The Gospel of Mark
Pharisees and Herodians, Sadducees: Mk 12,13-27
Pharisees and Herodians: 12,13-17
"They" in verse 13 are the group named in 11,27: chief priests, scribes and elders. We have seen that they went away in verse 12. Now, these Pharisees and Herodians are sent by them. In Matthew's Gospel, the Pharisees do their own plotting (and the Herodians just get a mention) (Mt 21,15-16).
Linking Pharisees and Herodians in this way is unique to Mark. It enables him to bring together both religious (Pharisees) and secular (Herodians) opposition to Jesus. He is a threat to both groups (and to those who sent them).In verse 14 (as in verse 19), Jesus is addressed as "teacher" but of course they have no intention of accepting his teaching. They are trying to trap him (verse 13).
The nature of the flattery in verse 14 is clear both because we are told they are trying to trap Jesus (verse 13) and from Jesus' own reaction about their hypocrisy (verse 13). By making these statements, the Pharisees and Herodians are trapping themselves in their own decit.
They call Jesus a teacher whithout following his teaching. They state that Jesus is a man of integrity, guided by the truth not expediency. They say Jesus is someone who has no regard for a person's standing. He is a true teacher of God's way. All of this we the readers of the Gospel know to be profoundly true.
The Herodians would accept the need to pay taxes so Jesus would offend them if his answer was negative. However, the Pharisees as the strict religious party would not be open to paying the tax. Their idea is that Jesus would be caught whichever way he answered.
The coin would have had an image of the Emperor and an inscription proclaiming his divine status. (British coins even today proclaim the Queen as defender of the (Christian) faith.) Such a coin would be most inappropriate in the Jewish Temple where God has no images. That such a coin was readily available once again highlights the double standards of the questioners.
Matthew and Luke changed Mark's "bring me a coin" to "show me a coin". This clarifies that Jesus did not handle the coin. If he had done so, he would have been falling into the trap himself.
The climax to the encounter comes in verse 17 when Jesus gives an answer that could be read differently by his opponents. The Herodians could accept that there is a place for the rule of Caesar whilst the Pharisees could accept the place given to God. That Jesus is firmly on God's side will become clearer later (12,29).
Now return to the main page.
Sadducees: 12,18-27
Acts 23,8 tells of the conservative religious views of the Sadducees: there is no resurrection nor do they accept heaven populated with angels and spirits as featured in many writings of the time (seen today in the Preface to the Eucharistic Prayer).
As with the Pharisees and Herodians (12,10) so again in verse 19 Jesus is addressed as Teacher. Once again there is no openness to his teachings.
This time the issue will be religious (the resurrection) whereas with the Pharisees and Herodians the issue was practical (paying taxes). With the Pharisees and Herodians, the aim was to trap Jesus (12,13), here it is to ridicule and humiliate him.
Torah, the Jewish Law, is in the book of Deuteronomy clear that brothers marry their deceased brother's widow in order to raise up children for him (Dt 25,5-10). The continuation of the clan was all important. This gave close kin a right to marry, as in the story of Ruth (Ruth 3) or Tobit (Tob 6). The Sadducees therefore proposed a story (12,20-23) which may be loosely based on Sarah and Tobias in the book of Tobit.
Jesus' reply is blunt, they are mistaken (verse 25), seriously mistaken (verse 27). In verse 25, he says they know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. He then considers this beginning with the power of God.
Verse 26 therefore indicates the radical transformation at the resurrection arising from the power of God. The Sadducees see resurrection only as a return to earthly conditions and thus the continuing need for marriage. Jesus says that after the resurrection they will be like the angels, like the angels they will have glory and eternal life. The letter to the Hebrews is speaking about Jesus who for a little while was lower than the angels (Heb 2,9) now crowned in glory which his followers will share (Heb 2,10).
The argument from Scripture is more subtle, Jesus is using a style of argument which was typical of his time. He has to argue from Torah because the Sadducees did not accept the book of Daniel. Even though the Patriarchs were dead at the time of Moses and the burning bush (Ex 3,6), nonetheless Jesus says, they were still living to God. His covenant with them is for ever. Thus he is a God of the living, not the dead. The way of the sadducees is a way of death.
Some editions of the NRSV include the 4th book of Maccabees where the point is perhaps clearer. Look there at 4 Mac 7,19 and 4 Mac 16,25. The latter referring to the Jewish martyrs (see 2 Mac 7) reads: "They knew also that those who die for the sake of God live to God, as do Abraham and Issac and Jacob and all the patriarchs".
Jesus has therefore overcome the Sadducees by arguing on their own terms. His conclusion in verse 27 could hardly have been stronger.
The next episode will be quite different. For this, we first return to the main page.