First_Baptist

Pastor Lars Larson, PhD                                                                                          FBC Sermon #621
First Baptist Church, Leominster, MA                                                                       July 24, 2011
Words for children:                                                                                                   Text: Matthew 23:15

The Gospel of Matthew (85)
Conflict with the Pharisees and Sadducees

Our current progress through Matthew:

I. Prologue (chs. 1, 2)
II. The Kingdom Comes (chs. 3-7)
III. The Works of the Kingdom (chs. 8-10)
IV. The Nature of the Kingdom (chs. 11-13)
V. The Authority of the Kingdom (chs. 14-18)
          A. Jesus’ Character and Authority (chs. 14-17)
          B. The Fourth Discourse: The Character and Authority of the Church (18:1-35)
VI. Kingdom Blessings and Kingdom Judgments (chs. 19-25)
          A. From Galilee to Jerusalem (chs. 19, 20)
          B. The King enters Jerusalem (chs. 21-23)
                    1. Triumphal Entry and Cleansing the Temple (21:1-22)
                    2. Parables of Resistance to the King (21:23-22:14)
                    3. Conflict with the Pharisees and Sadducees (22:15-23:39)

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          Last Lord ’s Day we completed a section of Matthew’s Gospel that has been described as “Parables of Resistance to the King.” Through these parables of our Lord, we saw a repeated challenge of the religious leaders of Judaism to our Lord that led to their increasing hostility toward Him, as He continued to teach the crowds in the temple courts of Jerusalem. He told His opposers that “tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God”, but they do not (21:31). This was due to their having rejected God’s prophets and because they would reject and kill God’s own Son (21:40-42). The Lord Jesus announced that God’s judgment was upon them. Their stewardship of the kingdom of God would be taken from them, and it would be given to those who would lead and direct His people rightly (21:43). But in spite of their rejection, God would call others in their place to come to Him; God would accomplish His purpose in calling forth a people unto Himself and to His Son. Although God had graciously invited and patiently entreated them to come to Him, their failure to respond to Him would not frustrate His intention. He would reject them, and in their place call out a people for Himself (22:7, 14).
          We may see in these episodes several themes that pervade Scripture and reflect God’s dealings throughout history; moreover, we will see that they also reflect His dealings with us today. We understand that God has been gracious and merciful in His repeated overtures to our fallen race. But just as these Jewish leaders refused to come, they simply reflect the sinfulness of all people everywhere in their inability and unwillingness to come to Christ for salvation from their sin. We are all in need of God’s grace, if we are to inherit salvation. And just as our Lord declared that God’s judgment and hellfire awaited His enemies, so we may know from this account that hell is real and is the just desert of all who refuse to come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. If we are saved from sin, it is only because God had called us and had chosen us to be saved through His mercy and grace (22:14). We owe our salvation to the sovereign grace of God, Who chose us to receive His salvation.
          If we take these matters to heart, then we will have great concern for the lost about us and we will put forth full effort and every means available to us to tell others of the gospel of Jesus Christ. In doing so, let us guard ourselves against the errors and faults of the Jewish leaders. Let us beware of hypocrisy. And let not we be unprepared to face God when the Lord Jesus returns for us. Let us always affirm our great need and God’s great provision for us of the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is given us freely through faith in Jesus Christ. Let us repudiate any hint of a righteousness of our own, but let us see ourselves in Christ alone through faith alone. Let us have the same conviction and desire of the Apostle Paul, who wrote,

“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” (Phil. 3:8-11)

We now arrive to a new section of the Gospel in which the conflict between our Lord and the Jewish leaders becomes even more intense and pronounced. The outline we have been using[1] describes this section as:

I. Conflict with the Pharisees and Sadducees (22:15-23:39)

In this section of Matthew’s Gospel our Lord confronts the Jewish leaders directly. Whereas in the last chapter we have recorded the leaders approaching Jesus to challenge Him and have recorded His responses, in this section our Lord becomes more direct with them, confronting first the Pharisees and the Herodians (22:15-22), then the Sadducees (22:23-33), and then the Pharisees again (22:34-45). Conflict continues into Matthew 23 in which we have recorded Jesus giving a prophetic pronouncement of God’s judgment upon the Jewish leaders (23:1-36), concluding with an announcement of Jerusalem’s destruction by the Lord (23:37-39).
We will find ourselves encouraged and strengthened in our own conflict with unbelievers if we take these matters to heart regarding the sufferings of our Lord. This is one of the ways for peace and strength for the suffering Christian, as we read in Hebrews 12.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Heb. 12:1-3)

Some Christians are weary or fainthearted because they have not resorted to this means of grace.

A. The Pharisees: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? (22:15-22)

          15Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words. 16And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone’s opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances. 17Tell us, then, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
          18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put Me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show Me the coin for the tax.”
          And they brought Him a denarius.
          20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
          21They said, “Caesar’s.”
          Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away.

          Matthew records the Pharisees acting treacherously toward the Lord. They “plotted”, or schemed, on how to discredit him and bring Him into conflict with the Roman authorities. The Pharisees did not come to Jesus themselves on this occasion; perhaps they thought that He would be too guarded before them. So, they sent “their disciples” along with the “Herodians.”
          The Herodians were a Jewish political party, who were supportive and benefitted from King Herod’s rule. The Herodians favored and profited from Roman rule. They would have favored the “taxes to Caesar”, for this was the major source of their income. The Pharisees, and therefore the “disciples” of the Pharisees, would have been opposed to the tax. And so, the Pharisees’ plot would appear to be a fool proof way to “entangle Him in His words.” Here two opposing parties, who normally had little to do with each other, conspired together to entrap our Lord.
          Interestingly, in Luke’s account of this event we read of the plot in more treacherous terms. Luke records:

“So they watched Him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch Him in something He said, so as to deliver Him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.” (Luke 20:20)

And so, earlier in Matthew’s account we read of the Pharisees’ direct effort failed to discredit Jesus before the crowds of Jerusalem, so they resort to trickery in order to accuse Him before the crown of Rome. It has always been one of the devil’s ways to use secular power to crush the truth and persecute the Lord’s people.
The fact that our Lord Jesus was so vehemently opposed by these men and that His enemies were so relentless in their efforts to condemn Him should serve warning for us about the ever present threat of those who would discredit us before the eyes of others. Now, balance is needed here. For I have known of some Christians that have seen evil men lurking where there were none. They felt themselves to be the objects of conspiracy and treachery, when in fact, there was no such things present. Do not assume there is a Judas in every crowd or a demon under every rock. You will bring grief to yourself and others, if you do.
But on the other hand, do not assume there are no evil persons about you who would desire your fall. If you are living godly, truly godly, your life is a rebuke to those about you, who do not. They would prefer to lower you a notch or two rather than raise themselves. In order to justify themselves, they will discredit you. And so, they will seek to find fault with you, or identify inconsistency in your life. Worldlings are very alert to see fault and hypocrisy in the Christian. There may be those that try and discredit you in the eyes of others by innuendo, planting doubt as to your sincerity or integrity. Do not disclose the details of your weaknesses to everybody or just anybody. There are some who can take your admission of weakness to harm you. But again, balance is in order. We want to be open and sincere, and we do not want to be pretentious before others that we are what we are not; but caution is needful. The Apostle Paul warned the Christians at Philippi: “Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation (unbelieving Jewish teachers)!” (Phil. 3:2). The Lord Himself taught His disciples in Jerusalem to do the same

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:46)

We also read of our Lord’s own caution: “But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man” (John 2:24f).
Here we see that evil men sent these persons to entrap the Lord Jesus. They pretended to be “honest” or sincere, but they had evil motives. They acted like they really wanted to know what was true and right, but they had no such desires. They were unconcerned about the truth. They were malicious and desired His downfall.
What precisely were they trying to do when they came to Him? They hoped to get Jesus to teach something publicly which would enable them to have Him arrested by the Romans. They would use treachery. Feigning to be learners, they were seeking His demise.

Not only did they employ treachery, but they used flattery. They approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone’s opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances” (Matt. 22:16). Commonly, this is all that is necessary to trip up an undiscerning person. How we like to be flattered! We like to be told that we are such good Christians and indeed, such noble examples of what Christians should be! But flattery is a bad thing which God condemns. King David voiced his lament:

“Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak. 3May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts, 4those who say, ‘With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?’” (Psa. 12:2-4)

David’s son must have learned well from his father, for he wrote, “A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.” (Prov. 29:5).
And so, these enemies of our Lord used flattery in order to set the stage for the challenge which was to follow. But actually, an enemy can destroy us by flattery alone. Flattery will lead us to exalt ourselves, and that alone will result in our fall. An enemy of Christ could wreak a lot of havoc among the people of God simply by coming among us and telling us how good we are, for if that leads us to take our eyes off of Christ and His grace that has produced any good in us, we will most certainly fall.
Now I am not condemning expressions of gratefulness and acknowledgments which are fitting and proper. The Scriptures are filled with commendations of the faithfulness and goodness of His people. But realize that people with wrong motives may use this means to set you up for a fall. Remember Jezebel’s efforts to give her husband, King Ahab, the property and vineyards of his neighbor Naboth? She said to her husband,

“I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.” 8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10And set two worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, ‘You have cursed God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death." (1 Kings 21:7ff)

She would first flatter Naboth, bringing him to the center of attention before others, a place where her false accusations would have sufficient hearing to result in the man’s demise.

          Our text shows us that the pretenders of sincerity praised Jesus for things that were good and true: “Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and You do not care about anyone’s opinion, for You are not swayed by appearances” (22:16). Notice the title, “Teacher.” That is always a good way to begin. Fake respect. That will cause Him to remove his guard. They said, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right.” This a good thing-- to speak and teach what is right. And it was a true statement on their part. Whether or not they truly believed it to be so is questionable. And this is a good thing for which we should commend people, but it can also be used by evil men.
          Then they said, “and You do not care about anyone’s opinion.” This too, is a good thing. The Lord could always be counted on to speak clearly and truthfully and consistently wherever He was. I wish all of us had this trait. Some I suspect can agree with anybody on anything at anytime in any place and never have any qualms about it. I wonder whether or not some people do not slip into their Christian language to me because they recognize me as a pastor but would speak to me in an entirely different manner, if they thought otherwise. I have experienced on numerous occasions over the years immediate “conversions” before my very eyes when persons with whom I am talking learn I am a pastor. It is amazing the transformation of subject, vocabulary, and tone of words that occurs in a moment’s time.           We should all purpose not to show partiality but be true to all and everybody about the fact that we are Christians, that Christ is our Lord, and that we are purposing to order our lives according to God’s laws. And again, this is a good thing for which to commend a person. But these men who came to Jesus did so with false motives.
          But here is another point we might make. There is a sizeable number of evangelical church leaders who have embraced a philosophy of church ministry which advocates that church leaders must do exactly the opposite of what is commended here. They advocate that to be a successful pastor one must “show partiality” to the people you are teaching. In contrast to our Lord, who did not care about anyone’s opinion, they think that it is best to care about anyone’s opinion., and they shape their message accordingly. They say that you must identify what the people are looking for and desire to hear, and then you are to shape your subject matter accordingly. I find it to be disingenuous, patronizing and manipulative. But the marketing of Christianity has come of age. And just as commercial marketers know how to package and offer a product so that you can hardly resist buying it, so church practitioners now have a Christian message which appeals virtually to anyone and everyone. But it is a message with no cross, no denial of self, no repentance from sin, no obedience to Christ the Lord. Beware and be attentive to what you read and what you hear. Beware of people who tell you what you want to hear. The warning of 2 Peter 2 is a good one for today.

“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep. (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Recognize also, that each of us has a tendency to desire to be told what we want to hear. Paul had instructed in Timothy that he would encounter this among the believers in the church of Ephesus. Paul wrote

1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2 Tim. 4:1-4)

We all have the propensity to want to hear what we want to hear. Let us always be ready o receive whatever God would have us know, even if it runs counter to our own desires.

           These opposers of Jesus used treachery and flattery, but we also read that they employed trickery. They posed a question to Jesus that they perceived would result in His demise either way He answered it. “Tell us, then, what You think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” (22:17). If the Lord answered by saying, “Yes, it is according to God’s law for a good Jew to pay tax to Caesar”, then He would be discredited in the eyes of the people. They wanted free from Rome’s yoke and they all thought the Messiah would bring this about. But if He said, “No, it is not according to God’s will”, then He could be accused before the political authorities.
          The coin that was used to pay this Roman poll tax had an inscription which declared the deity of the Roman emperor. On one side was the image of Tiberius Caesar with the inscription, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” On the flip side was an image of the emperor’s mother, Livia, as an earthly incarnation of the Roman goddess “Pax”, along with the inscription, “Pontifex Maximus” (high Priest). The coin was a symbol of Roman authority and it made religious claims which to Jews were blasphemous. There was great resentment among the Jews of the day and they felt that to use the coin was sacrilege.
          The men asked Jesus this question in front of the crowds, and they had already set Him up by saying, “you do not shape your words conditioned on the people’s response.” If He gave the answer they wanted, that it is lawful to pay tax to Caesar, then they had their basis to accuse Him before the Romans.

We read that Jesus answered the challenge. Verse 18f read, “But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put Me to the test, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin for the tax” (Matt. 22:18f). He discerned their motive and responded to them. “He saw through their duplicity (deceit).” Here the Lord reveals His ability to discern the motives of men’s hearts. He can do that. He is the Living Word of God from whom nothing is hidden. Sharper than any two-edged sword, He is able to cut right through that which is hidden from our eyes, and sees the condition of the heart. He tries, weighs, and judges the thoughts, attitudes, and intentions which stand behind men’s actions. This is something we cannot do. And we are told not to do it. Paul wrote,

1This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. 3But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. 4For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. 5Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.” (1 Cor. 4:1-3)

          There is great need of instruction regarding this matter of judging. Several extremes seem to be present. First, there are those who judge everything, including motives; this is wrong. These persons will tell you not only what a person is doing wrong ,but specifically why he is doing it. The Bible says that we cannot know our own hearts, but there are some who set themselves up as judges of other men’s hearts claiming that they know why he or she behaves in such a manner. The Scriptures say you do not know why a person acts the way he does and you should not make specific, authoritative judgments respecting such things. That is God’s responsibility which will be brought to light in the Day of Judgment.
          Second, there are those who judge nothing; this too, is wrong. These people would never say a bad thing about anybody or any action. Accentuate the positive and only the positive. I am sure that they could find something good to say about the devil if given a chance, “Well at least he quoted Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness!” They never saying anything negative.   You never see them correcting, never rebuking, never admonishing or exhorting, although they may have the best of intentions for others, they fail to be true help. We read in Proverbs, “Whoever rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with his tongue” (Pro. 28:23).
          An objection might be leveled by them who never judge, “But does not the Scripture say in 1 Corinthians 4:5 ‘judge nothing before the time? I follow that. I don’t make any judgments. I leave that to the Lord.” Our response is that that way of living is the sure way of death, for, Third, we are to judge the actions and attitudes of people that may be clearly seen and      assessed. We are called upon to be a discerning people, discriminating between truth and error, right and wrong, good and evil. And although we are not to judge motives, we are unable to do so, we can and are to assess and make judgments about actions. Paul went on to write in the same epistle that he taught not to “pronounce judgment before the time”:

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! (1 Cor. 6:2)

Now if you and I were observing our Lord interacting with His enemies on this occasion, we might have suspected their duplicity and as a result exercised caution, and remained silent before them. But our Lord, in contrast to us, could see their motives, and responded accordingly. The book of Proverbs has a wise saying, “Surely in vain is the net spread in the sight of a bird,” and so in the same way it is vain to try entrapping the Lord Jesus through deceitful motives; He sees our hearts.
We then read that He answered to their question, but in a manner that He spoke the truth to them but frustrating efforts to condemn Him.

          18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put Me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show Me the coin for the tax.”
          And they brought Him a denarius.
          20And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”
          21They said, “Caesar’s.”
          Then He said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

He clearly said to them, “Yes, pay the tax.” There could be no just charge leveled against Jesus that He was an insurrectionist, opposed directly to Roman rule. But He qualified His answer, limiting the role and rule of government. Yes, we are to pay taxes, but only that which is their due. “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” The divine honor which the king expected and demanded, is not due him.

Our Lord declares that there are two kingdoms that exist in the world. There is the realm of the kingdom of God, in which our Lord governs His people according to His laws. Then there is the kingdom of this world, in which people of this world rule over others. These two kingdoms are in conflict with one another, but they may also co-exist with one another. The kingdom of God is not political in nature, but rather spiritual. The kingdom of God is not to be advanced through political means, but through the power of God the kingdom of God advances as the Lord converts people to serve His Son, the King over the kingdom of God.
But our Lord is also Lord over all, including the political kingdoms of this world. He is sovereign in that He determines who the leaders will be over every political realm within the world. King Nebuchadnezzar learned this, the hard way. He wrote,

“At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Dan. 4:34ff)

Each kingdom has its role and arena of authority. God Has ordained that our world would be governed by men. We are not to defy or rebel against their authority. To do so, is to rebel against God who has appointed them over us.

1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. 6For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (Rom. 13:1-7)

But earthly governments are limited in their authority over the lives of their citizens. The Lord said, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When there is a clash between claims of authority between God’s kingdom and Caesar’s kingdom, we are to follow the principle of Acts 5:29. The Jewish leaders arrested Peter and John for preaching the gospel in the streets of Jerusalem. They were brought before the Sanhedrin, the leading Jewish political body of the day.

27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest questioned them, 28 saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.” 29But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men.” (Acts 5:27-29)

As Christians we are citizens of two kingdoms. We are citizens of these United States, thank God for the great privilege which is ours. But we are first and foremost citizens of the kingdom of God. We are to be good citizens of our nation, but we are to be loyal first to the kingdom of God and our obedience to Him takes precedence over all other allegiances. We are to yield to Christ’s rule, when Caesar would have us disobey Him. God has blessed this nation. America, God has indeed shed His grace on Thee! But God’s standards of righteousness remain unchanged and America is being assessed and dealt with accordingly. We should pray that He deal with her in mercy.

Now we have here in the states groups of people who live in defiance of the American government. They live on communes. They live in obscure places in the country side. They refuse to pay taxes for they see Caesar as having unjust laws. Many of these people claim to be Christian. And some of the leaders of these fringe groups have a hearing among Christian groups (e.g. the Freemen in Oregon). But these Christians fail utterly to consider the instruction of the Lord in the passage under consideration. It is right and according to God’s law to pay taxes to Caesar. They may ask, “But suppose the government is corrupt and unjust? They use tax money to do ungodly things like fund abortion and wage war against innocent people?” The answer is to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar. Caesar is responsible to God and one day will have to render unto God for its stewardship; but we are to render unto Caesar. That is our responsibility. What Caesar does with that money, he will be held accountable.

We read in Matthew 22:22: “When they heard it, they marveled. And they left Him and went away.” The KJV reads, “When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left him, and went their way.” Their way would not be His way. They were stymied. They were astonished. They were silenced.

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Footnotes

[1] The Reformation Study Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), p. 1505.

[2] The Reformation Study Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), p. 1505.