The Trap

 

Mark 12:13–17 (NKJV)

13 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. 14 When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? 15 Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” 16 So they brought it.

‌And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.”

17 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

‌And they marveled at Him.

‌As a Follower of Christ we will live our lives in opposition. If you are serious about following Christ there should be opposition in our lives.

It is a very fine balance having to live in a world that seems to be growing more and more against Christianity.

It seems like we are in constant tension between Heaven and the world.

 

Now there is an inner struggle between what God wants and what the world demands.

We live in a society that teaches evolution rather than creation.

There’s political agendas and policies that go against what we should believe that is in accordance with God’s Word.

It is hard to be a Follower of Christ.

There will be tension while we try to live for God when we live in this ungodly world.

Shall we pay or shall we not pay.

 

How amazing is it when people get exposed to the truth! At what lengths will a convicted, exposed heart go through to try and keep its secrets kept. To keep its agendas hidden.

Sometimes the retaliation comes as a preemptive strike.

Sometimes they will look for the perfect time to come against you. It may be the weakest moment of your faith, it may be at a time of hardships and sorrow.

As Jesus was in The Wilderness and the Devil was there to tempt Him. Trying to persuade Him with every worldly temptation. Fame, money, power.

The Lord doesn’t give in.

‌Luke 4:12-13

12 And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ ”

13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

‌How crafty and relentless Satan is. He doesn’t just stop but He waits.

‌His return would be certain, not knowing the time or the place that he will come, but at some point he will. And he will use the same tricks to try to entice us to step away, to tempt all to destroy.

The Spiritual Battle doesn’t end until those that fully trust in Christ are reunited with Christ to have fullness of peace in Christ.

‌The reason for the temptations never change. It always revolves around the confessing heart to go against the One that has saved it. What changes are the methods that the temptation gets packaged.

‌So how can we avoid traps?

How can we be able to recognize these traps?

What is a trap?

‌A trap is a device that is used to hunt and catch animals or people without allowing them to escape.

‌Pharisees and the Herodians were sent to catch Jesus in His words.

‌The Pharisees and the Herodians were not pursuing or hunting for the truth that Jesus offered but looked for something that He might say to use against Him.

Jesus was not only challenging the religious but also the political. Both sides were threatened by Him. They had a common enemy but they had different agendas. The Religious system was being challenged because The Lord came by the power and authority of the Father. The political side was plotting against Him because the people were attracted to Him. The people of Jerusalem had just welcomed Jesus as King just a few days before.

So they plan to trap Him. This was different. The Pharisees had already tried to catch The Lord in a lie. Straight forward with questions.

They asked for signs. They asked by what authority. They asked many different questions.

But now they use a different method.

A new strategy. Still traps.

There is the trap of Flattery.

verse 14

“Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.

What’s the difference between gossip and flattery?

Gossip is what you do behind someone’s back to harm them. Flattery is what you do to their face to inflict harm on them.

They have already gossiped about Jesus.

Gossip will try to persuade someone else’s opinions about someone or something.

Flattery is trying to directly manipulate someone’s heart and emotion.

These Pharisees and Herodians come to Jesus with a different approach.

What does flattery do?

It is an attempt to stroke someone’s ego. By coming to Jesus this way , lifting Him up and saying all of these wonderful things about Him should get Him to tell them what they want to hear.

‌They confess to The Lord for how Truthful He is. They really didn’t believe it, If they did they wouldn’t be out there plotting against Him.

They tell Him how they admire that He does not allow man to persuade. He sees all man through the same lens. The need for a Salvation, Mercy and Grace that He offers. All souls need this.

Then they Praise Him for how He teaches the Truth of God’s Word.

Of course these are all true statements. It was the intent and the way they say these things, flattery.

Hoping that through these smooth words Jesus would let His guard down just enough for them to trap Him in something.

Flattery does not work with Jesus Christ. Flattery is often used as a tool to manipulate and deceive, leading us away from truth and genuine relationships.

We can come to Him with the most precious words of adoration. As we should because He deserves our highest praise and worship. But if we are doing it in a way that is trying to get Him to do our will, I can assure you He will not be moved by our empty words.

What is Flattery?

‌The definition of flattery is insincere praise or words of encouragement used with the intention of gaining favor with others.

The Lord does not get caught off guard. He knows the intent and the purpose.

Smooth words to entice our pride. It lets your guard down.

Why are you saying these things?

There is a difference between encouraging and flattering.

Proverbs 29:5 NKJV

[5] A man who flatters his neighbor Spreads a net for his feet.

 

Gossip is what you do behind someone’s back to harm them. Flattery is what you do to their face to inflict harm on them.

We try so hard to please men by not offending them. The Word of God can be very offensive to a sin-filled heart when it is confronted with the Truth of God’s Word. We have been entrusted with the Gospel. It has to be given in love with the Grace and mercy of God uncompromised not to flatter an unstable heart but to bring them to be redeemed, cleansed and renewed because of the mercy of God!

How can we resist flattery?

We should care more about pleasing God than pleasing people. The person who flatters usually wants something in return.

We can pray for discernment instead of allowing our vanity and ego to take over.

We should learn to guard ourselves from using flattery. It can be very good to truthfully compliment somebody, but when we do it because of a secret motivation or falsely compliment them it becomes dishonest and deceitful.

We must watch our hearts.

The Spiritual Battle doesn’t end until those that fully trust in Christ are reunited with Christ to have fullness of peace in Christ.

Pastor Ed

 

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