Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And 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. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites?” (Matt 22:15-18)
Matthew’s account goes on to describe Jesus inviting these plotters with hearts set on entanglement to show him the coin for the tax and asking a simple question. “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” When the obvious answer of “Caesar’s” is given, Jesus skillfully closes their trap by challenging all to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled, and so should we.
But I’d love for you to slow down for just a moment and notice what Matthew revealed for us in 22:18.
But Jesus, aware of their malice…
Were we speaking of a purely ordinary person, we might infer from that phrase that Jesus simply read their facial expressions or noticed their body language. But a little bit of time in the Gospels goes a long way in impressing upon us the fact that it was deeper than skin-deep inferences.
Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. (John 2:24-25)
Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?” (Matt 9:4)
Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand.” (Matt 12:25)
“You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts.” (Luke 16:15)
Jesus, aware… That can be a fascinating, horrifying, comforting thought, depending on what is percolating in and pouring from our hearts. Jesus, aware… It would be good to carry that truth with you and meditate upon it throughout the day. He is just as aware in this moment as he was in Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago.
Jesus is aware of the malice, deceit, lust, and hypocrisy that can ensnare and enslave our hearts.
Jesus is aware of the fear, anxiety, pain, and sorrow that sometimes envelopes and weighs down our hearts.
Jesus is aware of the joy, peace, goodness, and kindness that shines in and radiates from hearts that have been redeemed and are being transformed by God’s grace.
He was telling us the truth in Matthew 15:19-20…
“Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.”
…but he doesn’t have to see the sludge flowing from such a sin-swamped heart to know the true quality of the source. Jesus is fully, completely, definitively aware. To make it as crystal clear and personal as possible for today, Jesus knows my heart better than I know my heart, and the same can be said of you and yours. That can be a fascinating, horrifying, comforting thought, depending on what is percolating within.
So where do we go from here? Maybe the sobering reminder of Matthew 22:18 will serve as fuel to take Jesus’ call in 22:37-39 a little more seriously.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Either way, Jesus is aware. Maybe that means I need to grieve and repent. Maybe that means I can take comfort and courage. Maybe that’s a fresh reason to thank God for his grace and humbly shine to his glory.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb 4:12-13)
May he be pleased by what he finds in each of us today.