They Became Silent
The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent. (Luke 20:19-26)
The scribes and chief priests had all the feels going on here – in perceiving that Jesus had told the parable against them, their pride was wounded and they took some serious offense to it which stirred up anger and hatred enough to want to lay hands on Jesus, but fear kicked in also out of pride because they cared what the people thought of them. In this storm of emotions that they refused to humble themselves and lay it all down before God, they opted for manipulation and deception, pretending to be sincere to try to catch Jesus in something and let the governor do their dirty work for them.
Before moving on, it’s important to take note of this snowball effect because we are no better than these men and are just as susceptible to the same emotions of pride, being offended, anger, hatred, fear, and ultimately could lead us to make very bad decisions that go against God and lead others astray.
The Trap
The trap they set for Jesus was an attempt to get Jesus to speak against the government in essence. Yet in the very words they spoke, as they attempted to butter Jesus up, were completely true – Jesus did speak and teach rightly, He showed no partiality, and truly taught the way of God. Had they actually believed what they said, they would have been followers of Him. But that storm of emotions had completely blinded them to the truth.
The question meant to trap Jesus was about giving tribute to Caesar. BUT Jesus perceived their craftiness. Jesus very well could have snapped at them for being so manipulative and deceptive and in seeing the evil that was seeping out of them was showing, but He didn’t. He stood true to the truth, took the opportunity in that teachable moment to reveal the heart of God that rendering to the government and to God is not mutually exclusive – AND He simply did what was good in speaking the truth in love.
The result? They became silent.
What To and Not To Do
When it comes to the scribes and chief priests, it’s relatively clear what not to do, but it’s far harder to learn from their mistakes and not make them ourselves. We must learn to keep our emotions and thoughts in check, bringing them captive to the obedience of Christ in the very moment they differ from what God tells us is good to think on, if we truly want to please the Lord and avoid the downfalls that come from a lack of self-control. It is far too easy to slip into rabbit trails of chaos when we refuse to practice self-control over our emotions and instead let our emotions rule our actions.
Spending the time to bring everything before the Lord and work out those things with Him before even talking with others is a practice well worth the fruit it yields, and you just might find your heart change on the matter and that there’s actually no longer an issue. Imagine if the scribes and chief priests had done that – they would have realized that their emotions had lied to them and they could have embraced the truth as He stood there before them.
Silencing Ignorance
Jesus’ example in this shows us that we can perceive and respond wisely through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Jesus demonstrated what the apostle Peter would later write, For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. (1 Peter 2:15)
If Jesus would have been quick to get offended and angry at the deceptive plot of those men, it would have stirred things up more and undoubtedly sin would have been involved. But Jesus had a habit of getting away and spending time with the Father and He practiced self-control, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and gentleness – He showed them love in His words and actions; He was bearing the fruit of the Spirit.
Learning from Jesus
We usually don’t mind as much learning from Jesus, but it’s sometimes just as hard to learn from His perfection as it is learning from the mistakes of people in the bible. If we tried to simply copy all the actions of Jesus and avoid all the actions of those who made mistakes, that would be a miserable life of striving to do it all on our own. Instead, we ought to copy the discipline and habits of Jesus, and the fruit will inevitably come in time with growth and maturity in Him.
The fruit only happens through abiding – being in the word, in prayer, and actively growing in the grace and knowledge of Him.
Jesus told us to abide in Him and that apart from Him we can do nothing. So why do we try to do anything apart from Him? When we are actually abiding in Jesus, then the good habits and disciplines form. We learn to take everything and anything to God. Here’s the encouragement this week:
- When people belittle you – take it to God.
- When you feel frustrated – take it to God.
- When people falsely accuse you – take it to God.
- When you feel angry – take it to God.
- When people misjudge you – take it to God.
- When you feel unseen, unheard, or misunderstood – take it to God.
- In all that happens in your life – take it to God.
And then watch as you bear the fruit of the Spirit in your life and by following the example of Jesus in doing good, that you too might put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.