CHRIST CHALLENGED BY DISPUTANTS
Matthew 22:15-46

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Members of the church of Christ are often challenged to debate or dispute God's Word by ungodly religious people. The godly would in such instances do well to learn the lessons taught in the present passage, and to imitate Jesus Christ their Exemplar. (See parallel passages in Mark 12:13-37 / Luke 20:20-44.)

Four sorts of disputants here approached Christ. The "Pharisees" (v.15) were "separatists" (as their name indicates), self-righteous and "holier-than-thou" (Luke 18:9-12), the "militant fundamentalist biblicists" and "religious right" of their day. One of these Pharisees was a "lawyer" (v.35), one learned in the Law of Moses. The "Herodians" (v.16) were a political sect supporting the dynasty of Herod. The "Sadducees" (v.23) were the chief priests and political party of the Jewish aristocratic priesthood, holders of only the books of Moses (Genesis-Deuteronomy), rationalists and skeptics (v.23; Acts 4:1f; 23:8), the "theological liberals" and "religious left" of their day.

I. Disputants arise after being exposed by the truth. This is indicated by the word "then" at the beginning of the passage. It refers to what happened previously (21:23-22:14). Christ had just preached the gospel, which is as a light exposing sinners (John 3:19-21). When the righteous are exposed by the light, they repent and come to it in love (as did Peter in Matthew 26:34, 69-75). But when the same light exposes the wicked, they hate it and try to extinguish it (as here). On this occasion, Christ exposed in particular the religious leaders of Israel (21:45). Instead of becoming repentants seeking salvation, they arose as disputants against their exposer. They realized they were now perceived by the people as inferior to Christ, and slipping in popularity. As in politics, so in religion: the party perceiving itself as trailing in the poll of public opinion desires to debate and confound the frontrunner. Expose a wicked man a little, and he will expose himself a lot.

II. Disputants are wicked (v.20): "But Jesus perceived their wickedness". "He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man" (John 2:24f). Disputants against Christ's disciples today are of the same nature as those against Christ then: they are "divisive ..., ... warped and sinning, being self-condemned" (Titus 3:10f); they are "in opposition" against God and in "the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will" (2 Timothy 2:23-26).

III. Disputants set snares (v.15): "Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk." They asked Him an insidious question intended to place Him on the horns of a dilemma. If He answered "Yes" He angered the common people. But if He answered "No" He violated the civil authority and the law of God (e.g., Romans 13:1-7).

IV. Disputants use others (v.16a): "And they sent to Him their disciples." Luke is more graphic (Luke 20:20): "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." When wicked religious leaders are exposed, they often go into hiding and use their underlings, as pretentious as their masters but not as well known, to do their dirty work and set their snares.

V. Disputants form unholy alliances (v.16b): "And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians." Pharisees and Herodians were mutual enemies because the former despised Roman rule over Israel while the latter were sympathetic to it. But in Christ they had a common enemy, even from the beginning of His earthly ministry (Mark 3:6). They therefore could say, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." And all who oppose Christ are in league with hell (John 8:44).

VI. Disputants employ insincere flattery (v.16c): "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men." They were "speaking the truth" – but not "in love" (Ephesians 4:15). In their minds they were saying, "You heretic! We will get the better of you in a dispute."

VII. Disputants are hypocrites (v.18): "But Jesus perceived their wickedness [proving that what they intended as flattery in v.16 was indeed true], and said, 'Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?" A hypocrite is a "pretender" (see 24:13, 14, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29). These hypocrites were wicked emissaries from Satan pretending to be holy men of God, and despisers of Christ pretending to be admirers of Him (see 2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

VIII. Disputants deny the truth (vv.23, 29): "The same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him [the question cited below] .... Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.'" Man in his native state cannot understand spiritual truths (1 Corinthians 2:14). He therefore denies them, and proves himself a fool if he disputes them. Believers of the truth cease disputing it (Proverb 20:3).

IX. Disputants employ impossible hypotheticals (vv.24-28): The Sadducees asked, "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother [Deuteronomy 25:5]. Now there were with us seven brothers. The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her." Their hypothetical question bordered on the absurd regarding the seven marriages, but marched on into the impossible regarding marriage in the resurrection (v.30): "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven." Christ on the other hand dealt in absolute fact (vv.31f): "But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."

X. Disputants wrangle about unimportant issues (vv.34-36): "But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?'" The rabbis had divided the law into 613 commandments, 248 positive and 365 negative, and debated which was the least (they thought Deuteronomy 22:6) and the greatest. This is common for the wicked (1 Timothy 6:3-5; Titus 3:9-11), who wrangle today about whose church is the best church, whose baptism is the only baptism, which day of the week if the most important, and so forth. Such issues fade into irrelevance to those who obey Christ's answer (vv.37-40): "Jesus said to him, '"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." (Let us hope Mark 12:28-34 indicates we may have some hope regarding this lawyer, for Christ is capable of converting even the greatest disputant.)

XI. Jesus did not debate with the disputants. He faithfully answered their questions (vv.17, 24-28, 36) in obedience to the proverb "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes" (Proverb 26:5). He faithfully gave His defense of the truth (1 Peter 3:15). In each answer He appealed to the Word of God, as though to say, "God said it, that settles it, I believe it and will not debate it!" He therefore expressed no interest in what His opponents might venture to say to the contrary. (Paul the apostle followed this same model in Acts 17:18-33.)

XII. Jesus asked the all-important question (vv.42ff): "What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?" The all-important question is not, as from disputants, about church and/or state, marriage, the afterlife, the law, commandments or ordinances, or some other like issue. Rather, the all-important question is about Christ and His Sonship! Who and what is He? Is Christ the only begotten Son God (John 3:16), and therefore God the Son (Hebrews 1:5, 8)? Did Christ become also the Son of Man (Matthew 16:13-16), and therefore "God manifested in the flesh" (1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:1f, 14), the unique God-Man? Is Christ the Son of David while being also at the same time David's Father and Lord (Matthew 22:42-44)? What do you think about His glorious person? His mediatorial offices? His all-sufficiency and immutable efficacy for salvation? Do you consider Christ worthy enough to trust in Him as your Lord and Savior, as David did?

"And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore" (v.46). This question ends all debate - except from those who are bigger fools than even these disputants! "What do you think about the Christ?"

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