![]() So entirely submerged in these two vices were they as to have become doubly worthy of death, before God and before Caesar they manifested their wickedness, moreover, by attempting to catch an innocent man as if guilty of their own sin, pretending to be most pious saints before God and most loyal subjects of Caesar. In like manner they were before God thieves and evildoers in that they corrupted his Word and persecuted its pure doctrine. They were indeed anxious enough to free themselves from the yoke of Roman power, causing frequent insurrections and drawing abundantly deserved executions upon their own heads, by hundreds and thousands, and finally suffering entire destruction as a nation. Not that they cared so much either for the one or the other, but in order to carry their point. 3 Such is the counsel of those wiseacres and petty saints who resolved to lay hold of Christ with all law and authority, as an enemy either of God or of Caesar. Does he favor Caesar, he robs God and if he decides in favor of God he declares against Caesar and makes himself a conspirator. Whichever way therefore he may answer, he will be caught and fall into our hands. ![]() For should he say, We must pay tribute to Caesar and acknowledge him as our sovereign he would detract from God, who alone wants to be this nation’s sovereign and who has chosen us from all races to have no king but him. It would be regarded as a still greater crime to prove that he robs God of the honor due him and misleads the people under the cloak of serving him. ![]() Should this scheme fail we can have recourse to another one, namely, to prove him to be guilty of robbing God, and have him condemned as a blasphemer. First, if he opposes Caesar, he can be charged with conspiracy and if he is considered a conspirator we will have him in our control as one guilty, like a thief and robber, who would despoil the emperor of his majesty and crown and who is worthy of death, with which the law punishes such a crime. Their wise counsel is as follows: If we weigh and balance the situation we find two ways to seize and accuse him. The wisest and most learned leaders assemble, put their heads together and decide on one of the many shrewd plans by which to cause Christ’s death. They would put Christ out of the way if they could, and thus it will be even to the end of time, with the same result. The enemies of the Gospel are no better in our day. Their end was destruction and obliteration as a nation. They had their time of probation and could have repented when the Son of God appeared in their midst, but they flatly refused to accept him, God suffering them to go their way and fulfill the measure of their sin to its utmost extent in that they murdered him who came to save them. That class of people will obtain what they strive for, even to their own hurt. They studied all sorts of devices and ways to catch him in his words and condemn him, which they kept up until God allowed them to vent their spite and crucify him. For these villains and base characters would gladly have put him to death as one who had wearied them beyond endurance and must be gotten out of the way, although they could find no cause for impugning either his doctrine or his life, eagerly as they sought to do so. First of all our attention is directed to the intensely wicked, bitter and venomous persecution of Christ and his Word on the part of the Jews, who schemed to attack him with shrewd and deceitful questions. Its contents are noteworthy, especially because of Christ’s answer to a practical question and its doctrine. Mat 22:21 | Luther | STEP | ] 1 This Gospel is in itself plain enough and easy to understand.
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