October 18, 2020 Text: Matthew 22:15-22
Dear Friends in Christ,
I’d like you to meet Jake Olson, a young man I read about. Shortly after Jake was born, it was discovered he had cancer in one eye. The doctors did everything they could to save the eye, but eventually they had to remove it so it would not spread to the other eye.
As Jake grew, the Lord blessed him with athletic talent. However, several years later, cancer was found in Jake’s other eye. He went through numerous treatments, it went into remission, but it would always resurface. The decision was made to remove Jake’s other eye.
As a senior in high school, Jake wrote a book entitled, Open Your Eyes: 10 Uncommon Lessons To Discover A Happier Life. Jake talked about his years as a high school student. He was a straight A student, long snapper on the football team, he golfed, went skiing, surfing, and played guitar. In golf, he learned to read the greens with his feet and he would shoot in the high 70’s or low 80’s. For you non-golfers, us duffers would love to shoot that score.
In the book, as Jake tells the story of what happened in his life, he said he has come to believe that God can use certain setbacks in our lives to create setups for what He is going to do next. Isn’t that quite an insight from someone who lost both eyes and hadn’t even graduated high school when the book was written?
In our text for today, the Herodians and the Pharisees come to Jesus hoping to lead him to a setback in His ministry. It didn’t quite work that way. The setback they tried to create became a setup for Jesus to advance His message.
“A SETBACK FOR A SETUP”
Today’s Gospel lesson takes place right after Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. As holy Week begins Jesus is being hailed and revered. But as we know the scene will soon change and it does.
The Pharisees and Herodians are trying to trick Jesus so they can discredit Him. But this is nothing new. It happened numerous times in Jesus’ ministry. They had asked Him about healing on the Sabbath (Mark 3). His message was rejected in his hometown of Nazareth and they tried to toss Him off a cliff (Luke 4). The Pharisees thought he was teaching blasphemy when He forgave sins (Luke 5). The Jews plotted the death of Jesus (John 11).
Now they are going to entrap Jesus. They are setting Him up for a setback. They “mask” their plans with their phony baloney flattery. The Pharisees had to pay the tax because they were not free people. They were God’s chosen ones, but were still under a pagan ruler. If Jesus agreed that it was legal to pay taxes to Caesar, he would be discredited for not being the saving Messiah people expected.
On the Herodian side of things, they didn’t have a problem with the tax because they enjoyed Rome’s services. So if Jesus said they shouldn’t pay the tax to Caesar, they would discredit Him as disloyal to Rome and they would report Him.
This perceived setback was just a setup for Jesus. He saw through their flattery and pointed out their hypocrisy. He honored the government God had established – “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”
However, the ultimate issue is the rule and authority God has over spiritual matters. Therefore, Jesus also instructs, “render…to God the things that are God’s.” God’s authority in spiritual matters is not administered by emperors and laws, or even Law, but through the Gospel.
What looked like it was going to be a terrible setback for Jesus turned into a setup. A few days later Jesus would end up on a cross – that has to be a setback, right? Wrong. God was setting us free from death and sin through the sacrificial death of Jesus – Easter proved that our Lord was setting us up for an eternity with Him. What looks like darkness to us, God can use to shine His Gospel light into our lives. You have examples of setbacks that turned into setups, don’t you?
Most of you know my biggest one. A girlfriend after college broke up with me. I was devastated at the time. God turned that setback into a setup when I met Toni. We have been blessed ever since with similar thoughts, values, two faithful sons and numerous blessings from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Did you ever suffer a job loss that God turned into a better job? Have you suffered a health setback that God used to setup a blessing? Ever been down in the dumps but the Lord rescued you and set you on a better path? Have you experienced the greatest setback – loss of faith or no faith at all and the Creator of your Life through the Holy Spirit has shown You His love, His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, and now you see this has you setup for His salvation in Heaven forever?
God’s authority sets us up for a gospel response. We love the Lord our God and our neighbor. We properly manage the resources He has given us. We praise and thank the Lord Jesus for the freedom and forgiveness that Good Friday and Easter offer. Be spiritually aware for the setback that could be a setup for Jesus to advance the Gospel. Amen.