When You Don't Know What To Say ... Jesus Knows

Here are a few thoughts I had this morning as I read Matthew 22:15-46, where the Pharisees and Sadducees continue to try to trap Jesus with his own words ...

"Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? (Verses 17-22)

The Gospel Doctrine teachers manual explains the attempted trap here.  "If Jesus said yes to the question, they could accuse him of supporting the hated Roman government.  If he said no, they could accuse him of rebellion against the government."

We know that Christ answered "Render therefore unto Casesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."

The twelfth article of faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints continues to teach this same principle today, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, and in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law."  As a side note, I will always remember what I felt was a very unique experience as a young Boy Scout.  Both my scoutmaster and his assistant were World War II veterans.  That part was not unusual in the mid-1960s, my school teachers and most other men I knew in their 40s and 50s in those days served in that war.  In this case, one of my Scout leaders served in the American navy in the Pacific and had many experiences with suffering and with death of his colleagues in the very tough battles there.  The other was a sergeant in the German army.  He told of having been taught that article of faith, and how although it was difficult, he followed the law of his country and served in the army.  He had experiences meeting soldiers of various countries in towns on brief breaks from battle, and told of the goodness he saw in his fellow men at these times.  His story continues with his capture by the British followed by four years in their prisoner of war camp, from which he was not released until 1948, three years after the end of the war.  By that time, his parent's family was scattered with several dead, his home town was in the Russian sector, and he gratefully took an opportunity to emigrate, first to Canada and later to the United States.

It may be difficult to see at the time, but there are always blessings that eventually come from obeying, honoring, and sustaining the laws of the countries we live in ... perhaps even while we work diligently to change them.

Returning to verse 18, it is notable that Jesus "perceiving their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?"  We cannot hide from our Savior.  He knows our thoughts, he knows the intents of our hearts.  In addition, we should remember that the veil is thin.  Our memories of our life before this are blocked by that veil, but I believe it could be compared to a tinted mirror -- one where we can't see through it, but those on the other side can see through to us.  Jesus has many spirits serving to help Him help us ... if we will let Him.  They see us.  We cannot hide from them, but because we cannot see them, our life is a true test of our character.  H. Jackson Brown said it this way, "Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking."

Perhaps this knowledge will help us when we are in situations where we don't know what to say because we feel trapped between opposing forces.  When we are in a situation like this one that faced Jesus with this question "Is it lawful to give tribute to Casear, or not?" and we are likely to be in trouble no matter how we answer.  In that moment, if we will pray while pondering what Jesus would do in the situation we find ourselves in, He will help us.  He loves us.  He wants to help us if we will ask.  And He definitely knows the answer.

But the Pharisees and Sadducees continued trying to trap Jesus.  They asked Him the question of a woman whose husband died, and she married each of his brothers in turn as they died to honor the first brother and raise up seed to him.  This was a hypocritical question, because they professed to not believe in the resurrection.

They also asked Jesus "Which is the great commandment in the law?".

He responded to each of these without being trapped, and finally in verse 46 we are told "And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions."

At that point, it was Christ's turn to talk to them about hypocrisy in chapter 23.  That is what I will be reading next as I continue preparing for this lesson.  This preparation has been a wonderful experience for me.