Sermon
#51 Series: Mark
Title: “Knowing Their
Hypocrisy”
Text: Mark 12:13-17
Readings: Office:
Ron Wood Auditorium: James Jordan
Subject: The
Pharisees’ and Herodians’ Question
Date: Sunday Evening - May 24, 1998
Tape # U-69b
Introduction:
The
Scriptures declare that we who follow Christ are and must be crucified unto the
world. That man or woman who believes on the Son of God is and must be dead to
the world.
“‘How is the believer dead to the world when he lives in the world, works
a regular job, raises a family, and owns property in the world?’ A young
student asked his Bible teacher this same question. The teacher sent him out to
the gravesite of a friend with instructions to criticize the dead friend,
harass him, and find fault, and then praise him with glowing terms and brag on
him to excess. Upon his return, the teacher asked, ‘What did your friend say
when you criticized him?’ ‘Nothing.’ ‘How did he react when you praised him?’
‘It made no difference to him; he is dead!’ ‘That is what it means to be dead
to this world,’ said the teacher. Its APPLAUSE
means nothing and its HATRED means
nothing. We neither ADMIRE the
people of this world nor do we FEAR
them. The riches of this world are but the fancy of fools, and the honors of
this world mean little or nothing; for to be a child of God is the highest
calling. The religious traditions and ceremonies of the world have no
attraction nor meaning when CHRIST IS
ALL! That which was once important to us we now consider loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ, our Lord. This spiritual life in Christ
cannot be explained; it must be experienced.”
Henry
Mahan
No
one so thoroughly and constantly exemplified this deadness to as he who came to
do the will of God and always did the Father’s will perfectly.
Proposition: Our
Lord Jesus Christ was dead to both the flatteries and the abuses of the world;
and if we would follow him and do his will we must be as well.
We
see a clear example of the Savior’s deadness to the world in his dealings with
the Pharisees and the Herodians in Mark 12:13-17.
(Mark
12:13-17) "And they send unto him
certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. (14) And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know
that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of
men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to
Caesar, or not? (15) Shall we give,
or shall we not give? But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why
tempt ye me? bring me a penny, that I may see it. (16) And they brought it.
And he saith unto them, Whose is this
image and superscription? And they said unto him, Caesar's. (17) And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they
marvelled at him."
I
want to show you five very important spiritual lessons from this passage. May
God the Holy Spirit be our Teacher. May he be pleased to graciously and
effectually apply his Word to our hearts for the glory of Christ.
I.
Lost
men and women, who despise one another, will always unite in opposition to
Christ and His Gospel.
The
Pharisees were religious fundamentalists, superstitious ceremonialists,
self-righteous moralists. Religion was their life. They lived to go to church
and do religious stuff.
The
Herodians were mere worldlings. They had absolutely no use for religion. They
cared no more for the honor of God (His Name, His Will, His Glory) than for the
life of a maggot.
Yet,
when the Lord Jesus Christ came preaching the gospel, the Pharisees and the
Herodians were united like blood kin in the common cause of opposing him. Both
the religious crowd and the worldly crowd despised the gospel of God’s free and
sovereign grace in Christ, as Christ himself preached it and personified it.
That
is the way it has always been. That is the way it is now. And that is the way
it will always be, as long as the world stands, until Christ makes all things
new. The cross of Christ is an offense
to unregenerate men, both religious and irreligious.
(Galatians
5:11) "And I, brethren, if I yet
preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of
the cross ceased."
(1
Corinthians 1:17-24) "For
Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of
words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. (18) For the preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of
God. (19) For it is written, I will
destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of
the prudent. (20) Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the
disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? (21) For after that in the wisdom of
God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of
preaching to save them that believe. (22)
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: (23) But we preach Christ crucified,
unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; (24) But unto them which are called,
both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
All lost men hate God and the gospel of
Christ. All despise those things revealed in the Gospel…
·
The
Inspiration and Singular Authority of Holy Scripture.
·
Divine
Sovereignty.
·
Total
Depravity.
·
Salvation
by Grace Alone.
·
Unconditional
Election.
·
Limited
Atonement.
·
Irresistible
Grace.
·
Perseverance
of The Saints.
II. These Pharisees and
Herodians stand before us in this text as glaring examples of the brazen
boldness of hypocrisy.
No
one is more confident, bold, or arrogant than that person who is an utter
hypocrite. He never openly shows his true colors. In order to cover his
hypocrisy he has a bold, brazen, outward pretense of sincerity. Can you see
this in verses 13 and 14?
(Mark
12:13-14) "And they send unto him
certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words. (14) And when they were come, they say unto him, Master, we know
that thou art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the person of
men, but teachest the way of God in truth: Is it lawful to give tribute to
Caesar, or not?"
When
they could not find anything in his own doctrine or conduct for which to kill
him, these proud hypocrites thought they could out smart the Son of God and
trick him into saying something with which to accuse him. They began by
flattering him as a man who was…
·
True,
Sincere, Faithful and Honest. “Thou art
true.”
·
Unmoved,
Unimpressed, and Uninfluenced by Power. - “and
carest for no man.”
·
Beyond
the Reach of Bribery and Intimidation. - “Thou
regardest not the person of men.”
But
the Lord Jesus was much more than a mere man. He was and is the omniscient God,
before whom all things are naked and open. He knew their hypocrisy and caught
them in their own trap. .
(Mark
11:15-17) "And they come to
Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold
and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and
the seats of them that sold doves; (16) And
would not suffer that any man should carry any
vessel through the temple. (17) And
he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all
nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves."
No one in this world is more subtle and
deceiving than a religious man or woman who hates God.
III. There
is no greater, more effective snare, by which both God’s People and His
Servants are apt to be Ensnared than overmuch concern about the cares and
controversies of Civil Government.
Our
Lord would not allow himself to be drawn into the trap of political wrangling
and worldly strife. We cannot be too careful about these things.
(Psalms
37:1-5) " Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou
envious against the workers of iniquity.
(2) For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green
herb. (3) Trust in the LORD, and do
good; so shalt thou dwell in the
land, and verily thou shalt be fed. (4) Delight
thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. (5) Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust
also in him; and he shall bring it to
pass."
This
is what I am saying. I wish I could say it to every gospel preacher in this
world. But I can and must say it to you and to myself. We must not allow ourselves to be overly concerned about the things of
this world.
·
The
Politics of It.
·
The
Pleasures of It.
·
The
Riches of It.
·
The
Opinions of It.
It
is my prayer that my God will indeed crucify me to the world and the world to
me. Yet…
IV. Faith
in Christ an Obedience to him is never a justification for any of us neglecting
our God given responsibilities in this world.
Our
Lord Jesus commands us to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and
unto God the things that are God’s. That simply means that it is the
responsibility of all men to both worship God and to be responsible, productive
citizens in this world.
The
fact is, those who truly do worship God are the very best, most responsible,
dependable, productive citizens in every generation.
V. Many marvel
at Christ and his doctrine who never believe.
The
last sentence of our text reads, “And
they marveled at him” (v. 17). The same thing often happens today.
Frequently, men and women are impressed with a system of doctrine, the
abilities of a preacher, a church, or a group of people. They attach themselves
to us, but not to Christ. They marvel for a while, but never come to trust the
Son of God.
Salvation
is something more than being impressed with and marveling at Christ. Salvation
is knowing him and trusting him. I am not interested in impressing you. I want
you to know Christ. Without him, you are without life, without forgiveness,
without righteousness, without God, without hope. Why will you perish? Why will
you die? Come to Christ and live forever. God help you now to come to him. The
Lord Jesus Christ himself bids you come and promises to receive you, save you,
and keep you, if you come to him.
(Isaiah
1:18) "Come now, and let us reason
together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
(Isaiah
55:1-3) "Ho, every one that
thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and
eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. (2) Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour
for that which satisfieth not?
hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that
which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. (3) Incline your ear, and come unto me:
hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with
you, even the sure mercies of
David."
(Isaiah
55:6-7) "Seek ye the LORD while he
may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: (7) Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him;
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
(Matthew
11:28-30) "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. (29) Take my
yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. (30) For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is
light."
(John
6:37) "All that the Father giveth
me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast
out."
(John
7:37-38) "In the last day, that
great day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. (38) He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
AMEN.