learn that these issues are non-issues when we bring God into the picture. In the passage for today, we see how many people, in Jesus' day and ours, are wandering in a dark forest of short-sighted fears and earthly concerns; yet we also see that Jesus wants to take us up into a spiritual hot air balloon and get a whole new perspective so that we can enjoy the freedom and joy of a God-centered life. 

Part 1. Give to God what is God's

Look at verses 15-17:

15Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. 16They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. 17Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

Over the past several weeks, we have seen how the religious leaders of Jesus' day opposed him. The problem they had was that thepeople thought Jesus was a prophet, so they couldn't say anything against Jesus. That's why they laid plans to trap him in his words. Their trap was crafty. It consisted of 70% flattery and 30% no-win question. If Jesus said it was right to pay taxes to Caesar, he would become unpopular with the people. He would be seen as an ally of the Roman oppressors. On the other hand, if he said that it was wrong to pay taxes, they could accuse him before the Roman authorities of leading a rebellion against Rome. No matter how Jesus answered, he would be trapped.

Look at verses 18-22:

18But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? 19Show me the coin used for paying thetax." They brought him a denarius, 20and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"

21"Caesar's," they replied.  Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

22When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.

Jesus' answer left the Pharisees speechless. They couldn't say anything, so they went away.

Through Jesus' answer, he exposed the problem of the controversy over taxes. Everyone was so upset about taxes; they argued about it and even fought over it. They did this because they thought that money is the source of life and happiness. They resented Caesar's claim on their money. 

The real problem, however, was that they were so focused on struggling against Caesar that they totally forgot about God. ThePharisees rejected Jesus because, fundamentally, they didn't want to give to God what was God's. God is our Creator; he is theAuthor of life. We are made in his image, and if we call ourselves the people of God, then his inscription is on our hearts. This means that we belong to him; the fruit of our lives belongs to him. Yet the Pharisees were struggling to keep what belonged to Godfor themselves. They wanted the people to honor them and see their glory. So they hated Jesus who was regarded as a great prophet. They wanted to get rid of Jesus just as they wanted to get rid of Caesar.

Jesus shows us that instead of struggling to hold onto our lives, we must learn to give. If we owe taxes, we should pay our taxes with thanksgiving. More importantly, we must give to God what is God's. When we give to God what is God's, including our hearts, our minds, our time, and our strength, we are on the right track.

Part 2. The God of the Living

Look at verses 23-28:

23That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24"Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Now then, at theresurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"

This time the Sadducees brought a tough question. The Sadducees were different from the Pharisees because they said there is no resurrection. They believed that once a person dies, that's it. No resurrection. No more life. They claimed that they believed in Godand that they were experts in God's law, and they backed up their theory with complex logical arguments. They tried out one of these arguments on Jesus in the form of a hypothetical question in which a woman became a widow seven times. Of course, it would have been enough to simply tell a story in which a woman became a widow two times, but they wanted to emphasize the ridiculousness ofthe resurrection.  How did Jesus answer?

Look at verses 29-32:

29Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead butof the living."

Jesus shut the Sadducees down easily because he knew two things that they did not know: the Scriptures and the power of God.

First, they assumed that the resurrection of the dead means the dead coming back to life and continuing on from where they left off. This would result in strange situations, such as they one they pointed out. Yet their basic assumption revealed their ignorance ofGod's power. They totally failed to understand that when God raises the dead, he brings about a complete transformation. When thedead are raised, they will have spiritual bodies. Marriage is a wonderful thing, but it's only a foreshadow of the joy that we have to look forward to if we are in Jesus Christ.

Second, the Sadducees were in error because they didn't know that God is the God of the living. When God spoke to Moses, he said, "I am..." even though Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been dead for a long time. The fact that God said this in the present tense shows that he regarded them as alive.

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