Join us as we explore the pivotal moments when Jesus confronted traps set by various sects, including Pharisees and Sadducees, all eager to undermine him. Sharon Knotts provides adept commentary on the remarkable ways Jesus responded, insightful reflections on the symbolic acts like cleansing the temple, and the multi-layered meaning of giving back what belongs. Dive into the day’s events to uncover the truth about spiritual authority, rightful ownership, and the unwavering trust in God’s power.
Greetings, friends and new listeners. Welcome to our program. I’m Sharon Knotts, thanking you for joining us today because we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. I’m excited to share this message with you. Render, give it back. You know, I absolutely love the way Jesus spoke with such authority and power and grace, but also how cleverly He was able to make His antagonist The Pharisees and the Sadducees and others put their feet in their own mouths every time they conspired to trap him in his words. And one particular day was unusually amusing, especially when money and paying taxes was the subject in Render, Give It Back. Oh, there’s nothing like the presence of the Lord. Amen. Because in God’s presence, there is wholeness. There is healing for every part of your life, regardless of what need you may bring here this morning. And some of you may have heavy needs and burdens that you bring. In God’s presence, there is healing and deliverance. Amen? We just want to exalt Jesus in all that we say and do, and not just the songs we sing, but everything to exalt Jesus. Because no one, not one person, not your favorite minister that you love of everybody else, no matter how charismatic, no matter how personable they are, no matter how eloquent they are, there’s no one that can set the bound free. No one can bring deliverance but Jesus. Only Jesus. Everybody else, all we are are his representatives. But we have got to point to Jesus. Amen. He must be exalted. And that goes for everyone. Not just those behind the pulpit, but those in the pews. It’s all about glorifying Christ. Amen? Before we go into scripture this morning, I just want to have a quick little quiz here. And I think it’s going to be easy. I don’t think you’ll fail or anything like that. I think you’ll pass with flying colors. But we’ll just… I just want to throw this out there in the beginning because as we get into the meat of the message, you will see why I wanted you to think about this. How many of you know the faces, and don’t go now pulling out your pocketbook, your wallet, your purse, or your smartphones. How many know the faces that are on our American money? We’ll start off real easy. Who knows whose face is on the coins, beginning with the coins, of the penny? Abraham Lincoln. How many agree? Abraham Lincoln. Okay. Whose face is on the nickel? The nickel. I hear Washington and Jefferson. How many think it’s Washington? How many think it’s Thomas Jefferson? Okay, give yourselves a clap offering. It’s Thomas Jefferson. All right, now, you should know this one now, okay? Even just by process of elimination, we should not get this one wrong. Whose face is inscribed on our quarter? George Washington. Good. Okay. Now, I’m going to back up. Whose face, nobody looking, is inscribed on our dime? Franklin Roosevelt. Thank you, Sister Charlotte. Who knows whose face is inscribed on the half dollar? Very good. John F. Kennedy. John F. Kennedy. And who knows whose face is inscribed on the silver dollar? No. Susan B. Anthony. Who said that? Okay, very good. All right. There is also a golden dollar. Whose face is on the golden dollar? Sacagawea. How many knew that? Somebody said, Sacajahua? Sacagawea. How many remember her? You’ve got to go way back in your probably elementary school. You remember she was the Indian squall, wasn’t it, that married John Smith? Oh, well, we’re not having a history lesson, no? Oh, that’s Hiawatha. Who was Sacagawea? Okay, she was an Indian guide to guide the people that were mapping out the West. Okay. Very, very good. Does anybody here have any Sacagaweas in your pocket? Anybody got any Susan B. Anthony’s in your pocket? Does anybody have any John F. Kennedy’s in your pocket? I’m not asking any. Oh, you do? You have a John F. Kennedy 50 cent piece? All right. So, would you like to sell that for a dollar? No? She don’t want to sell for a dollar. Let’s see how much money I got. You want to sell it for $2? All right. Time’s up. She hesitated. Okay. I’m not buying quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies. Okay. All right. Now we’re going to get to our paper money. Who’s on the $1 bill? Everybody. Everybody. Okay, who’s on the $5 bill? Okay, who’s on the $10 bill? Alexander Hamilton, very good. Who’s on the $20 bill? No, not Thomas Jefferson. Jackson, Andrew Jackson. Who’s on the $100 bill? Benjamin Franklin. Now, the following bills are retired, so you may not have seen one. Anybody know who’s on the $500 bill? How about the $1,000 bill? How about the $5,000 bill? How about the $10,000 bill? And do you know that at one time there was actually a $100,000 bill? No. You know who was on it? Woodrow Wilson. He was a president. All right, who was on the $2 bill? Who? Anybody know who was on the $2 bill? Ah, I should have asked that one. Thomas Jefferson. Okay, so I want you to think about that. We put the faces of people that we honor on our money. We honor them, okay? That’s why we put them on there. But we put the name of the person we trust on the subscription in God we trust. We honor Abraham Lincoln. He’s worthy to be honored. We honor George Washington. He’s worthy of our honor. These are the founders of our nation, the framers of our Constitution, etc. But we trust in God. Amen? So today, I want to… We’re going to go into a story about money, but before we get into the story, I’d like to set it up. So turn in your Bibles to Matthew, the 21st chapter. Really, we’ll be talking about from, I should say, both Matthew 21 and 22. But in the interest of time, and so I don’t run out of time, I’ll paraphrase some of it. But we want to start off because to me, what we’re going to be reading in Matthew 21 and 22 is got to be one of the most significant days, in my opinion, in the life of the ministry of Jesus Christ. This day, I like to call the boomerang day. Wow. Because in this particular day, he was bombarded by about five or six different groups all on the same day with all kinds of suggestive, weighty questions that were not sincere at all in their motivation. They were questions put forth to try to trap Jesus in his words. And any time you try to trap the word of God, you better get ready to be embarrassed. Amen. Amen? So Matthew 21, we’re going to set it up because it’s important that we see why all these people came attacking him. And let’s read in verse 12. And Jesus went into the temple of God and cast out all of them that sold and bought in the temple and overthrew the tables of the money changers and the seats of them that sold doves. And also they sold other animals and said unto them, it is written, my house shall be called the house of prayer, but you’ve made it a den of thieves. And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple and And he healed them. And when the chief priest and scribe saw the wonderful things that he did… And that word wonderful things could also be interpreted miracles that he did. And the children were crying in the temple saying, Hosanna to the son of David… They were displeased. And that word displeased is way too mild. Okay? They were more than displeased, as you’re going to see. They were furious. And they said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus said unto them, Yea, have ye never read out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise? and he left them and went out of the city into Bethany, and he lodged there. So Jesus had come to the temple, and I want to tell you this. There are technically, there are two cleansings of the temple. You will read in the four gospels, and you have to look at all the facts, and you will see the timing and the facts show you that twice Jesus cleansed the temple. One was in the very beginning of his ministry right away. And the second one is the one we just read, which is at the end of his ministry. And I find that very interesting because before Jesus could begin really teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom in the temple, he went in there and got God’s house clean and straightened it up. And now here it’s three and a half years later and he’s got to do it again. Amen. And that shows you that from time to time the Holy Ghost will house clean. He will come through here and we will know it. The tables will be turned over. And there will be a moving and a shaking of the Holy Spirit because it’s necessary from time to time to have a major house cleaning. How many know that you clean your house and you straighten up all the time, but there are some times you overturn the tables. You move out and you vacuum stuff that’s been there for a long time that you don’t get every week. And you do a thorough cleaning. And so it was necessary three and a half years later because they had fallen right back into the same traits and things that they were doing. They were just right back into the same old thing. And he came through there and he cleaned it. And what I love is as soon as he got the house of God cleaned, what happened? Miracles started. You got to get the house of God clean to create an atmosphere. Of unity and of faith. And then the miracles can take place. Miracles can happen where there’s sin and defilement and disunity and such. So it was very important that he cleaned the temple. But it was not popular with the chief priests and the scribes and the Pharisees. And so they were really angry. Jesus left for the day. He went to Bethany, which is a short place away. It would be like going from here to, you know, to maybe Brooklyn, going over the line and going to Glen Burnie. And then… He slept there, and most of the time we know that he slept at the house of Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. Now, the next morning, he got up early to do what he did the day before and what he would continue to do as he went to the temple. Now, for the sake of time, I’ll paraphrase. On the way to the temple, he saw a barren fig tree. He was hungry. He had no breakfast. It’s called the barren fig tree, but when he saw it, it was loaded down with a lot of leaves. It looked beautiful and healthy, and they grew tall to like 25 to 30 feet, and their leaves are exceptionally big, very big leaves. That’s why Adam and Eve used them to cover themselves because they’re so huge. And so to see a tree with all those leaves, he would have expected that there would have been fruit on there. And I say that because with the fig tree, the fruit comes out before the leaves. Wow. The fruit comes out before the leaves. Therefore, if you see leaves, you expect to see fruit. But when he got there, there was no fruit, not even one fig. So he cursed it. Now, we are just following the mind of Jesus. Anything that doesn’t produce, that’s supposed to produce, is under a curse. Amen? So now he gets to the temple. And when he gets there in the morning at the temple… I want to tell you that those priests and chief scribes and high priests and Pharisees, I don’t think they had slept all night long. They were so furious that Jesus had cleansed the temple. Let’s take it up in verse 23. And when he was coming to the temple, the chief priest and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching. They interrupted him and listened to what they say. By what authority dost thou these things and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, well, I will also ask you one thing, which if you tell me, I will likewise will tell you what authority I do these things. By what authority? So the baptism of John, now Jesus is asking them a question. This is referring to John the Baptist. Whence was it? Was it from heaven or was it of men? And they reasoned within themselves saying, oh boy, now we’re really in a pickle here. If we say it’s from heaven, he’s going to say to us, why then didn’t you believe him? And if we say that it’s of men, we fear the people because we know the people hold John as a true prophet. And so what did they do? They said to Jesus, we cannot tell you. We can’t answer this question. And Jesus said, well, neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things. So now this is how the day is going to go. Did they give up? No, they didn’t give up. Amen? They thought that they would trap him. They thought they were being so skillful. And they came in and said, by what authority? And who gave you this authority? So we see that you have someone giving. and someone receiving. So we have God the Father giving and Jesus the Son receiving authority. Now, at the end of Matthew, Matthew 28, 18, Jesus does say, he says, all authority is given unto me. All authority in heaven and earth is given unto me. But he wasn’t going to tell them, amen? And so they were so angry at the fact that he had come in there and turned everything over saying, I mean, really, they should have known the answer. Because when Jesus came in there knocking everything down and chasing out all the money changers, he says, this is written, my father’s house is a house of prayer. So that was who gave him the authority, his father. Amen? But they missed it. Okay, so now we find that, I will paraphrase for a little while here, that after this occurred, that Jesus gave some parables. And in these parables, he referred to wicked servants. These were wicked servants. Now, these were people that worked for a rich landowner. And they decided that they wanted that inheritance of that land that they were working. So what did they do? They took and seized the son who would have inherited the land. They seized the son and they killed the son thinking, well, now we will get the land. Now, I just gave you a real quick paraphrase of what Jesus told them. But here’s what I want you to see. Let’s jump down to verse 45. Jesus having just went… took great lengths to bring out this parable. And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them. But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude because they took him for a prophet. So Jesus gave this parable and they were smart enough to figure out he’s talking about us. He’s talking about these wicked servants and they were trying to steal the property and finally they took the landowner’s son and killed him. They said, he is talking about us. But instead of them realizing what that meant, that they were wicked and they needed to get right with God, instead they wanted to kill Jesus for telling them the truth. Amen? And so they wanted to kill him, but the multitude, the ordinary folks… loved Jesus. And they were there to hear his words. And the Pharisees knew that they could not lay a hand on Jesus as long as he was surrounded by all these people that loved him so much. Okay? So here we have the mindset of what’s going on with them. Okay? Now, after that, Jesus began to give another parable. We’re now in Matthew 22. And now he talks about a rich man who who has a great big banquet, and he sends out formal written invitations for people to come to the banquet. And it’s the kind that you get when you’re going to go to a wedding reception or something, and you have to RSVP. that you’re coming or not coming, so they know how to plan. Now, in the parable, he sent out all the invitations, and they would have RSVP’d, but when it came time for the actual banquet to take place, they began to have excuses why they couldn’t come, and all of their excuses were weak. and lame, and they were not credible excuses. So then he said, I am going to have people at my banquet. I’m not going to have this banquet with a bunch of empty tables. Go out into the highways and the streets, find the lame and the poor and the blind, and bring them in. And let them sit at the table that these others stuck their nose up and they don’t want. Bring them in that they can be there. Amen? And so when he gave this parable, and he said, but those who, the other ones that would have come to his wedding, that they’re not worthy. They’re not worthy now. And he said, you know, they’re going to be destroyed. Open it up to those who want to come. Well, again, those Pharisees and scribes and all those guys, they knew exactly what he was talking about and who he was speaking of. And they realized that once again he’s talking about them. And they were infuriated. And here’s what happened. They were so infuriated and they were so bent on going after Jesus and they just had already failed in their first question that they decided we need more help. And I find this to me, I just think this is funny. I just find it so humorous that the Pharisees went and got the Sadducees. Now you say, okay, why? Well, the Pharisees and the Sadducees were always arguing with one another. It’s like the Democrats and the Republicans teaming up together. We know that doesn’t happen. And that’s how it was with the Pharisees and the Sadducees because the Pharisees believed in the miraculous. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees did not believe in any miracles and they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. And so these two were always fighting with one another. And then you had the Herodians. The Herodians were those who were faithful to King Herod. And most of the Jewish people did not like Herod because they felt like all he did was suck up to Rome. Herod was just a puppet king. That’s all he was, was a puppet king to try to keep the Jewish people calm and not so, because how many know when you get them stirred up, they’re like bees. And the Romans, the Gentiles, didn’t know how to handle the Jews because they didn’t understand them. You can’t understand the Jewish people if you don’t understand them theologically. You can’t just go by their culture. You’ve got to understand their background. And the Romans and the Gentiles, who were pagan worshipers and idolaters, they thought that these Jews were just absolutely crazy. They didn’t know how to handle them. So they had this puppet king, Herod. And Herod played the game because he was getting kickbacks. He could sit up on the throne and be all fat and comfy and have all kinds of stuff as long as he would just stay right in the middle there trying to keep the Jews quiet and trying to appease the Romans. So the Herodians were not popular with the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Oh, but they went and got them. They got all these different people. They went and got lawyers. Now, who’s lawyers? Lawyers were, don’t think about the lawyers today that we go to court and sue things and such. These were people that were doctors of the law. They understood the law. And by the law, I’m talking about the Old Testament. I’m talking about the books of Moses. They understood the law. They knew everything about the law, about what was an infraction. And what was allowed and not allowed, all the shall nots and all the ramifications, they understood the law. And so a lot of times when you get people, and you know this yourself, even today, when we get people that’s thoroughly schooled in something, the law or something, it’s like no matter what you’re talking about, no matter what the subject, they’re going to bring you back to the law. They’re going to constantly be throwing the law in your face. So after a while, you know, you think, oh, you’re just so legalistic. And so that’s how they were. Think of all, I’m trying to paint a picture here for you to see all these different sects and how disharmonious they were. But not today. Because today they all joined up together. to try to go after Jesus. Amen? And so this is exactly what is happening here. In fact, if you read the whole chapter, which we won’t, you have the Pharisees and their followers. You have the Herodians and those who were loyal to Herod. You have the Sadducees and you have the lawyers. And I want you to know that the Pharisees even had their own spies. Now, we won’t go there, but the companion account to Matthew 22 is Luke 20. And Luke gives you a couple little things that Matthew doesn’t give you. And Luke tells you that the Pharisees sent forth their spies. to watch Jesus, to try to catch him and entrap him in his words so that they would have reason to take him before the authority of Rome, the governor, which was Pilate at the time. So now let’s see where this takes us. We’re in Matthew 22. We are going to skip down to verse 15. And I say that because I said this is the day when they all came to attack Jesus. Okay? It was the Pharisees and the Herodians that came to attack him with the story that we’re going to read today. The Sadducees, as I told you a moment ago, did not believe in the resurrection. They came and asked Jesus. They painted this hypothesis. This woman got married. Her husband died. She remarried. He died. She remarried. He died. She remarried. He died. She remarried. He died. She remarried. He died. And the seventh died. She remarried. And he died. I mean, what are the chances that a woman’s going to outlive seven husbands? Now, I know somebody who outlived three. And that was Sister McKinney, Johnny Carver’s mother. She outlived three husbands. But seven? Seven husbands? And so that’s to show you they came and brought Jesus the story. Well, this woman had seven husbands. They all died. And smirkingly they said, So, tell us, who will be her husband? In the resurrection. Whose wife is she going to be in the resurrection? Because they didn’t believe in the resurrection. And they figured that would stump Jesus and he wouldn’t know how to answer it. And he said, you do err. Because you don’t know the scriptures and you don’t know the power of God. The power of God is he can raise the dead. And so there you have all these different ones coming and asking him questions. And guess what the lawyers asked him? What is the greatest commandment? They all had their little pet peeves that they brought to Jesus. But we’re going to see what the Pharisees and the Herodians said. And we will begin in verse 15. Then went the Pharisees and took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk. Took counsel. They got other people, other sects to join in. And Luke says that they sent out spies. And they sent out unto him their disciples, Luke said spies instead of disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth. That’s really flatter now. Neither carest thou for any man, for thou regardest not the person of men. So tell us, therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar or not? But Jesus perceived their wickedness and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Amen. I hope you’re enjoying this message. Render, give it back. You know, the day Jesus spoke these words had to be one of the most intense and yet amusing days of his ministry. I’ll call it the boomerang day because on this one day he was confronted by the Pharisees and their spies, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the lawyers, asking questions they thought would trap him in his words. The chief priests were furious because Jesus had cleansed the temple, throwing out the money changers, declaring, my father’s house is a house of prayer, and you have made it a den of thieves. This had to stop. He was exerting too much authority. The funny thing is, the Pharisees and Sadducees were usually arguing with one another, much like our Democrats and Republicans today. But in a joint effort, they conspired to challenge Jesus on whether or not to pay taxes to Caesar. If he said yes, the people would rise up because they hated paying taxes to Rome, and God never intended Israel to be enslaved to another nation. If he said no, they could seize him and take him to Pilate for rebellion against Caesar. But Jesus took the crafty in his craftiness. “‘Show me the money,’ he said. The Roman denarius bore the image of Caesar and the inscription that he was divine, and there is no way one of those coins would have been given in the temple, and so the need for money changers. When Jesus said, “‘Render to Caesar and render to God,’ the term means to give back someone’s property. Roman coins belong to Rome, and that which bears the image of God on earth belongs to God.'” If you’re a Christian, that is you. Give back to God your body, which is his temple on earth. This message, Render, Give It Back, is full of nuggets you don’t want to miss. So why not order the CD for a love gift of $10 or more for the radio ministry? Request offer SK164. Mail to Archie Hardy Ministries, P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. Or go online to ArchieHardy.org. Again, send a minimum love gift of $10 to P.O. Box 1744, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203. And request offer SK164 for Render, Give It Back. Until next time, this is Sharon Knott saying, Maranatha.
