Good morning. It would be quite difficult to narrow down all the things about Jesus that were truly amazing. But there is a reference that says that those who were His sworn enemies, those who wanted only to trick Him, trap Him, and destroy Him, were absolutely amazed by Him. The occasion is recoded in Mark 12:13-17 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn’t we?” But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
And they were amazed at him.
Why were they amazed? Was it because of His answer, which was straightforward and inarguable? I am sure that was part of it. But note also that they tried to set Him up with all the human points of vulnerability: they called Him “teacher”, a title of respect. They said that He was a “man of integrity”, which was the opposite of how they truly felt, so they were trying to prey on human pride. They said that He was not swayed by the politics and the power structures of the times, which is clearly true because Jesus never bowed to them, who were of the rich and powerful. They said that He taught the truth without concern for the fallout, which was very true, but again not something they would have admired.
They did all that they could to appeal to what would be the usual human weaknesses, but their efforts had no effect. Jesus saw through them and responded with simple truth. And that, they had to say, was amazing!
Following the ways of Jesus is always a great idea but consider how this episode might apply to your daily life. Are you swayed by flattery, made vulnerable through the feeding of your pride? Follow the example of Jesus and recognize the trap for what it is. Let the truth be clearly spoken without concern for the politics involved. It is what Jesus did, and what Jesus would do. He continues to be amazing!
Vern