A master class in responding to hypocrisy
Matthew 22:15 Then went the Pharisees, and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. 16 And they sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.
They want Jesus to answer this question based on "truth" and "not regarding the person of man". Rule 1 -- don't take the gift from the enemy.
17 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
They have phrased the question into an A or a B, and either answer is designed to be divisive. Rule #2 -- Do not accept the enemies framework.
18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? 19 Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny.
This is the big rule, when given a treacherous attempt like this our natural inclination is to strike out, look how evil this is, look how wicked. We want to run from a question like this. Instead, Jesus focuses in like going to a higher power on the microscope. Rule #3 -- Put the enemies questions under a microscope.
20 And he saith unto them, Whose is this image and superscription? 21 They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's. 22 When they had heard these words, they marvelled, and left him, and went their way.
To me this is like baseball, hitters will see the pitch before it leaves the pitchers hand. They see how he is holding the ball, the release.
23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,
Notice how the Bible lets us know the background of the Sadducees, what they believe. Rule #4 -- Do your homework, you need to know basic doctrines and be able to rebut error.
24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27 And last of all the woman died also. 28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
This is how atheists talk, with all kinds of hypotheticals. These guys (all atheists) think they are smart, smarter than God, and so they first define the rules of "the game". They only will look at the Torah, you can't quote Psalms or the prophets. Second, they take a law in the Torah about what to do if a woman's husband dies (during the old testament it was very common for ment to die in battle or from an infection.) No one who is married looks forward to returning to the "dating scene". This is quite merciful and probably greatly reduces the immorality. So they will try and take some seemingly unrelated topic in the Bible to prove their is no resurrection with a hypothetical.
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.
The Lord's critique is blunt and brutal. Rule #5 -- When speaking the truth that is offensive be as concise as possible. To me this is like football, everyone wants to make the tackle with their shoulder, but the correct way is head on, eyes up. Don't shy away when giving a word like this. Don't make it personal, but do make it precise, accurate, and thorough.
31 But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
Notice how in this case Jesus is playing by their rules. The Sadducees teach that when you die that is it, you are gone, poof. Jesus quotes from the Torah where God is talking to Moses, saying "I am the God of Abraham"! If Abraham had gone "poof" then why would God say this? This proves that you don't go "poof" when you die, but your soul continues to exist. Rule #6 -- The Bible is omnipotent and omniscient, do not be afraid of putting it to the test.
33 And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine. 34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Where is the temptation here? Are they hoping He'll say that all the commandments are equal? Are they hoping He'll uplift the law? Perhaps talk about keeping the sabbath? Remember what Paul said, the Law is a schoolmaster that leads us to Christ. This answer the Lord gives demonstrates a deeper understanding, it shows Jesus is at the Phd level, able to tie the ten commandments to the New Testament and bring us to God.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
This demonstrates that Jesus has dug deep into the word and can summarize the entire law and prophets in these four verses and show how they usher in the New Testament. Rule #7 -- You have to study the word for yourself with just you and the Lord Jesus. You can't base your faith on regurgitating what others teach. Do not think that Jesus was quoting some rabbinical teaching. It may be that others had seen this or said this, but if you simply read all the writings of others you would never be so succinct. When studying a topic you need to use questions like this. The Pharisees beat people over the head with the law, they were hoping Jesus would give them ammunition. However, this was a valid question, not like the forked tongue question about giving taxes to Caesar or the childish hypothetical from the Atheists.
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The son of David. 43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
Finally, you should prepare for spiritual warfare expecting that it is three times as much for defense and one time for offense. You have to have the mindset for every shot you get to take you must defend three attacks. Michael Jordan came into the league as a great scorer, but it wasn't until he was defensive player of the year that he was also named as league MVP. This allowed him to set an example for the rest of His team and lead them to Championships a few years later. Rule #8 -- Defense shocks the enemy and ultimately leads to opportunities for offense. Satan thinks he is so clever with forked tongue questions, hypothetical questions, and Phd questions. Being prepared for these shocks him, puts him on his heels, and opens the door for you to attack.