The Pharisees tested Jesus asking is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? After His reply, this was their reaction.
Matthew 22:22, “When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way.”
The Sadducees tested Him as well giving a hypothetically story of a woman who marries seven brothers. She marries the first, he dies, marries the second, he dies, and so on. The question was whose wife is she in the resurrection?
Their reaction to his response.
Matthew 22:33, “And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.”
So, what was so marvelous or astonishing in what He said?
In each of the above occurrences, neither the Pharisees or Sadducees approached the Lord in faith. They approached him in envy, arrogance, indignation, assumption, pride and self-righteousness sincerely expecting to entrap Him in their understanding of their doctrine. They did not live their lives in faith, but lived their lives by what they saw and thought they had understanding because they were able to entrap and burden others.
When they approached Christ they did not believe who He was and is. He spoke of the things He heard from His Father. He replied with undeniable, absolute, and apprehending truth.
John 1:5, “The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
Eph. 4:18, “They are darkened (shadowed) in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance (lack of knowledge of real truth) that is in them due to the hardening (callous) of their hearts.”
According to scripture, the law of Moses is typified as a shadow. Legalism does not make the shadow. Christ is the body that makes the shadow!, Col. 2:12. A shadow dims an area leaving less light. Less light could imply less understanding. Our lives are hid in Christ. We are not under shadows anymore, but in light. This light is in us. It is not hidden anymore, but revealed.
They marveled and were astonished because initially they did not believe. Truth and light was shone brightly to their minds, hearts and conscience. Real revelation has this affect. Heavily diluted revelation is barely revelation if it is even it all. It is not as real, fresh, authentic, burning, consuming, invigorating, or life-changing.
I believe a day is coming when those who are in Christ will speak the word and people will walk backwards from you when you speak it to them because of the “realness” of what you are speaking. It is real because truth is always real. He is truth. Real truth sets me free!
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