Passion Week Devotional - Tuesday - Mathew 22:15-46

Mathew 22:15-46 

Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not?” 

But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” 

“Caesar’s,” they replied. 

Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 

When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away. 

Marriage at the Resurrection 

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.  Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” 

Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you,  ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[b]? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 

When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. 

The Greatest Commandment 

 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[c] This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’[d] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Whose Son Is the Messiah? 

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” 

“The son of David,” they replied. 

He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: 
    “Sit at my right hand 
until I put your enemies 
    under your feet.”’[e] 

 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions. 

Have you ever entered a conversation innocently, only to later realise it was a trap? On the Tuesday of Holy Week, Jesus faced three such encounters. 

The first came from the Pharisees. Though they approached Jesus with flattering words, Scripture tells us they “laid plans to trap him in his words” (v.15). They presented him with a denarius—the coin used for the poll tax—to force a self-incriminating answer. Instead, Jesus offered a profound truth: we live under earthly systems, but our ultimate allegiance is to God. We bear his image. 

The Pharisees were a prominent Jewish group known for their strict adherence to Jewish law—both written and oral. Often depicted as Jesus’ opponents, they were concerned with preserving Israel’s religious and political purity. 

The second group, the Sadducees, posed a theological question about marriage in the afterlife—a scenario so far-fetched it seemed intended more for debate than genuine interest. The Sadducees were the religious elite, many serving as high priests and in the Sanhedrin. They rejected oral tradition and denied both the resurrection and anything supernatural. Spurgeon once suggested this was their ‘stock story’—a way of mocking resurrection beliefs. Jesus answered their question with wisdom and authority, revealing their limited understanding of God’s power and the Scriptures. 

The third encounter was with an expert in the law. He asked, “Which commandment is the greatest in the Torah?” (v.36). Another trap. But Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4 and Leviticus 19:18: love God and love your neighbour. He explained that the whole law—Ten Commandments included—hangs on these two principles. The first five commandments teach us how to love God; the last five, how to love our neighbours. 
Jesus’ words were so powerful that even his fiercest critics fell silent. 

Finally, Jesus asked a question of his own: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” (v.41–42). This wasn’t a trap. It was a deeply personal question—just like when Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” It still echoes today. 

So… what about you? 
The Pharisees were amazed. The crowds were astonished. The Sadducees were silenced. 

How do you respond to Jesus this Holy Week? Perhaps the Easter story feels too familiar. Breathe it in again. Watch or listen to the Gospel accounts. Try a new spiritual practice—contemplate in prayer on Good Friday; attend a sunrise service on Easter Sunday. Let it come alive again. 

And whose voice are you listening to? 
The Pharisees and Sadducees were the ‘influencers’ of their time. Today’s influencers speak through social media, news outlets, and entertainment. Who are you giving space to in your life? Pray for them. Pray for the authentic, faith-filled voices to rise and tell the compelling story of Jesus—a story of resurrection, hope, and transformation. 

Today’s devotional was written by Catrina Benham.