Jesus burned with indignation. He mercilessly
exposed the corruption of these religious leaders.

He pointed out their false pieties and hypocricies.

They loved the head places in the synagogues
and being greeted in public as "Rabbi". They
went to the markets on purpose so everyone
might see how they were respected, that they
stood in high opinion by the people.
The Pharisees had inherited the faithful people
that other men had died for. They took over
greedy for what they could get out of it, only
considering personal profit.

Not only were the rites they instituted irking
to the people, they were administered with
heartlessness and were inconsistent.

What they did or said was to be seen of men.
All for show and men's approval. Very little
form of godliness.
"For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to
be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders;
but they themselves will not move them with
one of their fingers" Matthew 23:4

Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees bound
heavy burdens on men's shoulders, but did
nothing to help them. They were hard, cold, and
pitiless; false shepherds who had no interest in
the flock.
Jesus recognized the office and told the people
to yield to their authority, but He condemned
their works.

Same today....We see those who lives are evil,
but who continue to preach with some results.

This should not be a stumbling block, for He
said that there would be those who prophecy
in His name and even did wonderful works,
but in the end they would be condemned.
(Matthew 7:21-22) (Matthew 7:26-27)
"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his
disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees
sit in Moses' seat:
All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe,

that observe and do; but do not ye after their
works: for they say, and do not."
Matthew 23:1-3

Jesus admitted to the Pharisees' legitimate
authority. They sat in Moses' seat, "Therefore,"

He said "Whatsoever they bid you observe,
that observe and do; but do not after their
works; for they say, and do not".
Jesus turned to His disciples and the others
that had gathered at the temple. He spoke to
them, giving His final condemnation of the
religious leaders.

He exposed their hypocrisy and corruption.

While doing this, He ached over the city of
Jerusalem and the people in it.

Matthew 23:37-39
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest

the prophets, and stonest them which are
sent unto thee, how often would I have
gathered thy children together, even as a
hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me

henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord."
When Jesus finished there was no answers from
them.

They were convinced
that they were no match
for Him. And of course,
they had no under-
standing of the Spirit
that Jesus had
received or of the
source of wisdom and
knowledge that came
through Him by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus called their attention to David in Psalm
110 in regards to the Messiah, "The Lord said
unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until
I make thine enemies thy footstool."

Why did David call Him Lord, if He were his son?
Would Abraham call his sons Isaac, Jacob or
Joseph, Lord? Why did David?

There can be only one explanation. The Messiah
had human nature through His mother, that way
was He David's son, but He was of the Father in
heaven.
Jesus put the question to them and the right
answer to settle the problem of His divinity
forever.

Jesus asked them whose son was the Christ?
Their answer was "David's".

Since they didn't believe that He was the true
Messiah, this meant they believed that when
the Messiah did come that He would be the
son of David. While Christ was the son of
David through His mother Mary, He wasn't
the son of David in His person.

He came to the world as the only begotten
Son of the Father/God!
"While the Pharisees were gathered together,
Jesus asked them,
Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is

he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
He saith unto them, How then doth David in

spirit call him Lord, saying,
The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my

right hand, till I make thine enemies thy foot-
stool?
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
And no man was able to answer him a word,

neither durst any man from that day forth
ask him any more questions."
Matthew 22:41-46

While the Pharisees were still there, Jesus
asked them a question. They believed that
the Messiah would have a human father.
They should have know better, Isaiah had
said, tha Immanuel, "God s with us" was to
be born of a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14)

No other attempt was ever made again to get
Jesus entangle in His words.

The Sanhedrin had learned by experience that
His wisdom was more than a match for theirs.

But before their gathering was over, Jesus Him
self had one question to ask, "What think ye of
Christ? whose son is he?" Matthew 22:42
It looked like
the man that
the Pharisees
chose as their
spokeman
was not quite
of their spirit.

He who was convinced of the uselessness of legal
observances, switched to what the Lord thought
of the matter and told Him that His answer was
the truth..

"And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master,

thou hast said the truth: for there is one God;
and there is none other but he:
And to love him with all the heart, and with all
the understanding, and with all the soul, and with
all the strength, and to love his neighbour as
himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings
and sacrifices." Mark 12:32-33
The result of their discussion only made more
confusion.

Not all the teachers of the Law were in agree-
ment. A few believed that love of God was most
important.

And so Jesus answered saying, that love to God
and one's neighbor was greater than all, and "On
these two commandments hang all the law and
the prophets." Matthew 22:40
They all seemed to have different ideas, any
where from what they were to wear, to what
they say, to keeping the Sabbath, eating un-
leaven bread, circumcision and on.

But no one thought of the principle that the
willful violation of one commandment made
them quilty of all.

James 2:10 "For whosoever shall keep the
whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
guilty of all."
When the Pharisees saw that the Sadducees
had failed to catch Jesus in His words, they
tried to make an attempt and hoped to
succeed in it.

They decided to send one of the most
learned of the scribes to approach Him with
a question that
had long been a
disagreement
between them,
"Master, which
is the greatest
commandment
of the law?"
WHAT IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?
"But when the Pharisees had heard that he had
put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered
together.
When one of them, which was a lawyer, asked

him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Master, which is the great commandment in the

law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord

thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love

thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law

and the prophets." Matthew 22:34-40
The Sadducces' skepticism was because of their
ignorance of the power of God.

Certainly life in the world to come will not be
less rich than that of today.

The life to come will be beyond our fondest hopes
1 Corinthians 2:9 "But as it is written, Eye hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath
prepared for them that love him."
Since the Sadducees believed in the Law, Jesus
took them to the Burning Bush where God said,
He was "the God of Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob."

What kind of God would only be a God of a few
bones and handfuls of dust? No, Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob are alive in paradise. Luke 16:
22,23
"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and

was carried by the angels into Abraham's
bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments,

and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom." Abraham's bosom refers to Paradise.












Let us never forget what they did to America
that day! 9/11/2001
Jesus didn't respond to these play-acting
hypocrites who had asked about the tax money.

He didn't get indignant at the Sadducees, or at
their self assurance. Instead He pitied them
for their ignorance of the mysteries of the
eternal world.

He answered, "Ye do err, not knowing the
scriptures, nor the power of God."




Jesus lives!


Coming to Jesus with a phony respect, they
presented Him with this case: A woman who
had married a man with six younger brothers,
all who died one after the other, leaving this
widow alone and she having no children. "Who
then will be her husband in the resurrection?"

According to their religion, the woman would
be returned to her first husband. But Jesus
didn't give them that answer.

Instead Jesus said, For in the resurrection
they neither marry, nor are given in
marriage, but are as the angels of God
in heaven" Matthew 22:30
The Sadducees didn't want to entrap Jesus for
the same reason the Pharisees did.

They wanted to confound Jesus and the Pharisees
by showing how absurd the doctrine of the re-
surrection was.

They came to Him with an air of superiority and
gave an imaginary case that could never happen
in real life.
The Sadducees had been watching what had
happened. They didn't belong to the group
that had just left but kind of enjoyed their re-
action.

The Sadducees rejected the spoken traditions
of the Pharisees and much of the Old Testament.
They were much like the modernists of today
who pick out certain parts of the scriptures
that they liked and threw away the rest.

They didn't believe in miracles, angels or the
resurrection.
"The same day came to him the Sadducees,
which say that there is no resurrection, and
asked him,
Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die,

having no children, his brother shall marry
his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.
Now there were with us seven brethren: and

the first, when he had married a wife,
deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife
unto his brother:
Likewise the second also, and the third,

unto the seventh.
And last of all the woman died also.
Therefore in the resurrection whose wife

shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do

err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power
of God.
For in the resurrection they neither marry,

nor are given in marriage, but are as the
angels of God in heaven.
But as touching the resurrection of the dead,

have ye not read that which was spoken unto
you by God, saying,
I am the God of Abraham, and the God of

Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the
God of the dead, but of the living.
And when the multitude heard this, they

were astonished at his doctrine."

Matthew 22:23-33
But Jesus didn't leave them with just giving
unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. He
added a more important instruction. . ."and
to God the things that are God's"

He reminded them that they owed a far great-
er obligation to God.

His enemies were taken back by His answer.
They weren't able to grasp His words and they
all left.

Their scheme had seemed sure to successed,
but it had been turned against them.
By accepting Roman authority, they were legally
obligated to pay for it.

It was their duty to be obedient to the power that
ruled over them.
Jesus took the coin and turned it over in His
hand. On the one side was the image of the
emperor. On the other side was written "Pont-
ifex Maximus."

Jesus asked "Whos image is on the coin?"

They answered, "Caesar's"

There they got their answer. "Render therefore
to Caesar the things that are Caesar's"