Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words.
Matthew 22:15 NIVUK
Scotland has some of the most picturesque roads in Europe. Just as lockdown was easing, we booked a holiday in Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands. To get there, we travelled for around four hours on a bus from Glasgow. That bus travelled on one of Scotland’s most famous, and most notorious, routes: the A9.
The A9 is not a wide highway – in some parts it’s just a dual carriageway. Once it leaves Stirlingshire and crosses into Perthshire the stunning scenery starts. And the further north you drive, the better it gets.
Especially as the road approaches, and then encircles, the Cairngorm Mountains. It’s really something else.
But I did say that the A9 is notorious. It's notorious not just for its beauty, but also because of the mountain climate. At that altitude, and in a country like Scotland, the weather can change quickly. If you leave the Central Lowlands on a nice day, for nine months of the year the weather could be completely different at altitude. You could encounter low cloud, thick fog, sudden cold rain showers, hail, snow or even blizzard conditions. The view might be beautiful in the summer , but it can be lethally dangerous any other time of the year. A slippery road with low visibility in the mountains and a momentary distraction can lead to a serious accident.
We’ve been on several dangerous roads like that: mountain passes in Romania, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland; the cliffside roads of the Amalfi Coast; a mountain road with tens of hairpin bends in Montenegro. We’ve heard of roads with even greater levels of danger, such as the Camino del Muerte in Bolivia. And, of course, pretty much any road at night in countries like India.
The reality is that on such roads, you need a skilled driver who knows the route and respects it. Otherwise you could be in big trouble.
It might sound strange to say it, but Jesus was placed in a similar risk by the Pharisees and Herodians in this passage. They deliberately put him in a position where he had to choose between one extreme and the other, between one polarised position and the other. And they did it with one intention and one intention only: to trap him.
That might sound extreme. However, we need to understand the dynamics of what had happened here. Jesus had entered Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21:1-11), which fulfilled a Messianic prophecy (Zechariah 9:9). He was clearly positioning Himself as the Messiah, the One who would redeem Israel, and many people believed in Him as a result of the miracles He had performed, having followed Him from Bethany, where He had raised Lazarus from the dead (John 12:17).
This aroused the Pharisees’ jealousy (John 12:18-19). In fact, it was clear some months previously that they were looking to kill Him (John 7:1,20; 11:8). But Luke explains their predicament:
Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.
Luke 19:47-48 NIVUK
The situation in Judaea and Galilee at the time would have been incredibly tense. The Romans had effectively annexed both states. There had been attempts at uprisings against the Roman Empire and their shocking brutality. Acts 5:36-37 details some of this, somewhat euphemistically.
Some Jews were firm about campaigning for Jewish freedom. One of them, Simon the Zealot, was actually one of Jesus- disciples (Matthew 10:4; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13).
History also tells us that Romans wanted peace. Pontius Pilate, the governor, had to balance a highly restive population with an army seeking to impose Roman law. There had been riots before. Rome would not tolerate any more. The Jewish leaders knew this. The Pharisees were afraid that a strong leader like Jesus who claimed to be the Messiah would lead the people in a failed rebellion against the mighty of Rome that would lead to them losing their nation and the Temple (John 11:47-48), and with it the means of their power.
Jesus had to be stopped.
But His popularity among the common people (John 7:49) put them in a serious quandary. Arresting Jesus in public risked causing a riot. That would cause the governor to crack down on them hard.
It’s from this precarious position that the devious plan came to trap Him in His words. That is, get Him to say something deeply unpopular with the crowd so they turn against Him or deeply offensive to the Romans so they arrest Him.
Such a beautifully simple yet absolutely despicable plan.
Do you know something? This ancient tactic is still being used nowadays.
Every culture has its sore points: its sensitive subjects that provoke a big reaction. It could be the rights of certain minorities or its past or the role of certain religions in public life. Evil people know how to manipulate these to attempt to turn the masses against followers of Jesus.
It happened in Philippi (Acts 16:20-21). It happened in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-7). It happened in Corinth (Acts 18:12-13). It happened in Ephesus (Acts 19:23-27).
When I was at university, it was happening in campuses the length and breadth of the land. We had incredible allegations levied against us: that we were homophones, that we supported Jewish suppression of Palestinians, that we were exclusivist, that we were a cult, that we were against women’s rights. Just about any popular cause was used to defame us.
Times haven’t changed. There are those who attack Christian businesses by demanding they support causes that the Bible says are wrong.
There are those who put churches under pressure to carry out ceremonies that recognise partnerships that the Bible does not.
There are those in other nations who try their best to provoke God’s people into saying something controversial, or even blasphemous, so they have an excuse to attack them.
None of this should surprise us. Jesus said it would happen. But it’s not something we should be concerned about, because the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say (Matthew 10:16-21). If we need wisdom – and this is a certainty – then we just need to ask for it in prayer and it will be given to us (James 1:5).
We must not be afraid, but we must be prepared. Jesus is plain – He doesn’t followers who decide to follow on a whim. He wants those who consider carefully what it will mean for them and count the cost (Luke 14:25-33).
There is a simple tool business organisations use that can help here. Yes, I know that some people won’t like it because it was created by a businessman, but that is nonsense. If we had to stop using things because a businessman or businesswoman created it, we’d all be sitting in a cave dressed in sackcloth and ashes. So let’s be sensible here. If it’s useful, then we should use it.
It’s a business analysis procedure called a SWOT Analysis.
You take a piece of paper and line it off into halves horizontally and vertically to make four quarters. In the top left quarter, you write down the strengths of your organisation – the things it does well. On the top right quarter, you write the weaknesses. On the bottom left, the opportunities your organisation has in its context, and on the bottom right, the threats against it.
This analysis is simple, relatively quick to do and can be immensely useful. Perhaps most importantly, it allows you to see right away where you need to expend more effort, either consolidating strengths, supporting weaknesses, taking opportunities or mitigating threats.
Jesus, however, didn’t need it. He knew what was in a person (John 2:24) in a way that we do not. Behind their empty flattery (Matthew 22:16-18), He perceived their insincerity and knew immediately what was going on.
We need this wisdom. We don’t need to be afraid or over-wary of people around us, even in the quite incendiary atmosphere that many of us operate. But we do need to be as shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves (Matthew 10:16). If many of those who call themselves Christians had been a little wiser, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.
Maybe now is the time to learn from their mistakes.
Questions
1. What situations to you face when an ill-intentioned person could do harm to your reputation and that of the Gospel?
2. How can you protect yourself against this?
3. Why shouldn’t you be afraid of such people, no matter who they are?
We faced this when you were all growing up. Being accused of us allowing our children to talk about things and have your say. Being told we allowed you all too much freedom to put your points of view. When investigated the only thing said we permitted our children to voice their opinions and let you talk too much. I’ve faced this type of thing in churches too. It isn’t easy but scripture says hold your peace and the Lord will fight for you.