The chief priests, the scribes, and the elders—the three categories of those who made up the Sanhedrin—came to the Lord and said to Him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority that you may do these things?” (v. 28). Here the chief priests, scribes, and elders seemed to be saying, “You cursed the fig tree, and then you overturned the tables in the temple. By what authority are you doing these things? Who gave you authority to do these things? What you have done is extremely serious. Therefore, we want to know about your origin and authority.”
In dealing with the chief priests, scribes, and elders, the Lord Jesus was very dignified. He was not afraid as He was confronting this situation, but answered their questions with boldness.
The Lord Jesus said to them, “I will question you about one thing, and answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John, was it of heaven or of men? Answer Me” (vv. 29-30). On the one hand, the Lord Jesus was not afraid of being questioned by the chief priests, scribes, and elders. On the other hand, He counter-questioned them with dignity.
Before answering the Lord’s question, the chief priests, scribes, and elders held counsel among themselves. “They reasoned with themselves saying, If we say, Of heaven, he will say, Why then did you not believe him? But should we say, Of men—they feared the crowd, for all held that John was really a prophet” (vv. 31-32). Realizing that there was no way for them to answer the Lord’s question without losing the case, they decided to lie. Therefore, they said to the Lord Jesus, “We do not know” (v. 33). The Lord knew what was in their hearts. He knew that they were lying to Him.
The Lord Jesus went on to say to the chief priests, scribes, and elders, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things” (v. 33). This indicates that the Lord knew that the Jewish leaders would not tell Him what they knew. Hence, neither would He tell them what they asked. They lied to the Lord in saying, “We do not know.” But the Lord spoke the truth wisely to them, exposing their lie and avoiding their question.
In the Lord’s answer we need to pay attention to the word “neither.” This word indicates that the Jewish leaders were lying to the Lord. Since they would not tell Him what they knew concerning John the Baptist, neither would He answer their question.
The Lord’s wise answer put the leaders of the Jewish nation to shame. They were exposed as being a group of liars. In dealing with them the Lord manifested both His dignity and His wisdom. We may say that His dignity was human and His wisdom was divine. This combination of human dignity and divine wisdom subdued the chief priests, scribes, and elders.
I believe that the Lord’s disciples were very pleased with the way He dealt with the Jewish leaders. They may have looked at one another, nodding their heads and smiling. They saw the Slave-Savior’s dignity and wisdom in the midst of that situation in the temple. How happy they must have been to see the chief priests, scribes, and elders subdued by the Lord Jesus.
After the Slave-Savior was examined by the chief priests, scribes, and elders, He was tested by the Pharisees and Herodians (12:13-17). Mark 12:13 says, “And they send to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians that they might catch Him in His speech.” The Herodians were those who took sides with King Herod’s regime and took part with him in infiltrating the Jews with Grecian and Roman manners of life. They sided with the Sadducees, but were opposed to the Pharisees. But here they united with the Pharisees to ensnare the Lord Jesus.
The Pharisees were very patriotic, wholly for the Jewish nation. The Herodians were for the Roman imperialists. Hence, these two parties could not work together. But in dealing with this wonderful Person, the Slave-Savior, those who were enemies came together to ask the Lord a subtle question, a question related both to patriotism and imperialism.
Coming to Him, they said, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and you do not care about anyone; for you do not regard the face of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not? Should we give, or should we not give?” (v. 14). This was really an ensnaring question. To give tribute to Caesar was opposed by the Jews. If the Lord Jesus said that it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, He would offend the Jews, whose leaders were the Pharisees. But if He said that it was not lawful to give tribute to Caesar, His answer would give the Herodians, who stood with the Roman government, ground to accuse Him.
It may seem to us that there was no way for the Lord Jesus to answer this question. Suppose He had said, “No, we should not give tribute to Caesar.” Then the Herodians would have said, “You are against the Romans. You should be arrested and cast into prison.” But suppose the Lord had said, “Yes, it is right to give tribute to Caesar.” Then the Pharisees would have said, “You are betraying your country, for you are working for the Roman imperialists.” How devilishly subtle was the question raised by the Pharisees and Herodians!
Although the Lord was questioned in a devilishly subtle way, He was not afraid. Rather, maintaining His dignity, He said to them, “Why are you tempting Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it” (12:15). The Lord Jesus did not show them the Roman coin, but asked them to show one to Him. Since they possessed one of the Roman coins, they were caught.
After they brought a coin to Him, He said, “Whose image and inscription is this?” (v. 16). When they answered, “Caesar’s,” the Lord went on to say, “The things of Caesar pay to Caesar, and the things of God to God” (v. 17). To pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s is to pay tribute to Caesar according to his governmental regulations. To pay to God the things of God is to pay the half shekel to God according to Exodus 30:11-16, and also to offer the tithes to God according to the law of God.
The section in the Gospel of Mark concerning the Slave-Savior being tested by the Pharisees and the Herodians concludes with these words: “And they marveled at Him.” The Lord answered them in His divine wisdom, and they were silenced and subdued.