Joab surely recalls what happened to those who informed
David of the death of Saul and his sons and wishes to spare Ahimaaz what will
surely happen to the one who gives David the news that his own son, whom he has
charged all Israel to treat with respect, has been brutally murdered. Ahimaaz apparently does not understand David
at all if he wants to be the bearer of this particular bit of news. Instead, Joab sends a Cushite (northern Sudan
or Ethiopian) with the information. Ahimaaz
seems to have learned quickly though and when he arrives at David claims to
know nothing of Jonathan except there was a commotion about the time he
left. He apparently wants some credit
but no blame and so allows the Cushite to give the bad news.
They devise a plot that itself proposes to be divisive along
religious and cultural lines. The issue
of paying taxes cuts across both these divides and they surely thought Jesus
couldn't possibly navigate the test without arousing someone's anger or
suspicion. Jews were in a difficult
situation with respect to the issue of paying taxes or homage to a foreign king
because it forced them to accept a civil authority that was in conflict to the
authority of God. They, however, were
under foreign domination and so were subject to these taxes or they would lose
their freedom and possibly be imprisoned.
Was Jesus a zealot, on which account he was a danger to the Romans, or
was he a compromiser who would lose his authority over the people. It was certain that Jesus was perceived as a
threat to the establishment that the Herodians and Pharisees got together to
get rid of Him. They were naturally at
enmity with one another on these exact lines, the Pharisees more religiously
zealous and the Herodians more go along to get along with Rome. Jesus' response answers both. The coin bears Herod's image so it can be
given to him while the unstated part is that what belongs to God is that which
bears His image, our lives. The second
test is with the same idea in mind, the Sadducees, apparently feeling left out
the first time around devise their own test because they are materialists and
believe an idea of resurrection of the body flies in the face of reason. Their objection and silly tautology reveal
their materialist rather than biblical way of reasoning and Jesus quickly
demolishes it based on Scripture.
Claudius Lysias sends Paul to the Roman provincial governor
of Judea in order the he might attempt to sort out this mess. He informs the governor of all that has
happened, leaving out some of the details such as, I had him on the rack ready
to flog him when I found out he was a Roman citizen, but, in the main, he
provides all the details necessary for Felix to go forward. Felix is prepared for a trial but that will
wait until Paul's accusers come to present the case against him. He must have realized there was something
important at stake here based on the security detail Claudius sent with
him. His curiosity would certainly have
been aroused. The lessons today are
almost classic cliff-hangers, no resolution but the promise of something for
tomorrow.
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