CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Mark 12:13. To catch Him in His words.—The chief priests and scribes and elders having signally failed in their last attempt (chap. Mark 11:27-33), now send a band of Pharisees and Herodians, in the hope that they may be able to entangle and ensnare Him in an argument.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Mark 12:13-17
(PARALLELS: Matthew 22:15-22; Luke 20:19-26.)
Question as to tribute money.—One part of the business of a teacher of Divine truth is to be ready to resolve doubtful cases submitted to him relating to duty and conscience. Especially a teacher professing to come with a message straight from God to men would be regarded as a kind of living oracle, at whose mouth any one who had a question to propose might seek a solution of it. There are, however, two conditions which such a teacher might reasonably demand from those who came to consult him: first, that he should not be appealed to in mere private matters and personal differences, which might be settled by the proper tribunals (Luke 12:13-14); and, secondly, that there should be, on the part of the questioner, a sincere desire to know what is right that he may choose it, and to learn the will of God that he may do it. It was in this latter qualification that the inquirers we are at present concerned with were deficient.
I. A foul plot.—“The chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders” (Mark 11:27), being afraid, after their signal defeat, to enter the lists with Jesus any more, now “send unto Him certain of the Pharisees and Herodians, to catch Him in His words.”
1. They doubtless thought this a very clever move, and congratulated one another upon the secrecy with which their arrangements had been made. But somebody had gained admittance into their counsel who was not of it. Let the plotters of mischief and those who take counsel together against the innocent know this assuredly: that there is nothing hidden from the Lord; that when every precaution has been taken, and every possibility of human treachery guarded against, “a bird of the air shall carry the voice,” etc. (Ecclesiastes 10:20).
2. Christ’s enemies were constantly holding secret meetings to devise His ruin. It required many a midnight conclave, many a sitting with closed doors, to hatch the foul plot which ended in His death. But now all those things which were spoken in the ear in closets are proclaimed upon the housetops.
3. The object of the present plot was “to catch Him in His words.” They could not have employed a more likely device. Nothing is easier than to entrap a person of a frank, unsuspicious, straightforward character into saying something which may artfully be turned to his prejudice. God’s saints in all ages have been persecuted in this way (Psalms 65:5; Psalms 6; Isaiah 29:21).
II. An insidious compliment.—
1. “A man that flattereth his neighbour,” etc. (Proverbs 29:5). So these hypocrites, designing to entrap Christ, try to put Him off His guard by a compliment to His character.
2. With many persons this ruse would have succeeded. There is a class of men who pride themselves on speaking the truth, regardless of consequences; whence it often happens that to the fear of being thought capable of fear they sacrifice that very truth which they profess to prize so highly.
3. To attempt to entangle Christ by so poor an artifice only shewed how far they were from knowing Him. He was certainly all that they said: He did “teach the way of God in truth”; He did “care for no man”; He did “regard not the person of men.” But no more did He regard the opinions of men, or care for establishing such a character of Himself amongst men. And as for those who offered Him this incense, He knew that they “did but flatter Him with their lips, and dissemble in their double heart.”
III. A captious question.—
1. To understand the entangling nature of this question, we must remember the ambiguous condition of the Jews, as a nation, at this time. It was not independence, because they were under the military authority of a Roman governor; nor was it a state of absolute bondage, since they were allowed to retain their own laws and customs, and to exercise a certain judicial power through their high priest and Sanhedrin. It was, in fact, a condition of real subjection, with just such concessions as might soothe the wounded vanity of a fierce and high-spirited race. Observe how sensitive they were to any allusion to their lost liberties (John 8:33). Now the most galling thing of all, and that which reminded them most painfully of their real condition, was the tribute. Cæsar could afford to leave them a shew of liberty, but not to forego his taxes. The Jews, on their part, looked upon the payment of custom or tribute to a foreign power as an act of treason against Jehovah. They did pay it, but under protest—because they could not help themselves.
2. The question now proposed to Christ by His enemies was one which, they judged, must receive from Him either an affirmative or a negative answer. If He should decide in the affirmative, He would be placing Himself in opposition to the almost universal feeling of the Jewish nation. It would be considered not only an unpatriotic but even a blasphemous decision, and as such would be fatal to His influence with the people. If, on the contrary, He should pronounce against the lawfulness of paying tribute, He could be handed over to the magistrate on a charge of sedition.
IV. An ignominious defeat.—
1. “He, knowing their hypocrisy”—pretending to entertain conscientious scruples which they did not feel, and, while professing to seek advice, having no other object but to turn Christ’s answer against Himself, whatever it might be—instead of giving a direct reply, desires to see the tribute money. And they bring him a denarius—a silver coin bearing on its face the head of Tiberius Cæsar, the reigning emperor, with his name and title.
2. This proceeding of Christ’s was well calculated to excite curiosity, and to keep His hearers in suspense. We can fancy we see the little circle of spectators drawing closer together, looking now upon the questioners, now upon the piece of money, now upon the lips of Him who was expected to break the silence. And He does so in the memorable words, “Render to Cæsar,” etc.
3. Christ does not give a direct answer to the question asked. The question was, “Is it lawful?” not, Is it necessary? or, Is it expedient? but, “Is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not?” This question could only be answered by shewing that there is nothing in such a payment inconsistent with the law of God, or with that allegiance which, as the people of God, they owed to a greater King than Cæsar. Christ neither shews this nor even asserts it. And why? Because that would have been to do the very thing they wanted, and to fall into the trap they had laid for Him. To a captious question He returns an evasive answer. They sought a handle against Him, and He gives them something they cannot lay hold of. His reply is so framed as neither to injure Him with the people nor to compromise Him with the magistrate.
4. Still the question remains—” Is it lawful,” etc. To which a sufficient, though not a direct, answer may be gathered from Christ’s action and words. For it is a general maxim that the money current in any country determines the power to which allegiance is due. When the Jews deluded themselves with the idea that they still preserved their independence as a nation, this Roman coin bore witness against them. When they boasted of being the people of God, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation,” they ought to have remembered that by God, the same God whom they acknowledged for their King, did other kings reign, and princes decree justice. “He changeth the times,” etc. (Daniel 2:21). At one time He had brought foreign princes against this very people to oppress them in their own land; at another He had caused them to be carried away captive to a land that was not theirs. And He had forewarned them of a time when “the sceptre” should finally “depart from Judah,” etc. (Genesis 49:10). That time was now come. This very image and superscription, to those who read it aright, plainly declared so. While they were arguing and disputing whether it was lawful to pay or not, Cæsar’s collectors were gathering in his taxes. This was a state of things which could not be mistaken. None but the wilfully blind could fail to see that to resist the power was, in this case, to resist the ordinance of God.
5. But, lest this rule of “rendering to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s,” should appear to countenance the smallest violation of the sacred rights of conscience, we must remember that it is not the whole of Christ’s answer. He goes on to give a second rule which guards and limits the first; or rather, the two together must be considered as a single rule, and so applied to every case of conduct. God has His rights, as well as Cæsar. There need not be any opposition or interference between the two; and there was none here. Should it be otherwise, should the things of Cæsar in any case be contrary to the things of God, no man can doubt which of these must give way.
6. Note, in conclusion, the comparative urgency with which these respective claims are enforced upon us. Cæsar is pressing and peremptory: God is gentle and persuasive. Cæsar listens to no appeal: God is pitiful and easy to be entreated. It is Cæsar’s policy to put down resistance and disobedience at once, by the immediate punishment of the offender: it is God’s principle to forbear and suffer long, “not willing that any should perish,” etc. Such being the respective dispositions of these two powers, it needs little knowledge of human nature to tell which of them is more likely to obtain his due. As we look around, we observe that human laws, strictly enforced, are generally obeyed; while the most flagrant violations of the law of God, the most wanton denials of His claims, go unpunished, if not unregarded. Such being the case, it is surely incumbent on all who would see the things of Cæsar rendered to Cæsar, and unto God the things that are God’s, to throw all their weight into the lighter scale. Cæsar needs no advocate; he will take care to get his own: but God depends, for the enforcement of His claims, upon the zeal and earnestness of those who advocate them.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Mark 12:14. Testimony of adversaries to Christ.—That a man may speak freely the truth, he must have knowledge, zeal, boldness—all which Christ’s adversaries ascribe to Him here.
1. Knowledge of the truth, in that He was a “master and taught the way of God.”
2. Zeal and love to the truth, in that He was “true, teaching truly.”
3. Boldness, in that He “respected not the person of any.”—Dean Boys.
The commendable parts of a good pastor.—
1. He must be for his learning a “master”—able to teach, apt to teach, a guide to the blind, a light to them that are in darkness.
2. He must be “true”; which some apply to pureness of life, but others think the words “and teachest truly the way of life” expound the clause “Thou art true.”
3. He must not utter his own dream, or the vision of his own heart, but “teach the way of God” (1 Peter 4:11).
4. He must have certainty of doctrine, teaching the truth aright (Jeremiah 23:28; Romans 12:6).
5. He must be stout in delivering God’s ambassage (Ezekiel 2:6).—Ibid. Suspicious blandishments.—The old word is, “Full of courtesy, full of craft.” When ye see too glittering pretences in unapproved persons, suspect the inside (Psalms 28:3; Amos 7:12-13; 2 Corinthians 1:12).—Bishop Hall.
Mark 12:15. Hypocrisy exposed.—Christ, as God, seeing their hypocritical humour, and understanding their treacherous intent, accommodates His answer to the foul malice of their mind, not to the fair words of their mouth, objecting against them four faults especially.
1. Folly. “Why?” For if I am (as you say) “true,” then I am God, because every man is a liar, and only God true, yea truth itself; and if I be the Son of God, I can easily make your wisdom foolishness.
2. Treachery. “Why tempt ye?”
3. Ingratitude. “Why tempt ye Me, who teach unto you the way of God truly, desiring often to gather your children together?” etc.
4. Dissimulation. “Ye hypocrites.” Having thus in a trice confounded them, He proceeds in the next clause to confute them, even by their own words and deeds, as the soldiers of Timotheus were wounded with the points of their own swords (2Ma. 12:22).—Dean Boys.
Mark 12:16-17. Coinage a token of authority.—It has been ingeniously and not irrationally suggested that our Lord’s sanction of the payment of tribute money to Cæsar may afford a hint to Christians of the point at which they may conscientiously yield obedience to a fresh civil authority. If that authority is so recognised that its coin is admitted as the medium of exchange, its tenure may fairly be considered as a fait accompli.
The King’s image on the heart.—The heart of the believer should be a golden coin, so graven with loyalty and love to the Heavenly King that there ought to be no hesitation in answering the question, “Whose image and superscription is it? “
Church and State.—Consider the respective rights of Church and State in property, and the duty of men who may at the same time be members of the Church and subjects of the State to regard the rights and vested interests of both. In discriminating between those mutual well-defined rights and vested interests in property, the question of our Lord comes in, helping us in the knowledge and performance of our twofold duty, in our twofold capacity as members of the Church and subjects of the State.
1. Whose is this image and superscription, we ask on the one hand, of all temporal things which belong unto Cæsar? The answer is Cæsar’s image and superscription. Then our duty is to render such things unto Cæsar.
2. Whose is this image and superscription, we inquire on the other hand, borne upon the Church’s possessions? The answer is God’s. His sacred superscription is upon them. To God they were consecrated. Their use was given to His Church and her ministers and members, not for general purposes, but for God’s honour, glory, worship, and for the spiritual and ecclesiastical uses of all subjects of the kingdom, who will use them on the lines laid down in her terms of communion exclusively for and consistently with these purposes.
Religion no enemy to government.—Among all the stratagems of the devil, tending to the undermining of religion and the subversion of the souls of men, though there cannot be any more unreasonable, yet there was never any more unhappily successful, than the creating and fomenting an opinion in the world that religion is an enemy to government, and the bringing sincerity and zeal in religion into jealousy and disgrace with the civil powers (Luke 23:2; Acts 17:6; Acts 23:4-5).—Bishop Seth Ward.
Loyalty of early Christians to the emperor.—We pray for the safety of the emperors to the eternal God, the true, the living God, whom emperors themselves would desire to be propitious to them, “above all others, who are called gods.” We, looking up to heaven with outstretched hands, because they are harmless, with naked heads, because we are not ashamed (1 Corinthians 6:7), without a prompter, because we pray from the heart, constantly pray for all emperors, that they may have a long life, a secure empire, a safe palace, strong armies, a faithful senate, a well-moralised people, a quiet state of the world—whatever Cæsar would wish for himself in his public and private capacity (Jeremiah 29:7; Daniel 6:21; 1 Timothy 2:2; 1 Peter 2:13-17).—Tertullian.
Mark 12:17. “They marvelled.”—His remark concerning the superscription and image on the coin, as connecting the tribute with civil authority, and the opposition which He makes between such demands and the things belonging to God, intimate a new character in the Messiah’s theocracy, in which the ecclesiastical should no more interfere with the civil rule, or the obedience of the subject to the human magistrate be inconsistent with the obedience of the believer to God. Cæsar’s dominion was to be one, Christ’s another. Jesus was a king, but not of this world.—S. Hinds.
Innocence the best protection against craft.—Craft is ever one of the arts of the wayward; they who believe in it find it needful to employ it. At first sight it seems as if the children of truth and simplicity must be at the mercy of the unscrupulous. What happens here should reassure us. If we are true-hearted and transparent, no craft will avail against us.—R. Glover.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 12
Mark 12:16. God’s image stamped on man.—We can often tell what a thing is for by noticing its make. The instructed eye of an anatomist will, from a bone, divine the sphere in which the creature to whom it belonged was intended to live. Just as plainly as gills or lungs, fins or wings, or legs and arms declare the element in which the creature that possesses them is intended to move, so plainly stamped upon all our natures is this, that God is our Lord, since we are made in a true sense in His image, and that only in Him can we find rest. If you take a coin, and compare it with the die from which it has been struck, you will find that wherever in the die there is a relief, in the coin there is a sunken place, and conversely. So there are not only resemblances in man to the Divine nature which bear upon them the manifest marks of his destiny, but there are correspondences, wants, on our side, being met by gifts upon His; hollow emptiness in us being filled, when we are brought into contact with Him, by the abundance of His outstanding supplies and gifts.—A. Maclaren, D.D.
The defacement of God’s image in man.—You sometimes get into your hands money on which there has been stamped, by mischief, or for some selfish purpose, the name of some one else than the king’s or queen’s which surrounds the head upon it. And in like manner our nature has gone through the stamping-press again, and another likeness has been deeply imprinted upon it. The image of God, which every man has, is in some senses and aspects ineffaceable by any course of conduct of theirs. But in another aspect it is not like the permanent similitude stamped upon the solid metal of the penny, but like the reflexion, rather, that falls upon some polished plate, or that is cast upon the white sheet from a lantern. If the polished plate be rusty and stained, the image is faint and indistinct; if it be turned away from the light, the image passes. And that is what some of you are doing. By living to yourselves, by living day in and day out without ever remembering God, by yielding to passions, lusts, ambitions, low desires, and the like, you are doing your very best to scratch out the likeness which still lingers in your nature.—Ibid.
Mark 12:17. Religion and business.—Have you, a Christian, two sources of happiness—God and the world? Then you are wrong, for to you God ought to be in all the world that you appropriate, and all the world God’s. Do you use the adjectives “spiritual” and “secular” in describing your enjoyments? Is prayer spiritual, that is the Great Spirit’s gift, while an evening in a picture-gallery is secular, that is man’s gift? Why, God gives the latter as truly as the former. If you are living on the high plane of your privilege, you see God in all things that you are permitted to build into your life. Have you spiritual needs, as for instance help in resisting temptation, and secular needs, such as help in sickness? There is only One Helper everywhere. You watch against temptation—and pray; you call the physician in sickness—and ought also to pray. Are you able to manage the mortgage alone, but unable, as you think, to save your soul? In fact you, without God, are as powerless in the one case as the other; you cannot cross your office threshold without Him, nor sign a draft. There are not two worlds here below to the Christian, one God’s realm and the other man’s. He is all in all. Colloquially it is harmless, but in the secret heart it is wicked to distinguish to oneself between spiritual and temporal possessions. Your faith and love are God’s, and so your house, your gold. Men say business is business and religion is religion. No. Business is religion and religion is business.—E. J. Haynes.