Jesus confronts

And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" Jesus said to them, "I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me." And they discussed it with one another, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' But shall we say, 'From man'?"—they were afraid of the people, for they all held that John really was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.

And he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country.  When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully.  And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed.  He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard.  What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not read this Scripture:  "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;  this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?" And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away. And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it."  And they brought one. And he said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?" They said to him, "Caesar's." Jesus said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they marveled at him. - Mark 11:27-12:17 ESV 

Rev. Travis Drake

Confrontation in the temple

Jesus is just walking in the temple and he gets confronted by the chief priests, scribes, and the elders. These groups represented the spiritual authority of Israel. They were in charge of the temple and they wanted to challenge this Jesus. He had just cleared the temple courtyard and they were embarrassed and likely angry. They were not asking a question as much as trying to confront and make Jesus submit to their authority.

But Jesus answers their question with another question. He asks them about John's ministry. He is asking if they are helping confront heresy and properly lead the people. It was important to know if John was doing God's work or not. Jesus wasn't questioning their authority. He was trying to guide them towards life. He was asking if they as spiritual leaders knew the way towards life. They refuse to answer honestly.

Confrontation in a parable

Jesus won't take their non-committal answer. He presses in on them. He tells a parable of the owner of a vineyard. The servants who are beaten and killed. Even to the owner sending his son to speak with the tenants. And the tenants decide to kill the son so they will keep the vineyard for themselves. The nation of Israel is the vineyard. The prophets were the servants. And Jesus, the one speaking to them, is the son. We may be drawn to focus on the foolishness of the owner. But this is not foolishness. It is love. The incredible patience and long suffering love for the tenants. The most incredible part is the foolishness of the tenants. The owner will come back and the son is the last chance. 

Confrontation in a coin

Finding no way to effectively question his authority or actions. They find people to try to trap him. They ask about taxes to Rome. If Jesus says to pay taxes, he would alienate those who felt oppressed by the Roman rulers. If Jesus says to not pay taxes, the Romans would have come and arrest Jesus for insurrection. But Jesus tells them to give each their due... Give to God what he deserves and give to Caesar the coin that bears his image. We are to give God that which bears his image... Ourselves. The religious authorities were trying to trap Jesus, but they themselves were the trapped ones. They were trapped in their worship of a lesser king, a smaller kingdom. So how about us? Are we enraptured by a lesser leader? Biden? Trump? Or is Jesus the one in the throne of our hearts?

Are we caught up in passing temporary things? Will the things we are concerned about matter in 1000 years? Are we figuratively trying to dodge taxes? 

Some questions to ask ourselves or someone who is more honest than we can be about ourselves...

Do we know what leads to life?

Do we lead others there?

Are we always complaining or enthralled about temporary things? things that will not matter in