Honor • Matthew 22:15-22,34-40
By Joe McKeever
There is a lot of drama in Matthew 22. Things are happening.
If scripture were accompanied by music, Matthew 22 would have ominous chords sounding in the background of the three confrontations here, which begin at verse 15. I can imagine the heavy throbbing of “Jaws” in the background as our Lord’s ultimate confrontation with the religious authorities of Judea built to a crescendo.
Matthew 22:15 has the Pharisees plotting to trap Jesus. They send their underlings with the Herodians to face the Lord. Bad mistake. When that didn’t work out, 22:23 says the Sadducees tried their hand at snaring Him. And when that ended in their humiliation — the crowds were impressed with Jesus! (see 22:33) — the Pharisees decided it was time to go for broke: They would deal with this upstart from Galilee themselves. That’s 22:34ff.
All three confrontations had the same purpose in mind: to trap Jesus.
First question: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? Second question: What about an oft-married widow in the resurrection; who gets her in heaven? Third question: Of the hundreds of commands in Scripture, which is the greatest?
The questions are varied and the questioners are different, but the purpose is the same in each: To show Jesus as an ignorant Galilean with no theological training who is ill-qualified to teach the people. He has no authority for any of this and this needs to be revealed to the common people.
We read this chapter and smile. In time, these people would learn that it would be said of this One whom they were trying to trap: In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3 NASB). The Lord Jesus is wisdom incarnate.
We think of what Job said after the Almighty confronted him from heaven: “I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know” (Job 42:3 NASB).
In Matthew 22, in the parable prior to today’s focus scripture, when the “man out of place” — who, in the Lord’s parable tried to enter the King’s banquet by some means other than the door — was confronted about his offense, he was speechless. He had no excuse, no alibi. He was out of line and knew it.
There is a time to just put your hand over your mouth and shut up. The focus group in today’s lesson — the Pharisees, Herodians, and Sadducees — were slow to learn this.
The one-word title of today’s lesson is “Honor.” The subtitle in the materials from Lifeway is: “Believers’ highest calling is to honor God in every aspect of their lives.”
So — let’s camp out on this line of thought for a moment — if we honor God in obeying His commands, great and small; if we honor God by knowing Scriptures and the power of God (that’s 22:29); and if we honor God by paying our taxes and practicing good citizenship; then doing otherwise would mean dishonoring God.
Does Scripture teach that failing to pay our taxes means dishonoring God? I think so. When Christians fail to know the Word and live in God’s power, is that dishonoring God? Absolutely. And for us to disobey the commands to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves? The same, it’s dishonoring God.
Sometimes we play these little games. We’ve all heard people say, “I know I’m not living for the Lord, but He knows I love Him.” We respond, “According to Jesus, you don’t.” In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (NASB). And in case we missed the point, He repeats it: “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me…” (15:21 NASB). And one more time He stresses the point: “He who does not love Me does not keep My words…” (15:24 NASB).
Our Lord’s love language is obedience. Pure and simple.
We love Him, we obey Him.
In a similar fashion, He tells what it means to love our enemies. After commanding that we love our enemies, Jesus explains what that means. “Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you….give to everyone who asks of you….” (Luke 6:27ff). We must not rush past this.
In Scripture, love is not so much an emotion as an action. Love is something we do. To love Jesus is to obey Him. And to love our enemies means to do good to them, bless them, pray for them, and give to them.
No one is allowed to take the easy way out and say they love Jesus but are not obeying Him. We who love Jesus Christ are to “observe all the things He has commanded us.” You may recognize that as the final part of the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.
Let us honor Him by obeying Him.
McKeever is a member of First Baptist Church, Jackson.
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