Author: Bill Hall

And the second took the wife, and he died childless.

Luke 20:30

This is where the Sadducees story begins to take on its true nature. Though theoretically possible, it is not very likely that this scenario actually happened. At the level of the second or third brother might be plausible, but all seven is a bit of a stretch.

Thus we see that the Sadducees were introducing one of those ‘what if’ arguments intended to confound their hearers. For example this is much like the old ‘if God can do anything, what if God makes a rock so big He cannot lift it’ scenario. The solution to that one is our human limitations surrounding the understanding of infinity. In the same way, the Sadducees had created this conundrum which really did not have the sharp point to it that they had hoped for.

Heavenly Father, in our human limitations, we think we know so much that we really do not understand. Thank You for helping us see Truth that would otherwise alude us because we get enamored with logical fallacies. Life can be scary, but You do not change and You are abundant in loving kindness. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

There were seven brothers; and, the first born took a wife, and died childless.

Luke 20:29

At this point the story of the Sadducees is clear and is something that may have happened regularly in Israel at the time. Many sons was very desirable and not uncommon.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your revelation of Yourself to us. Even though we don’t often think about it, the consequences of evil also show us that You are real. Pain, death, sorrow, poverty, and the corruption of evil people all remind us that this world is not what it should be. Though it is hard to do, I thank You for it. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Saying, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies having a wife, and the brother dies childless, that he should take his brother’s wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’

Luke 20:28

This command comes from Deuteronomy 25:5-10 and the Sadducees are not incorrect up to this point.

Heavenly Father, You are perfect! Your are powerful! You are pure! Thank You for power in our lives through the Spirit. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Then some of the Sadducees, who speak against there being a resurrection, approached to put a question to Him,

Luke 20:27

The Sadducees were different from the Pharisees. For all the things Jesus had to say about the Pharisees, the Sadducees were even further from the truth due to their interpretations of Scripture. They rejected the idea of human bodies resurrecting, and they did not accept the concept of the Spirit of God indwelling anyone.

The only possible reason they would have had to ask this question would be to try and make Jesus unpopular. Unless, they just did it for the fun of it. Either way, it backfired.

Heavenly Father, thank You for helping us see the error of our ways. Without Your revelation, we would all live lives full of corruption. You are the Pure One. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And they were not able to catch Him in his words in the presence of the people. And, being silent, they marvelled at His answer.

Luke 20:26

Being silent is an exercise all of humanity could use practice at. Of course, these folks were silent simply because they had no idea what to say.

It is best if even the servants of God understand that His wisdom is such that we will always find ourselves holding our hand to our mouth at some point.

Heavenly Father, thank You for caring for our souls! You give us Your peace and truth and love and for that we are eternally grateful. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And He said to them, ‘Pay back the things that are Caesar’s to Caesar, and the things that are God’s to God.’

Luke 20:25

The sagacity of Christ filled the air. Everyone had a speechless moment as His words sunk in. But maybe there is a message here that still gets missed.

The word translated here ‘pay back’ does have that meaning. In the Greek, aπόδοτε is from a verb that means not simply to give or pay, but to ‘give again’ or ‘pay again’. For the concept concerning the Denarius, this makes immediate sense. The coin was minted by Caesar, so give it back to him.

But, for the other part, the meaning is often missed. Pay back to God the things that are God’s. Humanity bears the image of God according to Genesis 1:26-27. Jesus is literally saying that since humanity was minted by God, each person owes themselves back to God.

Heavenly Father, I know I owe all to You! But I so selfishly hold onto myself. Thank You for Your mercy! By Your grace I hope to give more and more of me to You. Thank You for Your Truth! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Show a denarius to me; whose image and inscription does it have? And, answering, they said, ‘Ceasar’s.’

Luke 20:24

Elementary. Everyone knew what a Denarius looked like. Jesus was emphasizing the obvious nature of His upcoming answer.

Heavenly Father, You are powerful and wonderful! I will always be singing Your praises. You alone understand us. You can tell exactly what we need and You see all our days ahead of time. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

But He, considering their trickery, said to them, ‘Why do you test me?’

Luke 20:23

It was no task at all for Jesus to see through their intentions. He could have hidden the fact that He knew what they were doing. But here He gives us the example of how to handle the underhanded.

Heavenly Father, this world is full of people ruled by sin, and but for Your grace we all are. Only by Christ can we live differently. Thank You for making us unpredictable by Your Spirit. You are truly glorious! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?

Luke 20:22

The question was meant to be the ultimate trap. They hoped that He would say no, because then they could take that to Pilate. They also hoped He would say yes, because that would presumably not be popular with the people.

Heavenly Father, I am so thankful that You always are at work in our lives. Your Word draws us to You. By Your love we come to understand Your message to us. The Spirit in our life is the greatest mercy and most abundant grace we could ever imagine. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

And they asked Him, saying, ‘Teacher, we know that you correctly speak and teach, and do not show partiality, but teach the way of God truly.’

Luke 20:21

This was, of course, completely disingenuous. These spies were not even good flatteters! They went way overboard, and though Jesus could read their minds, He didn’t have to in order to see through this soft soap.

The funny thing is, …….it was all completely accurate.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Son Who is Truly the Good Teacher. He has led us to the Truth and by His sacrifice we have life. I can never thank You enough, but will forever sing Your praises! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.