In the sermon 'Round 2: The Pharisees vs. Jesus' by Peter Allison, the focus is on Jesus' interactions with the Pharisees as detailed in Luke 20. The Pharisees attempt to trap Jesus with questions about paying taxes to Caesar, but Jesus skillfully avoids their manipulation by stating, 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.' This response highlights the distinction between worldly and divine responsibilities. The sermon delves into the idea of Jesus as the 'chief cornerstone,' emphasizing that those who reject Him will face destruction, while believers will be saved. The narrative also explores the tension between the visible and invisible church, as well as the concept of election and reprobation from Romans 9-11. The sermon critiques unjust taxation and asserts God's ultimate ownership over all creation. It concludes with a call for believers to have boldness in speaking truth, reflecting on the rightful authority of God over every aspect of life.

Please turn to Luke chapter 20. And I begin reading at verse 9, oh, I'm sorry, at verse 17. Then he looked at them and said, What then is this that is written? The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. Whoever falls on that stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.

And the chief priests and the scribes sought that very hour to lay hands on him, but they feared the people, for they knew he had spoken this parable against them. So they watched him and sent spies who pretended to be righteous that they might seize on his words in order to deliver him to the power and the authority of the governor. Then they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that you say and teach rightly, and you do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But he perceived their craftiness and said to them, Why do you test me?

Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered and said, Caesar's. And He said to them, render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God. But they could not catch Him in His words, in the presence of the people.

And they marveled at His answer and kept silent." The Word of God is very pure. May we, His servants, love it. Heavenly Father, we ask that Your Word may come to us now not in the power of human oratory and eloquence, but in the power of your Holy Spirit with much assurance. And I pray that you would sanctify my sinful lips to keep me from error this morning. I pray, Lord, that your word may be open to us.

May you would open our hearts to receive it in Jesus name. Amen. This is round two of the Pharisees versus Jesus. This week leading up to Christ's death and burial and resurrection is covered in great detail by all the Gospel writers, all four accounts. Because His death, Burial and resurrection is the climax of history.

It is what all the Old Testament saints looked forward to. It's what all the sacrifices pointed forward to. And it's what the New Testament church looks back to. We celebrate the Lord's Supper. We do that in remembrance of His death and burial.

Nearly a quarter of this book of Luke is spent covering the events of this week. And in over this week and the days leading up to his ascension, Over 40%, almost half of the Gospel of John, is dedicated to this same timeframe. In terms of the three years, three and a half years, it's a very small section of it, but in terms of its importance, and in terms of the amount of time and space that the Gospel writers give to it. It's the majority. So this is an important time.

On Saturday, Jesus, you remember, had arrived in Bethany. John 12.1 tells us that was six days before the Passover. He arrived in Bethany. On Sunday, there was the triumphal entry. This was when the Passover lamb was selected.

John 12 records that this was the next day after Jesus arrived in Bethany. On Monday, Mark tells us that the next day after that, Jesus cursed this fig tree and He cleansed the temple. Mark 11 tells us on the next day, which would be the next day after the triumphal entry. On Tuesday, on the way into Jerusalem from Mount of Olives, the disciples see this fig tree that Jesus had cursed. It was all withered and they commented on it.

Mark 11 tells us that That was in the morning, the next morning. And then I believe on Wednesday the Pharisees asked Jesus by what authority He did these things and we looked at that last week. Mark 11 tells us that Jesus came, they came again into Jerusalem. I believe that would be the next day. Luke simply tells us that one of these days that Jesus was in the temple.

So Luke says that Jesus was teaching in the temple this week. He had cleansed it, he had driven out all the money changers, and people that were desecrating the house, and he was using the house for its rightful purpose, of a house of prayer, where God's Word was being explained. Luke says, on one of these days, the Pharisees had come and asked him by what authority he did these things. Mark says that that day was the day that he came again in Jerusalem. And so this is the day I believe this Wednesday this is the day that I assume I believe the Pharisees sought to trap him with their questions on taxes that we'll look at Lord willing this morning and then the question on the resurrection.

Matthew tells us that these two questions happened on the same day. You Remember last week when the Pharisees asked Jesus by what authority he did these things that he had skillfully avoided their manipulative question. He went on to tell this parable about the wicked vine dressers. These wicked vine dressers, you remember, had rented a vineyard, but they refused to give the owner his rightful rent when it came due. In fact, they mistreated, they not only failed to pay the rent that was due to the owner, but they mistreated all the representatives that the owner sent to collect the rent.

And they even killed the owner's beloved son, somehow in some irrational, misguided way, thinking that if they killed his son, whom he really loved and was the heir, that they would somehow be the heir in the Son's place. And Jesus then asked them, well, what do you think the owner is going to do when he returns? Well, he will, obviously, he will cast out the worthless vinedressers and give that vineyard to others. And the Pharisees understood very clearly that Jesus was talking about them. That they were these wicked vine dressers who were rejecting God's messengers and in a few days would kill his own son.

This rejection of the Jews and their excommunication from the church is recounted in Romans 9, 10, and 11. Is recounted in Romans chapter 9, 10, and 11. It's a rather lengthy discourse on this very point, the rejection, the excommunication of the Jews. Romans 9, we think of it as this treatise on election and reprobation which it is but it begins with an astounding statement. Paul says, Paul takes an oath in Scripture.

He says, I tell the truth in Christ, I'm not lying. My conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit. He's calling the God to be a witness to his conscience. That's what an oath is, calling God to witness what we are saying. He says, I have great sorrow and grief in my heart for I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen, according to the flesh.

Paul's saying, I wish I was accursed if it would mean that my own countrymen, these apostate Jews who killed God's prophets and were about to kill His Son, if they could be saved, He wished himself to be accursed. He talked about how the Jews had great blessing. They had the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, the promises. They had all this. But Paul says that there's a distinction though, and that distinction is between the elect and the reprobate.

Not all descendants of Abraham are elect. And he does that in verses 6 of Romans chapter 9. They are not all Israel. There he's speaking of the elect, which we would call the invisible church. They are not all elect, or they are not all of the invisible church.

They are not all Israel, he uses that word Israel. They are not all Israel who are of Israel. He's using the word Israel in two different senses in the exact same sentence. They are not all Israel who are of Israel. But he's not talking nonsense.

He's making a distinction between the visible church and the invisible church. The visible church is called Israel. But not all the people in the visible church are Israel, not all elect. Nor are they all children of Abraham. Because nor are they all children.

Remember, it is those who are believed, who are in Christ by faith that Paul says are heirs of the promises to Abraham. Nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham. They are not children just because they are children of Abraham. They are not children, meaning the church, the invisible church, the elect. They are not elect just because they are physically descended from Abraham.

But in Isaac, your seed will be called. And so Paul says that this distinction between believers and unbelievers, between these Jews, these apostate Jews who reject the gospel and rejected Christ and her excommunicated, that difference is because of the decree of election and reprobation. And he concludes at the end then, he says, well, what do we say about this? In the chapter nine, he says, the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained the righteousness even the righteousness of faith but the Israel referring to this visible church, but they were apostate, they were reprobate, they were in the visible church, they were, in this case, the church leaders. But they are apostate.

He says, but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. They're pursuing it, but they haven't obtained it. Why, he says? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. You can't get there by the works of the law, but they tried.

They didn't get it. For they stumbled, he says, at that stumbling stone. As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on him will not be put to shame." And that's what Jesus goes on to say after he told them this parable. He said, what is this that it is written? The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

Become the chief cornerstone. See, the distinction is between those who believe and those who don't. God has not cast away His people. And he goes on to say in chapter 10, my heart's desire, Again, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. And then in chapter 11, and he talks about that this was prophesied in the Old Testament.

That God said to Israel, but of Israel He said in Isaiah 65, all day long I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. And so then in chapter 11, Paul asks this rhetorical question again. He says, has God cast away His people? And Paul says, certainly not. Certainly not.

God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. These apostate Jews who rejected Christ were reprobates. They were not those whom God had foreknown and loved from before the foundation of the world. Paul says, no. He says, I too am an Israelite of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

No, God has not cast away His people whom he foreknew. So he says, what then? Well, Israel has not obtained what it seeks, but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were hardened. But why did the elect obtain it? Because they believed.

And the reprobate did not believe. And so he goes on to warn these gentiles that to be careful that they become prideful. He says, you will say branches were broken off that I might be grafted in, that's true. So God cut away these natural branches and grafted in these wild olives and brought them into the church. He didn't replace, the church doesn't replace Israel.

Only the unbelieving Israelites were cast out. Blindness has come to them in part, not entirely. Blindness has come to them in part in order that riches may come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. This blindness has come. He says, well said, branches were broken off that I might be grafted in well said because of unbelief they were broken off.

And you stand by faith, do not be haughty but fear. For if God didn't spare the natural branches, He won't spare you either. If you don't bear fruit, if you don't believe. He said, therefore consider the goodness and severity of God on those who fell severity but toward you goodness, if you continue in His goodness, otherwise you will be cut off. And if they also, If they do not continue in unbelief, they will be grafted in.

So this apostasy was a great apostasy, but if they believed Paul is saying, they will be grafted back in if they don't continue in their unbelief. For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature and were grafted contrary to nature into the cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are natural branches be grafted in to their own olive tree. He says, for I do not want you to be ignorant brethren of this mystery, that you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so, Paul says, and so in this way, all Israel will be saved. All of the invisible church, all of the elect, all of Israel will be saved when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in, as well as the Jews who already were in that believed.

That believing Jews and the believing Gentiles together comprise the fullness of the church. So back then to this narrative in the Gospel of Luke where Jesus says that stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was something that was prophesied in the Old Testament. This was taught in several places in Isaiah 8 verse 13, The Lord of hosts, him you shall hallow, Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. He will be as a sanctuary, but a stone of stumbling, And a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And many among them shall stumble and they shall fall and be broken, be snared and taken. Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples." There's Isaiah saying many of these Jews, many of the house of Israel will stumble at Christ. Or in Isaiah 28, Isaiah says, Because you have said, we have made a covenant with death and with Sheol, we are in agreement. When the overflowing scourge passes through, it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood we have hidden ourselves. Therefore, because you've said that, God says, Therefore, thus says the Lord, behold, I lay in Zion A stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation, whoever believes will not act hastily.

And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plummet. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lives and the waters will overflow the hiding place. Jesus said He is laying a cornerstone that is precious. It is true. It is tried.

But that same precious cornerstone to the Jews is a trap, a snare, and a stumbling block. Psalm 118, The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in her eyes. This isn't something new.

This isn't something of change. This is what God in His Word had been saying all along that those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be crushed. Christ's enemies can expect nothing else than their absolute destruction. Those that slight Him, that stumble at Him, that are offended at Him. Jesus said, we'll be broken on that stone.

But those that not only reject Him, but hate Him and persecute Him as the Jews did, it says that stone will fall on them and crush them to powder, grind them to powder. These Jewish leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, were being, right here in these accounts, in these days, were being crushed by the cornerstone that they had rejected. First you had the triumphal entry on Sunday. Then Jesus' authoritative cleansing of the temple, which in one of the cases was with a whip, a scourge, something that takes flesh out of people. He evaded their trap on his question of authority, And he proceeded to tell a parable that put the Sadducees and the Pharisees, the Jewish leaders, in a very bad light.

But instead of recognizing what was happening to them was what the scripture said would happen. That they, because they were rejecting this stone, this precious cornerstone, they were being crushed to powder. Instead of recognizing that was What was happening and turning in faith to Christ, they doubled down on their rejection. They sought that very hour to lay hands on Him, But they feared the people. They were afraid of the people.

That's one mark of bad leaders. Bad civil leaders and bad church leaders. When they fear the people and change their answer to say what will please the people, you know you have an unrighteous, an unjust, a bad ruler. They don't speak the truth, and they don't act because they fear the people. In fact, they're even willing to look ignorant and stupid when Jesus asked about the authority of John.

Rather than say what they knew or say what they thought they believed, they feigned ignorance because they feared the people. And So they double down on their rejection and they send spies now to Jesus. Jesus is teaching every day in the temple. They send spies to try and trap him with his own words. They tried to create a trap by agent provocateurs.

It's sort of like what happens in our country, what happened in January 6, 2021. If the protesters aren't rioting on their own, then they send agent provocateurs in to agitate the crowd and stir them up and engage in criminal mischief as hoping people will follow them in their mischief. And they got a few to do that. Well, that's what these Jews do. They send in these spies, these agent provocateurs, and they come up to Jesus pretending to be loyal disciples, wanting to hear what Jesus has to say, wanting to learn from Him.

And they ask Him this question that they thought would get Him. Criminals are so often stupid. These Jews are very brilliant people, but they're really stupid. They just were, they've been answered by Christ every time they try to trap Him, but they still think, well, they can get it one more time. Just the next time we'll get it.

So they asked this question. Teacher, we know that you say and teach rightly. They don't believe that. They were spies, right? They're trying to trap him.

And you don't show personal favoritism, but you teach the way of God in truth. Well that they got right. He did do that. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not? We really want to know.

Well, they're really not trying to find out. They're trying to trap him. If he says no, it's not lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, then he makes himself an enemy of Rome. If he says yes, it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, then They thought that he would make himself unpopular with the people. To them that's a big deal.

That when it mattered to Jesus, he would have spoken the truth. But Jesus perceives their cunning. Jesus confronts their manipulative speech. And he rebukes their ungodly manipulative speech. He doesn't just let it pass.

This was not an honest question. It was an ungodly question. It was asked not in innocence, but out of cunning, an attempt to attack, a trap. And Jesus doesn't let it pass. He doesn't ignore it.

And He doesn't fall for it, certainly. This is what Jesus taught just a few chapters earlier in Luke 17. He says, if your brother sins against you, rebuke him. And if he repents, forgive him. And If He sins against you seven times in a day and seven times in a day returns to you saying, I repent, then you shall forgive Him.

That's what Jesus is doing here. He's rebuking for their ungodly speech, their Manipulative speech. He's not enabling it. He's not overlooking it. It's hard to confront, especially these kind of people.

It's much easier just to ignore it. It's much easier just to feign compliance with it. But that's not what he does. He confronts it. He says straight on, why do you test me?

I know what you're doing. He perceived their craftiness. But he also didn't answer their question. Just because a question has been asked doesn't mean that it has to be answered. It really is a question of authority.

Does the person asking the question have the authority to ask it? If they do, it must be answered. If they don't, it doesn't have to be answered. Just because a man with a lot of guns and badges asks a question doesn't necessarily mean it has to be answered. We have to ask, do they have authority to ask this question?

Jesus is the righteous judge of all the earth. And one day he will call men, all men, to give an account of every minute and every word. And God has certainly given authority to His servants, civil magistrates, which we must recognize. So Jesus answers this question with a statement that gives the truth. He teaches, but it didn't directly answer the question the way they were hoping.

In other words, he evaded and avoided their trap and proclaimed the truth both at the same time with his answer. He said, render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God's the things that are God's. And some have used that to try and justify all taxation. But we have to go back and Look at the question that they asked. They didn't ask, are taxes lawful?

They asked, is it lawful to pay taxes? And that's a very different question. Because it's not unlawful, it's not wrong to pay an unlawful tax. And Jesus did that. Remember when they wanted to impose the temple tax on Jesus and Peter came to Jesus and they went to Peter and said, why come your master doesn't pay the temple tax?

And Peter ran to Jesus about it and what did Jesus tell him? The sons, they don't have to pay the tax. That's for those that aren't sons. But lest we offend anybody, go to this river and fish, and you'll catch a fish and open the fish's mouth and take out a gold coin and go pay the tax. You see, it's not wrong to pay an unlawful tax.

And the question that the Jews asked is, is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar. In other words, is it a sin to pay taxes to Caesar? Is it lawful? Is it a sin to pay taxes to Caesar? And the answer is no, it's not a sin to pay taxes to Caesar, even if that tax is unlawful.

And so Jesus says, though in his answer, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. But before he said that, I left out one thing. Jesus pointed out that they were using Caesar's money. He said, show me a denarius. Show me one of the coins in your pocket, which they did, probably with some premonition of impending doom.

And he said, well, whose inscription is on that coin? And they said, well, it's Caesar's inscription. It's Caesar's image on that coin. In other words, That belongs to Caesar. So give to Caesar what belongs to him and give to God what belongs to him.

Caesar points out they're using Caesar's money. And he says if you're using Caesar's money, then give to Caesar what Caesar's. If you're using Caesar's roads and you're using Caesar's services, then give to Caesar what's his. The word that they use here when they ask is it lawful for us to pay taxes, is foron. And that usually refers to tribute paid by some subject nation.

And as Paul taught in Romans 13, that we're to pay that tribute Because these civil magistrates are God's ministers attending continually to this very thing And if they're attending to this justice as God's minister then the Bible says they are us a labor worthy of their wages So there is a wage that they are allowed, and we're to pay that wage. In the parallel passage, Now sometimes a lot is made of this word foron as being a tribute of vassal nations that vassal nations pay to a conquering nation. But I think we have to be careful pushing that very far and trying to argue from that word that therefore these taxes are not right. Because in the parallel passage in Matthew 22, where Matthew records this same incident, he uses a different word. He uses the word caneson, which we get the word census from and and and so they add they Matthew records it is with this other word and so I think if I don't think we can press these words too much on these nuances.

I think we should just see these as taxes. Yes, there were different words, and yes, there were these different taxes, but Luke and Matthew both use different words to refer to this same thing. So Jesus is talking about taxes here. We can safely, I think, say taxes in general. That we are to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God's the things that are God's.

Now the question then is, what is Caesar's and what is God's? What are we to render to Caesar and what is God's? Well, the power to tax implies ownership. Implies ownership. So what is God's?

I know you all know the answer to that. Psalm 24, 1 and 2. The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness. Everything in it is the Lord's. He made it all.

He owns it by the right of Creator. Everything all the gold, all the silver, all the wood, all the concrete, all the water, all the air, it's all God's. And He directs wherever it goes and whatever it's used for. It's His. The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness.

There is nothing in the earth that God doesn't own. It's His. But he goes on, Psalm 24 goes on and says, the world and those who dwell therein. So it's not just the gold and silver and the animals and the wood, but it's all of us too. Everybody who dwells in God's earth is also His because He made us as well.

We're His. That means He has the right to tax it. He has the right to tax however much he wants, from zero to a hundred percent. If he wants our life, it's his. If he wants all our money, it's his.

He took all Job's money. God didn't do Job an injustice in doing that. Because it was His to take. The world and those who dwell therein, for Here's why it all belongs to Him, for He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. God has created the earth from the waters.

Everything then. When God asks of us a tithe, He is of our increase. It's not a tithe of everything we own, it's a tithe of the increase, just the increase. God's saying the increase is mine. I'm asking, I'm telling you to give back 10% of what is mine.

We belong to Him. Well, what is Caesar's? Well, if everything belongs to God, what's left for Caesar? Only what God has given to Caesar. That's what's left for Caesar.

And what has God given to Caesar? Well the only just tax in the Bible, The only tax that Caesar can lawfully levy is a poll tax. In Exodus 30, God gives this tax. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord. When you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.

This is what Everyone among those who are numbered shall give half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary. A shekel is twenty geras. The half shekel shall be an offering to the Lord. Everyone included among those who are numbered from twenty years old and above shall give an offering to the Lord. The rich shall not give more, the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when you give an offering to the Lord to make atonement for yourselves.

And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord to make atonement for yourselves." There is the poll tax. And the principle there is it's by person, Because every person enjoys the justice and the protection of the law, the civil magistrate, and of the church. And the rich don't pay more and the poor don't pay less. That's an important distinction. Because The poor should have equal justice with the rich.

The rich don't get different justice or more justice. It's equal. And so the tax is to be equal. And so, and of course that doesn't mean that the Israelites only gave those taxes. There are many unjust taxes recorded in scripture.

David tried to take a census that was moved, he was moved by Satan in doing that. So the purpose of a census was to number people for war. And it would appear that David was moved by Satan to number Israel in order to set up a standing army. And that desire and motivation came from Satan. And you remember Job was against it, but then he, when he tried to persuade David not to do it, he was unsuccessful, but it was, and so he went off to do it, but it was so distasteful to him that he didn't even finish it.

And then, you remember the great plague that came upon Israel, just as Exodus 30 says, if it's done wrongly, then God would bring a plague among the people. And so, this is the only just tax that belongs to Caesar. When he tries to tax the increase, he's saying, I'm God. He's trying to be and play God. When he tries to tax property, the earth is the Lord's.

The Lord has not given the land to Caesar. He's given it to people. In fact, in the case of Ahab, who tried to buy Naboth's vineyard, Naboth said, no, you can't buy it. This has been given to us. It's been given to me and to my family, to my children.

And it would be wrong for me to sell it to you. So when Caesar tries to tax our property, he's claiming to be God. When he tries to run, own everything, he's also encroaching on the authority and the jurisdiction that God has given to families. The very word economy, if you look it up in Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary, the word economy relates to households. I thought that's very interesting.

We think of economy today as something national and governmental and all the polls that come out, they always ask you what the government should be doing for our economy. And my thought is nothing. It's not theirs. The economy has to do with home. Home relates to family.

Business is the purview of families. And the whole purpose of business is to provide food and medical and housing and relaxation to families. If you think of every business at some point exists to do one of those things. And so there are many, many unjust taxes because the civil magistrate tries to be God. And the question here is, is it lawful to pay these taxes?

And The answer is yes, it's not a sin to pay an unjust tax. And sometimes it's a wise thing to do. But there's no obligation to pay an unjust tax. Jesus did not teach here though, tax revolt. I think that's a very dangerous idea.

And many people that try to engage in that end up in jail and can't care for their families and can't put food on the table and those are greater sins. It's not a sin to pay an unjust or wrong tax. Jesus' answer is to pay to Caesar what is Caesar's. If we're using his roads, if he owns the roads and we're using them then we should pay tax. And we do.

Every time we buy a gallon of gas We are paying tax to Caesar for the use of his roads. If he sets up courts and administers justice, then we should be paying his taxes because he's God's minister attending continually to that very thing. Well we're going to pause here because we're at the end of this answer. Verse 26 says they could not catch him in his words, in the presence of the people. They failed again, and they marveled at his answer, and they kept silent.

They had nothing to say. That's a foretaste of the day of judgment, when every mouth will be stopped, and there will be nobody, nobody that can answer back to the Judge of all the earth. Sadly, they don't learn from this, and the Sadducees, we'll see next week, Lord willing, think that they can outdo the Pharisees and so they want to take a crack at it. In their pride it leads to their downfall. We'll look at that next week, Lord willing.

Let's pray. Almighty Heavenly Father, the earth belongs to you in all of its fullness, and so do we. We are your people, the sheep of your pasture. You have made us, not we ourselves. We recognize, Lord, your absolute ownership over us.

The right you have to command the use of our time, the right you have to all of our wealth, the right you have to all that we have. For we have nothing that you have not given to us. Even our spouses, you have said that he who finds a wife finds a favor from you. Our relationships, Lord, are from You. It is You that gives us the power to get wealth and not ourselves.

Father, may we have a generous and bountiful eye with all that you have given to us. May we be faithful stewards with what you have given to us. Not seeking for more unjustly. Lord, may we also have this kind of boldness that Christ had to resist the manipulation, to speak the truth regardless of the consequences. We ask, Lord, that you would give us a faithfulness, that we might never be ashamed of you, never offended by you, never offended by what your word teaches or commands, especially today.

But Lord, we know that in every day, every age, The world is offended By the claims of your gospel by the truth of your word and by the justice of your laws Lord we ask your forgiveness where we have spoken as the wicked who say that with their tongue they will prevail that their lips are theirs. Lord, our lips are yours. May they speak what is true and edifying, what is beautiful and lovely. May our minds be filled with that which is of good report. May your word dwell in us richly.

We may speak to one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing, making melody in our heart to you, speaking what is edifying for the body. We ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.