The Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28–34)

 

The Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28–34)

What is supreme in life? The law. Because every person lives under the law. Fail to keep the law and consequences follow. There are written laws that set out various statutes and rules, and unwritten laws such as customs and traditions. There is also the law of conscience. The universe itself moves according to laws. All the authority and power behind these laws comes from God. Everything moves according to what God has established and purposed.

In Mark 12:28–34, Jesus taught a scribe the greatest of all commandments. It is to love the Lord God, the sovereign of all creation, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. This is because God first loved us who had fallen into sin to the point of sacrificing his own Son. God is always love.

Which Commandment Is the First?

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" (Mark 12:28)

The scribes were scholars who studied the law and copied the Scriptures. The law governing Jewish society was the law of Moses. Even today, when the Sabbath comes, the streets of Jerusalem fall silent, with no cars passing through. This is why preserving and interpreting the law was a matter of supreme importance, and the scribes formed one of the pillars of the religious groups that dominated society.

One of the scribes had been listening to the Pharisees and Sadducees come and test and debate with Jesus. This man was moved by Jesus' words. As a scholar who studied and explored the law, he asked out of genuine curiosity which commandment was the first of all.

God's commandments include the Ten Commandments and a total of 613 laws, broadly divided into moral law, civil law, and ceremonial law. It is no easy task to determine which commandment among so many stands above the rest. In truth, not a single commandment is unimportant. This is because every commandment is a word of God's truth (Matt. 5:18).

God's commandments are like a mirror that reflects his character. God's word is the authority and power that shines light on and gives understanding of the power and glory of his invisible kingdom (Rom. 2:19). His commandments are the words of truth that reveal who he is and what people are. God's commandments govern human life. For those who do not have the law, the law of conscience written on their hearts governs them (Rom. 2:14–15). Murder, for example, is a crime and subject to condemnation everywhere in the world.

"All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law." (Rom. 2:12)

God's law — if not kept — means certain death. So then, how is the law kept? By the law of faith. Keeping the law means keeping every single provision without exception, always. The problem is that no one can keep it, so every person stands under condemnation (Gal. 3:10–12; 5:3–4; Rom. 3:20). Therefore, no one can be made righteous by the law. The way to be justified before God is faith in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Then why did God give a law that cannot be kept? That is precisely the point. It was given to teach the truth that people cannot keep God's holy law and commandments by their own strength, effort, or willpower — that is, to bring awareness of sin. This is because sin through Adam's fall caused people to become corrupt and broke the loving relationship with God. To teach this truth, God gave the law, which is like a mirror. This is how to use the law properly.

“We know that the law is good if one uses it properly (legitimately).” (1 Tim. 1:8)

"The law brings wrath, and where there is no law there is no transgression" (Rom. 4:15). One might then think: if there is no law, there is no sin. That is not so. Sin existed before the law came, but the law came so that the trespass might increase (Rom. 5:13; 7:13). Before the law came, sin was not reckoned as sin — and that itself is lawlessness and sin (1 John 3:4).

Every person, including Jews, cannot fully keep God's law (Rom. 3:10). So God sent his Son Jesus Christ, who had no sin, to take away our sins (1 John 3:5). To save us who were spiritually dead because of sin, Christ willingly gave his body completely. God sees the blood of his Son, blots out the sins of those who believe, and pours out eternal life on them (1 John 1:7; Isa. 43:25; 44:22).

Therefore, in Christ a way has now been opened to fully keep God's holy law. That way is faith in Christ Jesus who shed his blood and died on the cross. The blood of Jesus is the power and authority to forgive the faults and sins we could not keep. Believing this truth and confessing and acknowledging our helpless weakness is the beginning of entering the path of fully keeping the law — from beginning to end, depending on the grace of Christ's blood. When the first man Adam and the woman confessed that they had eaten the fruit of that tree, God clothed them with garments of skin (Gen. 3:21).

Love God and Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

29 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:29–31)

Jesus said first, love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and second, love your neighbor as yourself. This is the greatest commandment, and there is none greater than these. Yet God first loved this world and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10). Therefore, in response to that love shown first to us, it is only right that we love God and love one another (1 John 4:11).

God's love is not something spoken only with the lips — it is a love that hurts. God loved us, who had fallen into sin and had no choice but to face destruction, to the point of not sparing his one and only Son but handing him over to the cross in the most brutal manner (Rom. 5:8). God's love is a love that sacrificed his one and only Son. Because there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood, God turned his Son away without mercy (Heb. 9:22; Isa. 53:10).

"Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand." (Isa. 53:10)

How do we love God? By responding to his love — believing and obeying his word. The proof of loving God is obedience to his word. To not keep and obey his commandments is to not be in God's love and to not know his love.

"This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome." (1 John 5:2–3)

We are also to love our neighbor as ourselves. Yet that love does not come from us — it comes from God. Love belongs to God (1 John 4:7). Whoever knows God loves their neighbor with his love. But whoever does not love does not know God (1 John 4:8).

What kind of love is God's love? God's love is giving, giving, and giving. It is a sacrificial love that did not spare his one and only Son but gave him up for sinners. God's love is a love of painful sacrifice that includes terrible death. It is not emotional love. It is a love that endures shame, mockery, and rejection. It is a holy love that includes the atoning death that blots out sin. It is an unconditional love. Not because we recognized our sin and asked for forgiveness, but he loved us while we were still sinners.

Therefore, loving our neighbor also means extending God's love — a love that includes pain and sacrifice. It is a love that involves self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering. It is a love that endures shame and insult. It is a love in which self dies and disappears. It is a love that yields and accepts loss. At the Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus gave a new commandment.

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34–35)

Jesus' new commandment is to love one another as Christ has loved us. Jesus first did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage, but took on the form of a servant and was incarnate in human likeness. And Jesus carried the sins of this world and obeyed God the Father to the point of dying on the cross, shedding his blood (Phil. 2:6–8).

Giving up one's own life — that is God's love. We love our neighbor as ourselves with this love. We cannot do this by our own strength. Nor does this love come from us. This love is God's holy love and comes from him. This love is spiritual, holy, and eternal. By this love we have become God's children, and as God's children we live by this love.

You Are Not Far from the Kingdom of God

32 "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:32–34)

God desires obedience more than sacrifice (1 Sam. 15:22). David, after sinning, became aware of his sin, and in repentance said that God does not desire burnt offerings of animals but looks at the center of the heart. Indeed. God looks to see whether a person repents from the very center of their heart and turns back to the Lord. God does not judge people by outward appearance but looks at the thoughts and motives of the heart.

"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." (Ps. 51:16–17)

Loving God and loving one's neighbor as oneself is the greatest commandment. It is right that we love one another as this commandment says. That is why Jesus told the scribe who had answered wisely that he was not far from the kingdom of God. This means that since he now knew what God's greatest commandment was, what must follow is acting accordingly. To understand and know God's word yet not obey it is like a house built on sand.

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." (Matt. 7:24–27)

Amen!

August 28, 2026

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

Scripture quotes are from the NIV.

 

The God of the Living (Mark 12:18–27)

 

The God of the Living (Mark 12:18–27)

Resurrection is supernatural to people. Yet resurrection is a historical fact, supported by countless pieces of evidence and witnesses. The Sadducees came and threw a bizarre question at Jesus. They did not believe in the resurrection. Their motto for life was, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die" (1 Cor. 15:32). If there is no resurrection, our faith is also futile and we are still in our sins (1 Cor. 15:17).

In Mark 12:18–27, Jesus rebuked the Sadducees, saying they knew neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. In heaven there is no marrying or giving in marriage. Marriage on this earth was instituted to teach us the secret of loving one another with the love of Christ. The reason we are able to love our neighbors with his love is that we have been clothed with the power of the resurrection.

The Sadducees, Who Say There Is No Resurrection, Come Forward

18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, and he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?" (Mark 12:18–23)

The Pharisees had come to Jesus and tested him with the question of taxes. But they could no longer ask him anything in the face of his words of truth. They withdrew, and now the Sadducees appeared. They were the central power holding religious authority at the time. Many among them were priests. The temple was the center of religion and culture in those days, and the Sadducees held what might be called temple power, taking charge of the temple's operation and leading its sacrifices.

While the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, the Sadducees did not (Acts 23:6–8). They tested Jesus on the subject of the resurrection, raising an example of how much confusion might arise if the resurrection were real. This concerned the levirate marriage law — also called brother-in-law marriage — whereby if a brother died, his younger brother was to take the widow as his wife, father a son, and continue the family line. This custom was widespread throughout the ancient Near East, including ancient Assyria, the Hittites, and Canaan.

The form of this institution in the Bible can be found in the account of Judah and Tamar (Gen. 38). It was later codified through the law of Moses (Deut. 25:5–10). Also, when Ruth the Moabite woman, widowed, came to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi, Boaz — who was in the position of a kinsman-redeemer — took Ruth as his wife, and through this the royal line of King David continued (Ruth 4:18–22).

The Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, came forward with a question beyond imagination, showing how confused and absurd things would become if resurrection were real. Seven brothers had each married the oldest brother's widow, and every one of them died without leaving an heir — so they asked whose wife she would be after the resurrection. Their invented question reveals how dark and hopeless the minds of those who do not believe in the resurrection truly are. It is nothing but death and despair.

Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life

When Lazarus, the brother of Martha, had died and been laid in the tomb, Jesus declared to Martha that he is the resurrection and the life (John 11:25–26). He declared that whoever believes in him will live, even though they die, and that whoever lives by believing in him will never die. It is appointed for people to die once (Heb. 9:27). But death is not the end of everything. It is by no means a return to nothingness after death.

Mankind was created as eternal beings who are fundamentally without death. However, when Eve and Adam ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which God had forbidden, in the Garden of Eden, they came to face death (Gen. 2:17). Here, death means being cut off from the loving relationship with God and placed under a curse. Adam did not physically stop breathing immediately, but having fallen under sin, he hid from the face of God (Gen. 3:10). This is the picture of a loving relationship with God being destroyed.

God came first to the person who had fallen into sin through the deception of the devil (Gen. 3:9). When Adam acknowledged before God that he had eaten the fruit of the tree that the Lord had forbidden, God clothed him with garments of skin (Gen. 3:21). Clothing him with garments of skin carries the meaning of an animal's sacrifice. The sacrifice of an animal is the core of the sacrificial system later established through Moses. Without blood, no one can come before the Lord God. Ultimately, the blood of animals is the shadow of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who was to come (Heb. 9:22). Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The Death of Jesus Is the Path to Resurrection

God sent his one and only Son into this world in the likeness of a human being to save Adam who had fallen into sin. This was to bring back to life those who had died because of sin. It was to restore the destroyed relationship of love and grace with God. But there is only one way and no other. That is for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to take upon himself the sins of this world and die, just as he had predetermined before the ages.

"In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered" (Heb. 2:10).

What was that suffering? It was not merely pain, but the terrible suffering of a bloody death. Why did God's Christ have to endure such great and unbearable suffering? He is the Creator God, holy, honorable, and dwelling in glory and power. The reason is one and one alone — to rescue this world from sin and death and lead it into eternal life. There is absolutely no other way apart from the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Yet Jesus' death did not end in death. By the resurrection power of God, on the third day he rose again from among the dead, breaking the power of death. The reason Jesus became a suffering servant was, after paying the full penalty for sin, to lead those who believe in the Lord into the embrace of God's glory. He endured the atoning suffering that redeems by his blood those who are in Adam — who had no choice but to die because of sin and face eternal judgment — and leads them into the glory of the resurrection.

3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:3–7)

You Do Not Know the Scriptures or the Power of God

24 Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." (Mark 12:24–25)

Jesus rebuked the Sadducees — who prided themselves as authorities on the law — saying they knew neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. This is like telling the founder of Burger King that he does not know hamburgers. But it was true. The Sadducees were religious leaders who formed the priestly group; they rejected the oral law (tradition) of the Pharisees and recognized the authority of the written law, the Pentateuch of Moses. On the grounds that there was no evidence of resurrection in the Pentateuch, they did not believe in the resurrection.

They misunderstood what heaven would be like after death. They thought of heaven as an extension of life on this earth. That is why they asked such a question. Heaven is veiled in mystery, but God enlightens those who desire to know by faith. Jesus made clear that in heaven there is no marriage and people are like the angels. Angels are God's created beings who receive the commands of the Lord and carry them out accordingly. Angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14).

"In speaking of the angels he says, 'He makes his angels spirits, and his servants flames of fire.'" (Heb. 1:7; Ps. 104:4)

Our present bodies are made suited for life on this earth, but we will one day be clothed with bodies belonging to heaven (2 Cor. 5:1). Our bodies were made from dust and to dust they return (Gen. 3:19). Our present bodies are limited by space and time and decline according to the second law of thermodynamics. But when this earthly body collapses (dies), we will be clothed with the body God has made — the eternal body in heaven. This is the resurrection body. Like the risen Jesus, it is no longer constrained by space and time.

The Resurrection Body

Paul rebuked as foolish the question of how the dead are raised and what kind of body they will come with (1 Cor. 15:35–36). Hidden within all of nature is evidence of resurrection. What is sown does not come to life unless it dies, and what is sown is not the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else; but God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body (1 Cor. 15:36–38). Not all flesh is the same: people have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another, and fish another (15:39). There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies, but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another (15:40).

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15:42–44)

49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man. 50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. (1 Cor. 15:49–51)

I Am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob

26 "Now about the dead rising — have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!" (Mark 12:26–27)

Jesus exposed the Sadducees' ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God by quoting the words given to Moses in Exodus 3 — to the very people who regarded the Pentateuch as their supreme scripture. When God told Moses that he is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, he spoke entirely in the present tense. God is not the God of dead ancestors — he is the God of the living right now.

People were created as eternal beings from the very beginning. Because of sin in Adam, it is appointed for people to die once (Heb. 9:27). But death is not the end — everyone rises again. However, those who believe in Christ the Son of God are raised to eternal life, while those who do not believe are raised to face eternal judgment (John 5:28–29; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11–15).

God is not ashamed to be called the God of those who believe, and he has prepared a city — heaven — for them (Heb. 11:16). But whoever is ashamed of the Lord and his words, the Lord will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory (Luke 9:26). Life on this earth is not everything. God judges each person in justice and truth according to what they have done on this earth (Rom. 2:6).

Amen!

August 16, 2026
Buffalo Livingstone Church ©2026, David Lee Ministries ©2026 – All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from the NIV.

 

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

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Scripture quotes are from the NIV.