Paying Taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13–17)

 

Paying Taxes to Caesar (Mark 12:13–17)

What is tax? Everyone pays taxes. Paying taxes is submitting to governing authority. Where does that authority come from? All authority comes from God in heaven. Therefore, paying taxes is submitting to God's authority. Conversely, not paying taxes brings punishment.

In Mark 12:13–17, Jesus taught that just as we pay taxes to the governing authority, we are to give to God what is God's. There is nothing that does not come from God. We come from God and return to God (John 16:28). When a person dies, they return with nothing — empty-handed.

Is It Right to Pay Taxes to Caesar?

13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. 14 They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn't we?" (Mark 12:13–15a)

The prophet Zechariah prophesied, "In one month I got rid of the three shepherds" (Zech. 11:8). Here, the three shepherds refer to the leadership groups of Israel — the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the teachers of the law. (Some say they refer to the prophet, priest, and king.) In Mark 12, each group came to test Jesus. Jesus answered their tests with truth and love, and silenced them (Mark 12:13–34; Matt. 22:15–40).

"No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions" (Matt. 22:46).

First, the Pharisees joined forces with the Herodians and came to test Jesus. They began with clever, flattering words dripping with sarcasm, then raised the most sensitive issue of all time — taxes. At that time, Israel was a Roman colony and had no choice but to bear various taxes. To them, this was humiliating and shameful. As God's chosen people who had lost their national sovereignty, paying taxes to Gentiles was difficult to accept.

A Nation Fallen into Idolatry

So how did God's chosen people Israel fall into such a miserable state? After the death of Joshua, the period of the Judges saw Israel sink into the pit of idolatry. The kingdom of David united north and south as one and dominated neighboring enemy nations. But after the death of his son Solomon, the kingdom was divided into north and south. About 200 years later, the northern kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Assyria (722 BC), and less than 40 years after that, even the southern kingdom of Judah was destroyed by Babylon (586 BC).

After 70 years of Babylonian captivity, a small remnant returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the walls and the temple. But there was never again a king in the land of Judah, and it became a vassal state caught between the surrounding powers of Persia, Greece, and Rome.

In the first century, at the time of Jesus, the Roman Empire was the dominant power along the Mediterranean coast, and the land of Judea was under the Emperor's rule.

As in the parable of the tenants, God did not abandon his rebellious and wayward people but continued in love to send prophets, desiring them to repent, turn back, and bear good fruit (Mark 12:1–12). But they beat, rejected, imprisoned, and even killed the prophets God sent. They refused to hear God's word and continued on the path of rebellion, corruption, and idolatry.

"He replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too'" (1 Kings 19:10).

Taxes

Taxes are universal — across all times and all nations. Failing to pay unwelcome taxes leads to serious consequences. Everything carries a tax, and income from real estate or personal property is taxed as well. There is no place on earth free from taxes. If you want to be free from taxes, you would have to leave the planet. Fail to pay taxes, and even if you own a home, you lose ownership of it.

Why must we pay taxes? There is a saying that government is a necessary evil. However, all authority comes from God. From the federal government down to local government, all power and authority is given from above (Rom. 13:1). Every citizen must submit to the governing authorities. Governments levy taxes to maintain order and peace and to serve the public good. It is the duty of every citizen to submit to the governing authority (Rom. 13:5).

6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. (Rom. 13:6–7)

Therefore, paying taxes is submitting to God's authority. Even if a government is so corrupt or dictatorial as to deserve condemnation, we must still submit to its authority. This is because God, who is just, will clearly vindicate all things. God judges each person according to what they have done and knows exactly who did what. So no one can mock or deceive God (Gal. 6:7).

God knows all things and sees all things. The eyes of God are like blazing fire (Rev. 1:14; 2:18; 19:12). Therefore, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Prov. 9:10). Those who fear God believe that he is alive right now, sovereign over all creation according to his will and purpose. They believe that God reigns in heaven with awesome power, might, and glory. So those who fear the Lord obey his word.

We Must Obey God

One example of not submitting to governing authority appears in Acts. Obedience to God's command cannot be stopped. After Jesus rose and ascended, the disciples taught and proclaimed the way of God in Jerusalem. On the day of Pentecost alone, three thousand Jews heard Peter's sermon and believed in Jesus as the Christ (Acts 2:41). And the number of believers grew daily (Acts 4:4).

Then the Jewish religious leaders who had crucified Jesus began to persecute the disciples. They seized the disciples and put them in jail (Acts 4:1–3). The religious leaders demanded to know by what power and in whose name the disciples were doing these things, and warned them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:7, 18). At that point, Peter and John turned the question back on them and asked them to judge for themselves what was right.

19 But Peter and John replied, "Which is right in God's eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19–20)

The Jews hated Rome and every great power that had occupied and oppressed them. Whenever possible, they wanted to resist and fight back. Naturally, they regarded being taxed as a disgrace. That is why they tested Jesus with the highly sensitive issue of taxes. They deliberately raised the question of taxes paid to Caesar in order to trap Jesus.

At this point, they should have examined why God's chosen people Israel had been seized in the grip of a great power like Rome and forced to serve as slaves. The answer is clearly shown throughout the book of Judges and the period of the monarchy. When they obeyed the Lord God and abandoned their idols, their enemies could not touch them. But when they abandoned the Lord God and chased after idols, their enemies rose up and swarmed over them like bees, oppressing them and making their lives miserable (Judg. 2:1–3).

Yet the Jews had forgotten even the lessons of history and still plotted all kinds of evil rather than practicing justice and righteousness. In the end, they schemed to kill the Son of God, testing him relentlessly to bring him down and destroy him. In doing so, they showed themselves to be children of Satan — doing the devil's evil work and hating what is good (John 8:44).

Nevertheless, God first sent John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ, to save Israel from their sins. John's father Zechariah did not believe the angel's announcement of John's birth and was struck mute (Luke 1:20). But just as God's word promised, his wife Elizabeth conceived and bore a son and named him John, and at that moment Zechariah's mouth was opened, and filled with the Holy Spirit he prophesied (Luke 1:67):

68 "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us — 72 to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us 75 to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days." (Luke 1:68–75)

He Knew Their Hypocrisy

But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose image is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. 17 Then Jesus said to them, "Give back to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed at him. (Mark 12:15b–17)

Jesus commanded submission to Caesar — the authority established by God in heaven — by paying taxes. This is submitting to God's authority. Furthermore, Jesus said to give to God what is God's. There is nothing that is not God's. Starting with life itself — every breath of air, our homes and families, society and nation, peace and order (despite partial disorder and chaos) — all of this comes from God in heaven.

Everyone comes into the world naked and departs naked (Job 1:21). We come from God and return to God (John 13:3). Our time on this earth is school time — a time of learning. We learn about truth, the way, and life. We learn about God's love, grace, and mercy. We learn where people come from and where they are going. We learn about God's justice and righteous judgment and reward. We learn how to love our neighbors.

We learn the meaning and purpose of suffering and pain. We learn the secret of God's rest and rule. We learn to discern truth from falsehood. We learn the secret of Christ's suffering, resurrection, and ascension. We learn the secret of the hope of heaven. We learn the secret of why we came from God and why we must return to God. In the midst of life's pain and hardship, we believe and learn that he will keep us and make us complete.

24 To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — 25 to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. (Jude 1:24–25)

Amen!

August 9, 2026

Buffalo Livingstone Church ©2026, David Lee Ministries ©2026 – All Rights Reserved.

Scripture quotes are from the NIV.

 

The Parable of the Tenants of the Vinyard (Mark 12:1-12)

 

The Parable of the Tenants of the Vinyard (Mark 12:1-12)

How is a person's life evaluated? It is fruit. Good fruit, righteous fruit, the fruit of heaven. It is the fruit of love, joy, and peace. It is the fruit of forgiveness and long patience. If we do not bear good fruit, we bear bad fruit. Hatred, complaints, anxiety, and worry are bad fruit.

In Mark 12:1-12, Jesus taught the message of repentance in response to God's earnest love through the parable of the tenants of the vineyard. God planted the vineyard so that it could bear good fruit and went away to a distant country. God comes to settle accounts with the tenants to see if they have borne good fruit. This is because God is the owner of the vineyard.

God Planted the Vineyard

Jesus then began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a pit for the winepress and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.” (Mark 12:1)

God chose Abraham and made him the source of blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). As He promised, God chose and called his descendants, making them a vineyard that bears the choicest good fruit. God planted a vineyard that could bear good fruit, put a wall around it, and built a winepress and a watchtower. Everything was fully provided. Then, He entrusted the vineyard to the tenants—namely, Israel—and went to a distant country.

"I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile ridge. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit." (Isaiah 5:1-2)

Bearing fruit is important. We must bear good fruit. Those who bear bad fruit face judgment. However, God first prepared all the environments so that they could bear good fruit. After eating the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, God first sought out Adam, who was hiding from His presence. And He promised to send the Christ among the offspring of the woman to crush Satan's power of sin and save them (Genesis 3:15). Likewise, God did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us so that we might reach salvation and store up the fruits of heaven (Romans 8:32).

Fruit refers to the fruit of the Spirit, and it is stored up in heaven. It is the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, and forgiveness (Galatians 5:22-23). Things on earth cannot become fruit because they exist for a moment and then vanish away. Jesus said that if you receive human recognition, praise, and glory in this world, there is no reward in heaven (Matthew 6:1-4). Whatever is done by faith has a reward in heaven, but things done otherwise have no reward.

The owner of the vineyard went far away to a distant country. This implies that it takes a considerable amount of time until the owner returns. That time refers to the period while we live on this earth, lifespan. God gave everyone an equal opportunity to bear good fruit. However, not everyone bears good fruit. Therefore, we must be careful not to bear bad fruit.

This is because the owner will surely return and settle accounts based on the fruit. Life never happens by accident and ends with death. After all deeds are finished, the day of God's righteous and fearful accounting arrives (Hebrews 9:27). This world is heading toward that day—the end, when everything is settled. The moment each person dies, they stand before the judgment seat of God to receive recompense according to what they have done (Romans 2:6). Therefore, we must always examine what kind of fruit we are bearing right now.

Sending Servants to Receive the Harvest

“At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants to collect from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him and sent him away empty-handed. Then he sent another servant to them; they struck this man on the head and treated him shamefully. He sent still another, and that one they killed. He sent many others; some of them they beat, others they killed.” (Mark 12:2-5)

The owner, who had journeyed far away to another country, wanted to conduct an accounting by sending a servant. Surprisingly, however, the tenants not only failed to welcome the servant and give him the produce, but they seized the servant, beat him severely, and sent him away empty-handed. Although the owner should have rightly punished them, he sent another servant, and still another. Yet astonishingly, the tenants consistently rejected, insulted, killed, and persecuted the owner's servants.

God sent prophets like Moses and Elijah and gave His word. He sent many prophets such as Jonah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Micah, Haggai, and Malachi, letting them hear the word of God. The prophets took the words of God's truth and delivered them to kings, officials, priests, and elders. However, they hated listening to the prophets' words, beat them, imprisoned them, and even killed them.

They wanted to hear only words that sounded pleasing to their ears. They wanted to hear favorable things, but hated prophesying disasters (1 Kings 22:8). They hated hearing God's words rebuking sin and telling them to turn back. Following their own wills and desires, they acted according to their own pleasure and regarded God's word as interference. They abandoned God's love, chased after worthless idols, distancing themselves far away from God. This way, they treated God's prophets recklessly.

“Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.” (Hebrews 11:36-40)

They had not the slightest gratitude or feeling of recompense toward the owner's grace. They now considered the vineyard their own because of their sweat and labor. They were shamelessly ungrateful and lacking in appreciation. Despite this, the owner continued to send servants. This was because he wanted them to turn their hearts, respect the owner, and offer the proper produce.

This is the heart of God the Father. God wants no one to perish, but everyone to come to eternal salvation (2 Peter 3:9). Therefore, God did not instantly judge the ungrateful tenants, but sent other servants. When the criminal crucified alongside Jesus asked the Lord to remember him when He came into His kingdom, God even bestowed the grace of salvation upon him (Luke 23:42). God's love offers the gift of eternal life to anyone who turns back, comes to the Lord, and receives His mercy (John 3:16).

Sending the Son He Loved

“He had one left to send, a son, whom he loved. He sent him last of all, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they took him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.” (Mark 12:6-8)

The owner finally sent his beloved son. He expected that the tenants would respect the son because he was the owner's son and offer the produce. Instead, believing that the son was the heir and that killing him would make the vineyard theirs, the tenants killed him and threw him outside. They trampled the owner's final expectation and hope underfoot. They completely failed to comprehend the owner's loving heart.

The tenants deeply misunderstood. They lost the fundamental reason and purpose for which they were allowed to work in the vineyard. In fact, our life, property, health, and the joys of life come from our heavenly Father. A person comes naked from the womb and departs as naked as they came; the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away (Job 1:21). We own nothing. From the air we breathe to all kinds of vegetables, grains, and fruits, they grow and are harvested because God causes the sun and rain to come down from heaven.

For a person who does not know their place and try to take everything is what Satan the devil does. Forgetting his status as a created being, Satan rebelled, wanting to exalt himself above God (Isaiah 14:13). God cursed Satan, who disobeyed with an impure heart, and a day of judgment is prepared for him (Revelation 20:10). Likewise, woe to anyone who does not respect God and tries to make themselves the master.

God did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up as a sacrificial offering on the cross. This is so that believers may gain eternal life through the blood of Jesus Christ. God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). This was accomplished according to God's eternal purpose formulated before the ages. To save people trapped in darkness under the shackles of the devil, the ruler of the kingdom of the air, He sent His one and only Son.

God's love is painful and patient. It is to save people who have become like the blind—trapped in ignorance and misunderstanding, unable to see ahead—so that they may gain eternal life. God is like the father who goes out to the edge of the village to wait for the return of his son, who left home, squandered all his wealth, and reached a tragic state of trying to fill his stomach with the pods the pigs ate (Luke 15:20). However, if anyone hears God's word, responds, repents, and turns back, He opens the gates of heaven and pours out eternal life.

What Will the Owner of the Vineyard Do?

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. Haven’t you read this passage of Scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” Then the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders looked for a way to arrest him because they knew he had spoken the parable against them. But they were afraid of the crowd; so they left him and went away. (Mark 12:9-12)

Woe to those who do not know God's love, stubbornly resist to the end, and go their own way. However, Jesus was rejected by His own people, condemned to a death sentence, and lifted high on a cross. God raised His Son—whom people rejected as completely useless—from the dead, making Him Lord and King of kings over all (Philippians 2:9-11).

This is truly marvelous. Stubborn people want to achieve their own will, but in the end, everything is accomplished according to God's will. God is love. Earnestly desiring that people enter into His holy love, He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up. There is no sin or transgression that falls outside of God's love. However, if someone persistently refuses to accept the Lord's holy love, the corresponding woe will befall them.

When and how do we bear fruit? It is a process that takes a lifetime. Yet, at the same time, we bear fruit right now and continue to bear it. This is the ongoing growth process in God toward attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. To bear fruit, a branch cannot bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine (John 15:4). For a branch to remain in the vine, it must be cleansed by the Lord's word (John 15:3). Because we have been cleansed by Christ's blood, we remain in Him, and the Lord makes His home in us (John 15:5). Remaining in Christ is the way to bear much fruit. Remaining in the Lord means following the path that the Lord walked, the way of the cross!

Amen!

August 2, 2026

Buffalo Livingstone Church ©2026, David Lee Ministries ©2026 – All Rights Reserved.

Scripture quotes are from the NIV.

 

John's Baptism: From Heaven or From Men? (Mark 11:27-33)

 

John's Baptism: From Heaven or From Men? (Mark 11:27-33)

We are under authority and power. From the laws of nature like gravity, we are under the authority and power of government like paying taxes. There are also the authorities of norms and rules in both families and society. Anyone who fails to keep them can go to prison.

In Mark 11:27-33, Jesus taught by what authority He cleansed the temple. Hardened people hear the word of truth but neither respond nor obey. However, those who open their hearts, respond, and obey continually discern the truth and abundantly store up heavenly treasures. They are truly blessed.

By What Authority Are You Doing These Things?

27 They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. 28 "By what authority are you doing these things?" they asked. "And who gave you authority to do this?" (Mark 11:27-28)

When Jesus cleansed the temple, the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders challenged Him, asking by what authority He was doing these things and who gave Him the authority to do them. In their eyes, Jesus possessed no authority whatsoever. He had received no formal education in any rabbinic school. They failed to recognize Jesus, who came as the Son of God, and instead regarded Him merely as a lawbreaker who violated Sabbath laws.

To them, the temple and sacrifices were of paramount importance and precious because they involved keeping the Law and regulations of Moses. Therefore, it was unthinkable for Jesus to drive out those selling things in the temple—a place they held sacred—and to prohibit people from carrying goods through the temple courts. They had plotted to kill Jesus for some time, and now they gnashed their teeth, declaring they could delay no longer. They considered Jesus to have blasphemed God's holy temple.

Authority is the power and means by which order and peace are maintained in this world. Students submit to the authority of a school teacher. In the military, subordinates obey the commands of their superiors. Citizens submit to the authority of the government. People obey the regulations specified in traffic laws. Children submit to the authority of their parents. Various rules are observed when using public facilities. Even when playing music, musicians follow the authority of the musical score.

However, authorities are not only visible; there are also invisible authorities. The orderly operation of the universe is due to submission to the strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, electromagnetic force, and gravity. That all creation stands just as it is is because the Creator God, who existed before all things, holds together all that He has made (Colossians 1:17).

Furthermore, the devil holds the dominion of the air (Ephesians 2:2). The dominion of the air refers to the dark dominion of sin and death. The devil has been a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is the principal instigator of evil, disobeying, resisting, and rebelling against God's authority and power. Not obeying God is sin. Satan plunged humanity into sin, took them captive under the power of death, and made them slaves.

All Authority Is Given by God

Then where do authority and power come from? They come from heaven (Romans 13:1). God created not only the universe, but also rulers, authorities, and powers. God is a God of justice, order, and peace. He created all authority and power to govern the universe He made in an orderly manner.

The universe submits to the glory and power of God without a fraction of an error. The sun, the moon, and the solar system move according to the laws ordained by God. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and the earth rotates at an unimaginable speed (1,038 mph) and revolves around the sun (66,667 mph). The moon stabilizes the earth's axis of tilt at 23.5 degrees to maintain the four seasons and climate; the moon's gravity causes tides and acts as a brake on the earth's rotation, maintaining the rotational speed so that a day is 24 hours.

The world of plants and animals also submits to the glory and power of God. Plants act as producers that create organic matter through photosynthesis, while animals act as consumers that eat these plants or other animals, maintaining the ecosystem's food chain. The excrement and carcasses of plants and animals are returned to the soil by decomposers in nature, circulating nutrients. Plants absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Forests retain rainwater to regulate floods and prevent soil erosion.

Yet, among all creation, humans do not know the power and glory of God and do not submit to it (Genesis 6:5). The descendants of Abraham, the people chosen by God, were no exception. They witnessed God's power and glory at Mount Sinai, experienced the presence of the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire, saw the walls of Jericho collapse, and saw the sun and moon stand still in the middle of the sky and not go down for almost a whole day so that they could defeat their enemies (Joshua 10:12-13).

Nevertheless, in the promised land given by God, they worshipped the detestable idols Baal and Molech. For His rebellious and defiant people, God sent prophets again and again. Through the prophets, God pleaded with them to return to the LORD Almighty. They refused to listen to the words of the prophets, hated them, beat them, imprisoned them, and killed them (Hebrews 11:36-38). They refused to hear the word of God and acted according to their own thoughts and stubbornness.

The priests, teachers of the law, and elders saw the power, glory, and good works of God performed by Jesus, yet they could not open the eyes of their darkened hearts (Isaiah 6:9-10). Instead, frantic to kill Jesus, they watched for an opportunity. They cast aside even the love with which Jesus cleanly cleansed the temple and made it holy. The Creator God continually extended His hands in love and wanted them to turn and repent (Romans 10:21). However, they hardened their hearts and ultimately handed over the Son of God to be crucified and killed.

John's Baptism

29 Jesus replied, "I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. 30 John's baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me." (Mark 11:29-30)

John the Baptist was a prophet of God who appeared after breaking a long silence of four hundred years following the prophet Malachi. He preached a baptism of repentance in the wilderness in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). He wore clothing made of camel's hair, had a leather belt around his waist, and ate locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4). People who were thirsty for the word of God heard his thunderous, powerful message of repentance and responded. People from all over the region came out to John and were baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins (Matthew 3:5).

Therefore, many people, including religious leaders, wondered if he might be the Christ sent by God (Luke 3:15; John 1:20). When John the Baptist declared that he was not the Christ, they wondered if he was Elijah or the Prophet (John 1:21; Deuteronomy 18:15). The appearance of John the Baptist caused a great reaction in the land of Judea and Galilee in the first century. As a forerunner preparing the way for the coming of God's Christ, he was prophesied long ago by the prophet Isaiah:

3 A voice of one calling in the wilderness, "Prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." (Isaiah 40:3-5)

Jesus had no sin and therefore no need to be baptized, but He came as the Son of Man, went out to John the Baptist, and was baptized. When John saw Jesus coming toward him, he cried out, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). The Lamb of God refers to the Passover sacrifice. John spoke beforehand that Jesus would be sacrificed as the Lamb of God.

Through John the Baptist, God broke the long silence and prepared the way for the coming of the promised Messiah prophesied by the law and the prophets. Furthermore, God revealed beforehand what kind of death the coming Messiah would suffer (Isaiah 53). Jesus came as the Passover sacrificial offering prepared by God before the creation of the world. The Passover is a festival commemorating the day when the angel of death passed over houses that had the blood of a lamb or goat painted on the doorframes during the tenth plague that God brought upon the land of Egypt, the plague of the firstborn (Exodus 12:23). The blood of animals is a shadow of the blood of Christ who was to come.

"We Don't Know"

31 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Then why didn't you believe him?' 32 But if we say, 'Of human origin'..." (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.) 33 So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." (Mark 11:31-33)

The religious leaders fell into a difficult predicament where they could do neither one nor the other. They had challenged the authority of Jesus, who had cleansed the temple. However, upon receiving Jesus' question about the origin of John's authority, they were flustered and rendered powerless. They were reduced to a state where, fearing the critical glares of the people, they could not speak the words they wanted to say. Hardened in their stance, they wanted to answer that John was of human origin. The reason was that he did not follow the regulations and traditions of the elders.

They were like old, worn-out wineskins (Matthew 9:16). If anything did not align with their traditional regulations and teachings, they condemned and excommunicated it. Not only did they reject the ministry of John the Baptist, but from the very beginning they were hostile toward Jesus, denied Him, and sought to kill Him. They had no heart to rethink their own yardsticks and standards. Ultimately, they fell into the grave error of failing to recognize the Son of God.

The ministry of John the Baptist and the teachings of Jesus are like new wine that must be put into new wineskins (Matthew 9:17). How does one discern between the new and the old? It is the word of God. The word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). This word comes right after the instruction to make every effort to enter that rest (Hebrews 4:11).

Entering rest does not mean doing no work at all. The word "rest" can sound like doing nothing, leading to confusion over what work is and what rest is. In fact, doing nothing induces anxiety. Being busy and having work to do can actually reduce anxiety. Therefore, one must accurately discern what rest is.

Consequently, as Hebrews 4:12 states, we must measure everything by the yardstick of the living and active word of God. In this regard, it is vital to properly understand, see, and realize the word of God. It is always necessary, especially regarding the knowledge and thoughts we possess, to measure them against the standard of the word. The word of God is sharp and lacks nothing in its ability to properly distinguish soul and spirit, joints and marrow.

The new wineskin is a soft heart and good soil that receives the word (Matthew 13:8). It is a heart that does not rebel against new teachings, but accepts them in the heart, realizes them, and obeys. Not responding after hearing the word means the soil is not good. Good soil continues to bear fruit, yielding a crop thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown. It stores up invisible heavenly treasures of love, joy, peace, and patience.

Jesus did not directly state by what authority He was doing these things, but He taught so that they lacked no understanding. Jesus' authority did not come from man, but from God the Father in heaven. God is a God of truth and justice. He always proclaims the truth and acts with justice. Now, the responsibility lies with the heart upon which the word of truth has fallen. To those who repent with a soft heart, He grants eternal life; to those who stubbornly reject Him, He inflicts eternal punishment.

Amen!

July 26, 2026

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Scripture quotes are from the NIV.