Jim,

Can't claim any originality of thought here, but Tom Wright's Mark for Everyone has lots of good stuff to help "unpack" (hate that word but it seems to be acceptable shorthand these days) the difficult parts of this chapter. My favorite thoughts that I remember: notice how Jesus is being questioned by the "Playas" of his day (Pharisees, Herodians, Sadducees, and the Lawyers). Everyone is there to question Jesus following his astonishing action at the Temple. Why? All four groups have their own understanding of the way things ought to be so it's natural for them to see if Jesus will agree with their take. (Plus, some Pharisees and Herodians hoped he'd end up the way of John the Baptist.)

Next, notice how Jesus turns each groups' own thoughts and understandings against them. The Pharisees generally didn't even want to hold a Roman coin, much less have to look at the offensive symbol of idolatry. "So, says Jesus, "you want to talk about the coins, then show one to me." Ouch. The Sadducees wanted to bring Israel back in line with the first five books of the Bible, which in their mind did not include this crazy idea of some cosmic, global resurrection. "So, says Jesus, "let's look at what Moses (the author of your favorite books) has to say about this." Ouch.

Finally, and my favorite exchange b/c I too am a lawyer, we get shocked by the lawyer who of all these questioners turns out to be "not far from the Kingdom of God."

Thanks for this, WG. Have you had a chance to look at Bishop Wright's new book, Simply Christian yet?. I am about a third of the way through it, and hoping to interview him when he comes to speak at the Ntl. Cathedral next month.

Thanks for reminding me of his new book. Now I know what to order on Amazon with the Narnia DVD to get over $25 (and free shipping).

I'll look for your interview of Bishop Wright. Rumor has it he is coming to my part of Virginia next year.

In v. 9-10 Jesus says “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?" Jesus asked. "I'll tell you--he will come and kill them all and lease the vineyard to others. Didn't you ever read this in the Scriptures?

`The stone rejected by the builders has now become the cornerstone.

By this He is telling the Pharisees, Sadducees, et al. that they have not followed God’s will and that their sins would be punished. He is also declaring Himself to be the cornerstone of the new church, that His life and teaching would be the new church’s foundation.

I think, in the story of giving to Caesar what is Caesar's and giving God what is God's, Jesus is saying that while we are “in” this world and have to be part of society and pay (Caesar/society) for the benefits and services we receive, we are also citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and owe our primary allegiance and obedience to God.

v.25 – I think Jesus is stating that in heaven, God’s new order will not be an extension of life on earth. I don’t think He’s saying that we won’t know our spouses in heaven or that we won’t still be “married” (Honey, I’m not going to pleased if we’re not still married in heaven.), but rather that the whole concept of our relationships will be different, of a totally spiritual nature. We are told that marriage is a covenant between ourselves, our spouse, and God. It seems odd to me to think God would dissolve that covenant when we get to heaven.
Also, it must be remembered that Jesus was answering a question from the Sadducees, who did not believe in a doctrine of resurrection and He may simply have been stating that God’s relationship with us exists beyond death. (v.26)

The question is a bit vexing to someone who has been married, divorced, and is married again to a most wonderful woman. If I get to heaven and find out that I’m somehow still “married” to my previous spouse, I’m going to have to talk to someone about the rules.

I once heard a sermon on marriage in which the speaker talked about how God wants our marriages to last the first time, because our commitment to a second or subsequent marriage will (somehow) not be as strong. I had to corner him afterwards and tell him I was offended. When I got married the first time I didn’t really give it the thought and prayer appropriate for such a commitment, this time I gave it a great deal of thought before making the decision, and I feel my commitment is much, much stronger. While it might be a fine message for pre-marital counseling (if all involved have not been married before), I felt it was not a good message for all married couples, especially couples where one has been married before and one has not (why put a doubt of the strength of one spouse’s commitment into the mind of the other spouse?).