Waverly Church of Christ

There is an ancient proverb which dates back 2,400 years to India that states, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Such is the case in our text today.

In the last lesson we noticed that the “the chief priests, scribes and elders of the people questioned Jesus’ authority in driving out those who were buying and selling in the temple. After Jesus silenced them, they sent the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in an effort to trap Him in a statement. These two groups were about as far apart on the spectrum religiously and politically as could be:

a. The Pharisees were extremely conservative in their Judaism whereas the Herodians were extremely liberal.

b. The Pharisees were the right-wingers; the Herodians were the left-wingers.

c. The Pharisees resisted Roman authority; the Herodians accomodated it.

The one thing which brought them together on this occasion was their disdain for Jesus:

a. The Pharisees despised Him because He was disrupting their religious agenda.

b. The Herodians considered Him a threat to their political arrangement with Rome.

Thus they came together with one common purpose, to trap Jesus in a statement. They tried to flatter Him and then they put out their bait.