“The Power of Words” (Matthew 22:15-46)

In the words of the Reformation, Solus Christus, Christ alone. He’s all I have and he’s all I need and he’s all I want. Take your copy of God’s Holy Word and turn with me to Matthew chapter 22. Chapter 22. And it is true that, Lord willing, I am going to try and get through verses 15 through 46. That’s because it’s a unit together that really I want you to see it.

Now, there may be some that may accuse me of having been gone a long enough time out of the pulpit that I’m trying to cram three or four sermons into one because I just want to preach a lot. There may be a bit of a truth in that, but not only that, it is just exciting to be back in the pulpit and back in the gospel of Matthew.

Last Sunday, was a particularly draining Sunday as being first time back in the pulpit for a couple of months. And as I made mention of the fact that was the longest time I was ever out of the pulpit due to health reasons. Well, technically ever for any reason, but for health reasons. And so it is good to be back with you today to open up God’s word. And I want us to come to this particular passage and to see it and it’s dynamic because we are approaching the passion. We’re approaching Christ on the cross and the atonement and those sort of things. And the Gospel of Matthew does it differently than in the Gospel of John, which we have gone through, and in the Gospel of Luke, which we have gone through. This one’s a little bit different.

This one, Matthew, as a Jew, preaching about a Jew to the Jews, is very specific. in how he is wanting to communicate Jesus as King, and that he came unto his own, his own received him not, the spread of the gospel, how that’s gonna spread, Matthew 28, and all of those things with the Great Commission. And so it’s unique, it’s unique in several different ways, and in the way that we will see today, the beginning of it, is the instruction This comes right after what I had Pastor Ryan read in the parable of the marriage feast, which was an invitation to come. And that had a context that really is real close to how we’re introduced to our context today in chapter later on at verse 15, when it says, now when the chief priest and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking of them. I just love that.

This is like the commentary of Matthew talking about, as Jesus was teaching and using these parables, they’re all getting it and you should have seen their faces, that Jesus is really getting to them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude because they took him for a prophet. Verse 15, then the Pharisees, after the whole thing of the marriage, invitation for all to come. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. And so it’s a continuing thing that this is already the last week. We have already had the triumphal entry. We have had the cleansing of the temple and this discussion now of how much the scribes, Pharisees, and then we’ll find out today the Herodians, just how much the religious people really hated Christ. And Matthew wants us to get that. Because Jesus dying on the cross just wasn’t, you know, well he knew he was going to have to die as sinners, we’re all sinners, and so he came and died on the cross.

Well he came into his own, he preached truth, and he was hated for it. They despised him. They hated him for that. And they were doing all that they could to get rid of him. But there was some opposition because of some of the things going on. And so that’s kind of what’s going on in this particular time. But I’m going to jump all the way ahead just in case I can’t talk fast enough and we got to finish up early. But where does this all end up? Well, if you look at verse 46, And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question him anymore. Well, that’s not an absolute statement because you got Pilate. What is truth? Are you the Son of God? Are you the King of the Jews? There were more questions that came to Christ, but not from the scribes and the Pharisees.

So whatever takes place between verse 15 and 46, Shut the mouths of the scribes, the Pharisees, the Herodians, the hypocrites. This was the one. Whatever transpires in this, this is what really nipped it in the bud. This is what got it. But we find out that there was actually four things that took place. Now, this would be the time of four sermons. Or you can take a look at it all together because they come rapid fire. And in fact, we find out that verse 23, the same day, the Sadducees who say there is no, this is rapid fire. It probably is on Tuesday of the last week of Jesus’ ministry or life on earth. So I want you to couch that in that It has built to this head. And when we see the approach, it’s going to be surrounding, in a real sense, there are four rapid-fire clarifying questions and matters of discussion concerning Jesus before his death. And this really comes back to the fact that what we’ve seen throughout the Gospel of Matthew, who is this Jesus? Who is this Jesus that we celebrate at the table today? Who is this Jesus that claims all of these things, the Messiah? And they would come back and ask him a question. He’d answer, and then just a little while longer, they’d forget. But yet the crowds were still amazed. And so in this section, verses 15 through 46, we have a rapid succession of questions. And there’s three questions offered to Christ in opposition.

But the last question is kind of like the counterpunch when Christ shuts their mouths. And it’s again, a good place to get to, to then come and celebrate the Lord’s table. So let’s take a look at this, these four Rappaphar things. Most of these are things that you have heard or were discussed in other contexts, but Matthew masterfully orchestrates his gospel and puts these four things here because he wants this in the mind of the people. And he wants it in our minds. Who is this Jesus that is going to die and has all authority? Who is the King of kings and the Lord of lords? Well, we’ll read the first of the, the, the rapid fire clarifying statement. It’s that Jesus validates civil and spiritual government versus 15 through 22.

Follow along as I read verse 15. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. And they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians. saying, teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God in truth, nor do you care about anyone for you do not regard the person of men. Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness. and said, Why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the tax money. So they brought him a denarius. And he said to them, Whose image and inscription is this? And they said to him, Caesar’s. Then he said to them, Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. when they had heard these things, or these words, they marveled, and they left him and went their way. But the same day, and then we’re gonna go on to the second one. But this first one, that he makes an establishment.

Now we sometimes just come to this passage, oh yeah, this is the time. Preacher’s gonna tell us we gotta pay our taxes, and we kinda just roll with that, and that’s kinda. No, there’s a little bit more to what’s going on here. And in fact, the way that Matthew Again, last guy, geez, got what, four days left, or less, and things that are going on and happening, and this is a big week, and just really what is going on.

It’s interesting how Matthew put this together. Notice what he said. Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle him in his talk. Now, as we come to that, there’s obviously in this verse 15, the plot of what is going on. The Greek word entangle, when I just even saw that first time and coming back and thinking, okay, this is a passage I’m gonna pick up on and what is this gonna say? But that word entangle, that is an interesting word. It just caught my eye, even in English, but it catches the eye even more in the Greek, because here you go. Now, you know, I’m alive and I’m going to say it again. This is a hapax legomenon. Now, there you go.

Now, we have several new people around that you can say, well, did he speak in tongues or what? A hapax legomenon is a reference to a Greek word that occurs only once in the New Testament. Now when, and they’re throughout the New Testament, but the significance is, is just basically when the author uses a particular word that is never used again by that author or any other human author in the whole of the New Testament, it makes it an interesting word just for people that read Greek. It makes it another interesting word because what you have to do is you either go to the LXX or what is called the Septuagint And that’s the Greek translation of the Old Testament. Realizing the Old Testament was written in Hebrew. And so if it’s a hapax legomenon, you can’t compare this word to any other word in the New Testament. So if you’re wanting to know what does the word entangle mean, you can’t, there’s nowhere else in the New Testament. It might be in the Septuagint, Greek translation of the Old Testament, which by the way, Jesus quotes. And so giving affirmation of the use of translations, But rather, so now what you have to do is say, okay, so what does that word? They were seeking how they might entangle him in his particular words and his teaching and his talk.

This is, again, that hypoxlegomena. Now, what is really interesting is it was not a common word even in secular Greek. But it was a word that was used just a couple of times, and I’m only going to give one reference, of where it was used in the Old Testament Greek translation of the Septuagint. It was used concerning the day that King Saul went to the witch of Endor. And you remember how that King Saul, kind of the good guy, bad guy, bad guy, and how he had gotten rid of all the mediums, but then he wanted to know what was going on with David and everything, and then finally he knows he can go to the witch of Endor. And then he says, hey, let me know what’s going on. Can you maybe bring back Samuel? and all of this, and she was concerned, if you remember, because, Saul, are you trying to catch me in a trap so that then you can kill me? as she’s gotten rid of all the other fortune tellers and everything.

So it was a word that had a very limited use, but it had the idea of a masterful orchestration of getting all the details up and it would look good. but it was to catch and to condemn to death. So it was a word that was used in secular Greek, some, on entangling animals in a trap and so forth for death. And so that is the very word.

Now, Matthew had used other words he could have used, but he didn’t. So the Spirit of God leading and having him right there. That is almost a blinking red light to those in reading the original language saying, this is something that is very, very important and you need to pay attention. But what we find out is they’re trying to catch him in the words about what do you pay taxes or not? But not only that, the Sadducees, verse 23, who say there is no resurrection, they came to him and they ask him a question saying, teacher, Moses said that if a man dies and no children, and it’s the whole thing about the brother raising up kids and bizarre from our perspective, but they’re asking some questions on that. And then you go over to verse 34, It says, but when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together and then they sent a lawyer to ask him a legal question. And so now you’ve got the third question. And so all of these questions, these three sets of questions were all to entangle. They were to they were to purposefully catch Jesus in his words.

Now, what’s also kind of interesting is that who is asking this because in verse 16, Now Herodians and Pharisees are not friends. They are enemies. The Herodians were the guys that basically were Jews sold out. They were basically just politicians. They were all into the politics and so forth, and they were supporting the Herodian or Herod’s rule, which would have been more Romish and Roman, and the Jews weren’t liking that because their freedoms were taken. And so, you know, the enemy of my enemy is my, what, friend. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. And so they had a common enemy. So the entanglement is extremely deceptive. Remember, that’s what that was. She said, are you kind of coming to me? And you’re saying that, you know, you want me and you’re saying you’ll pay me off Saul. And you say, you know, it was it was entanglement. for a purpose of destruction. But this is masterful, the entanglement, trying to catch Jesus in his words.

And so the Pharisees and the Herodians were working together. They never worked together. But now, because they all want Jesus dead, by the end of the week, he will be. And Matthew wants us to catch that because he’s trying to share the passion of the death of his Savior. And from the Jewish standpoint, because keep in mind right afterwards, the whole church and faith and everything is basically Jewish. All of this is They were connived, they were working, they hated him with a passion. But not only that, not only is there an odd coalition of the Herodians and the Pharisees, notice verse 16, they sent in the disciples, the Herodians, saying, teacher. Now, just that as approach was a term of, I wanna say endearment, but was a term of respect. I mean, they didn’t have to say that. And in fact, in the other ones, there’s gonna be some sense of respect. But this is when, It gets verbose ad nauseum.

You know, like say if you want to be a teacher’s pet, not that I would know anything about that. But if you want to be a teacher’s pet, you know, you can do that by gifts, you can do that by, oh, you’re so lovely today, you know, Mrs. Whatever, and oh, you know, your makeup is so perfect, and oh, I love that shade of, you know, and you basically, Brown knows it, you know, you can really work it. Again, I wouldn’t know anything about that, but you know, but here, notice a teacher. We know that you are, True. And you just want to say, gag. You just want to say, oh, police. Teacher, we know that you’re true. Both face lie. And you teach the way of God in truth. Oh, police. words to kind of win him. So part of this idea of entanglement is get the people that don’t agree but they’ll at least agree they want Jesus dead and then just flattering. Make him ease up a little bit. This is an argumentation. Sometimes you can flatter with the purpose to disarm the one you’re going to go up against. And all this is going on, nor do you care about anyone. For you do not regard the persons of men.

In other words, some people are thoroughly motivated by what others think of them. Most of us are. We have a concern, what do others think of me? Now, some people could care less what you think of them. But that is a smaller proportion of humanity than those that are concerned about what will they think if I answer this wrong? What will they think about? And so, again, they say, but we know that you are impartial. It is all flattery. And now they go to the question. Now, therefore, what do you think? As if they really cared. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Is paying taxes the right thing to do? And Jesus, and it’s funny that Matthew just could not let it go, but gave the commentary. But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, why do you test me, you hypocrites? Show me the tax money. And so Jesus is knowing how he’s going to respond, obviously. And so he’s going to use an illustration. And he asked for the tax money, which was a denarius. And he takes it and he says, whose inscription? We all see there, yep, that’s Caesar. And then he came off with those words that we really don’t like, but we have to obey. Render unto Caesars the things that are Caesar. Paul picks up on it too. Honor to honor, taxes upon honor, the whole thing of Romans chapter 13. And so he does that, but he doesn’t stop there.

Now that’s what’s interesting in Jesus’ response He says, OK, you got to pay your taxes. So the Herodians were real happy. The Pharisees weren’t real sure because they were saying, but what about, you know, the sense of God and when it’s against God and everything? And it was James Montgomery Boyce who said that he thought and I can’t get the thought out of my head. So I’m going to share it with you that he said as Jesus took that coin and he showed him his inscription is that he also then flipped it. And he says, and whose inscription is that? Now that’s not in the Holy Scripture, but he might have flipped it. Because when he said, render unto, when he goes on and he says, in verse 21, he said to them, render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar. And then to God, the things that are God’s.

Now, he doesn’t ask the question, and we don’t know that he did that, but on the backside, there would have been, and you know, Rome was very polytheistic, and they would put the picture of Caesar on the front, but on the back, they would put one of the pantheon, God or goddesses, on the back end, just as a picture. And Jesus is establishing the authority in the realms of the political and in the realms of the spiritual. And so when they see that, but he would obviously have to be careful lest it would be the fact that he’s supporting one of the false gods of Rome. So he didn’t do that. But render unto gods the things that are gods. So yes, it is good to pay, but you also need to do this because it is following God’s law and so forth. Again, the Romans 13 passage. When they heard this, they knew they couldn’t win an argument over with him and they marveled and then they left him and they went their way. So we get the first Question, do what we can to catch him in his words.

The second one is a little bit different. It’s gonna be a theological question, verse 23. And the same day, the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him. So again, these are now the Sadducees. So we’ve had the Pharisees, we’ve had the Herodians, now the Sadducees are gonna get in, and they don’t believe in a resurrection. And he says, teacher, so there’s the recognizing who he is, teacher. Moses said that if a man dies having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. And now they go into what’s gonna be an argumentum absurdum. They’re just gonna go into arguing the absurdity. And there was with us, let me see, they raised up the offspring to his brother, verse 25. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married and having no offspring, he left his wife to his brother, likewise the second also, the third even to the seventh. Last of all, the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, point, they don’t believe in a resurrection. So they’re trying to catch him. because they don’t even believe that there is one, which would be a tip. Whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her. And Jesus answered and said to them. So how is he gonna respond to this?

So Jesus now, that with the Sadducees not believing in this, there’s another thing that it doesn’t say in the text, but if we go back and find out, they didn’t believe in much at all in the spiritual or the unseen. They don’t believe in angels. Now, the reason why that’s important, because Jesus is going to bring up angels, because you may wonder why all of a sudden we find out, do angels have sex and do they get married? And, you know, we have all those kinds of questions that come up from this passage, which is not what it’s really all about. He is bringing up, OK, you want to know about resurrection. You don’t believe in that. Well, I’m going to bring up angels and you don’t believe in them either. And so he is he’s going to take and use this in a very, very unique way. as he brings up this situation.

Now, we don’t have time to go back and to look at this, but it’s in Deuteronomy chapter 25, verses 5 through 10. And this is the way that they would protect properties and inheritance in the nation of Israel, early ancient Israel. I don’t know that it was ever really practiced, or if it was, it wasn’t practiced very much, but they really weren’t looking at it clarifying, let’s get Judaism down straight. They were trying to argue into absurdum.

So Jesus answers and said to them, number one, you are mistaken. And I think he said that very authoritatively. And then he said to them, you are mistaken. Not knowing the scriptures, you don’t know what the Bible really say in a meaning in that, nor do you understand the power of God. For in the resurrection, pause, did Jesus believe in the resurrection? Obviously, he just said, you guys are wrong. You don’t even know you don’t believe in the resurrection. The issue now is, is that Jesus is going to validate the reality of the resurrection, huh? Which is going to happen at the beginning of next week with his. And he is now being challenged publicly by the Sadducees who don’t even believe in a resurrection. This is the final word of Jesus to let the enemy have it. We might put it this way. He lets go of both barrels. He’s gonna nail them between the eyes. It isn’t just about angels. He is talking about, you don’t believe in the resurrection. I’m gonna be resurrected here by the end of the week or by the beginning of the new week. And you’re challenging me and bringing up this thing from Deuteronomy.

And so notice how he goes, for in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage. So he said, she’s none of their, that woman, those seven men, she’s not married to any of them because in the kingdom, in heaven, we’re like the angels. Now he doesn’t fully explain it. He doesn’t say we become angels. He just says we’re like the angels of God in heaven. And he doesn’t continue what that means. That’s interesting. R.C. Sproul put it this way, that we become a different order. We don’t become angels. But there is this question. And there’s a lot of questions. This is theological fun day. But if you want to think about it, you know, OK, does marriage continue in heaven? Answers, no, even in our vows, it’s until death shall separate us.

One of the purposes of marriage is to have children, but it’s not the only one. So just to, I’m gonna, this is gonna be a Pastor Piat bomb, and then I’m just gonna walk away. Are there genders? Do angels have gender? Will we have genders? Are there male and female resurrected saints? And the eternal kingdom. Yeah, I don’t know. Discuss, discuss. No, don’t do that right now, but we’re going to go on and just say. You know, this is not the path that goes way beyond what the passage is about, but yet we like to go to those kind of things. We’ll be like the angels and the fact there’s no marriage. But notice where Jesus immediately goes, verse 31.

But concerning the resurrection of the dead, which is really what the juggler is, that Matthew wants to convey that Jesus wanted to convey because they’re trying to be conniving. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God saying, And he goes to the book of Exodus chapter three and verse six. And there’s a reason for that because the Sadducees only they didn’t accept the whole Old Testament even they they mainly wanted the Torah. And so he went to Exodus and he quotes I am now that is a reference to the Yahweh name of God. But it’s also a present tense verb to be. I am the God of Abraham. I am the God of Isaac, and I am the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And they got the point. In other words, there is a resurrection.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob existed at the same time, yet they were all dead. Not that they were resurrected yet, but there is a contemporary, being contemporary existence of them, and there was a future for them. So there is a resurrection, the basis of all of Judaism, being part of the seed of, or the spiritual seed of Abraham, and there was a future for them all. And they got it, verse 33. And then the multitude heard this. They were astonished at his teaching. But now the rapid fire, verse 34, but then the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees. So the Pharisees are saying, oh, he got up on him too.

So then they gathered together and they said, okay, who’s the smart one? Who’s the guy that’s good at argumentation and making good things look bad and bad things look good? And the first thing I was going to say, the first thing came to the mind was a lawyer. Unfortunately, that is what the text says. But we do love our lawyers in the congregation. But then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question. So now this lawyer, who happens to be a Pharisee, so it’s gone from Pharisee Herodians, Sadducees. Now we’re back to the Pharisees who just want to get this thing done. They got to catch Jesus. And they’re testing him, saying, teacher, which is the great commandment in the law. And Jesus said to him, you shall love the Lord your God.

He goes to the Shema in Deuteronomy. He goes to the Shema and he goes, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart. with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law of the prophets. He basically took each of the tablets, the first half talking about our moral responsibility to God and then to our neighbor. And he says, this holds it all together. And that’s it. And notice there’s no response because there is no response to that. That is the the fulfillment of the law. And Jesus had taught that. So immediately then. Jesus now is going to knock him out. He’s going to simply say this while the Pharisees were gathered together.

Jesus asked them saying so now we get the counterpunch. What do you think about the Christ Messiah? You say he’s coming. I’m him. Of course, you don’t believe that. But who do you who is the what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? How is he going to come? And of course, being good Jews, they had a quick answer and they said, oh, he’s the son of David. OK, they answered correctly, they at least got that one right. He is the son of David. And he said to them, OK, now I got a question for you. How then does David in the spirit call him Lord, saying the Lord said to my Lord, sit on my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool.

If and so now he’s just going to make it more difficult, he says. So if David then calls him Lord, how is he his son? Jews don’t go around calling their sons Lord. I love my son, but I don’t go around say Lord Rich. You know, that’s just not going to happen. And and so how does how does that happen? And there’s more of a play on this, and you can go and check it. But where this all comes from is from Psalm 110, verse one, that’s a quote, that has the superscription over the top, a Psalm of David.

Now Old Testament scholars, those of us that have really good libraries and we wanted to basically get through seminary and you want to have some good accurate information, although it’s kind of dated, in Old Testament is, we refer to this to K and D, Kyle and Dalich. And Kyle makes a reference to this, he said, the superscription of a psalm of David, which I personally believe those the things that are above the psalms, those are inspired too. But in K and D and Kyle and Dalich that Kyle makes the comment that is probably one of the most important. subtitles or superscriptions of any in all scripture because it shut up the mouths of the Pharisees. This is David writing. and inspiration, David is writing that, Jesus assumes it, and of course we do too as evangelical fundamentalists that believe in inspiration of scripture. But the liberals don’t, and others that want to get away from this. And so this was a tightly locked sense of argument when Jesus said that, okay, Jesus, or the Messiah is gonna be the son of David, but then how, when you have this as in reference, how is that going to be? The Lord said to my Lord. If you notice, the term Lord is in all caps. If you have a newer translation, it may even say Yahweh. And Yahweh said to my Lord. And that’s a small Lord, so that would be, in a sense, the Adonai. That is the Messiah. That’s not David, because David is the one saying to my, sit at my right hand. That is a position of authority, till I make your enemies your footstool, which is in fulfillment of the Messiah.

So Jesus just said, so how is it that Jesus, or how is it that David can call Messiah? There’s gotta be something else going on. Well, they would have gone, no doubt, if you will turn with me, their minds at least should have gone to Isaiah chapter seven and verse 14, which is something really that was earlier in the gospel, but I think this is where Matthew was going. Then they said to me, Here, now, O David, is it a small thing for you to weary me, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus clearly, double barrel, the eyes nailed it and when he said this they got it if David then calls him Lord how is he his son he can’t be because that’s not the way it works and no one was able to answer him a word because he claimed to be Messiah and they could not answer him and they become so full of anger and hate, they’ll do anything to nail him. And so they will not dare to ask him any more questions.

Now, where are we going to go next week? What happens after this and the week of the passion? You want to know where it goes? Look at verse 13. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisee hypocrites. Verse 15, woe to you scribes, Pharisee hypocrites. Verse 16, woe to you blind guides who say. Verse 23, woe to you scribes. We now come to the section where Matthew is gonna say, you guys challenged him. You couldn’t put him down. He silenced you. And then he’s going to pronounce your woe. Who is this Jesus?

Well, out of the mouths of the wicked, they were closed, and the pathway to the cross and death was open. But Isaiah 7 verse 14 was the answer. A sign was given, a sign was delivered, and the sign we bow. and worship in the person of Jesus Christ. Who was killed. Was buried. Did raise from the dead. The resurrection is true. And he’s coming again to establish his kingdom. And we do this until he come. May we be found faithful. Let’s pray. Our father in heaven. In a group like this, it may be very possible that there are those that do not believe. They do not know who Jesus really is. Oh, they’re still part of the Pharisees or the Herodians or the Sadducees that are trying to catch Jesus in a lie to disqualify him, to remove just exactly who he is.

Father, may the weight of conviction of the third person of the Godhead weigh heavily upon them so that they will repent of their sin and trust Christ. But Father, this morning, as we gather at the table, as we remember the greatness of our blessed Savior, may we remember who Jesus is. In the words and the confession of Peter, thou art the Christ, the son of the living God. That you have the right to be the son of David and also his Lord and master. Father, we accept him for who he is and we worship him. And Father, in this remembrance, we follow in obedience what he wants us to do. Again, Father, may we be found faithful for we pray these things in Jesus’ name, amen.