NOTES:
1] Pharisees (ultra-orthodox) & Herodians (toadies to the hated Herods & Romans) form an unholy alliance to bring Jesus undone. 2] Next, Sadducees (supporters of the priestly power-brokers) try to get Jesus to make a fool of himself over the possibility of there being a resurrection. (It's not about Jesus' resurrection.) 3] For 'Levirate', i.e. brother-in-law) marriage, see DEUT 25:5+ (& RUTH 4 for an application of them). The aim is to keep family & property firmly bound together.

WARMING UP: Have we ever tried a trick question & had itbounce back on us?

TREASURES OLD & NEW: Identify God at work in anything this week?

ENTERING INTO THE STORY:

15-22    Do we ever make unholy alliances to bring about a desired result? Ever been lured into one? Do we pay insincere compliments to people to try to get them on side? What about vice-versa? Which do we hold more strongly against people: political / social / ethical / moral / religious beliefs that differ from our own? What's the difference between a view & a belief?
              For which of these do we give Jesus more credit: a) sincerity? b) honesty? c) teaching the truth without fear or favour? d) being no respecter of persons? Would we like / do we need to fare better in any of these qualities ourselves?
              Are we conscious of any political implications in the way we take stances, answer questions? Is there anything that isn't political in some way? What's political & what's not? How would the divide between religion & politics in most modern ' cultures stand up to Jesus' scrutiny? Is it just a cop out that allows other forces to cop in? Where is / what is the dividing line between divine & secular power? If we see that line being crossed, do we usually feel uneasy / afraid / angry / something else? Do we ever confuse divine power with church power? Where do the politics of God come into all this? What are the politics of God?
             Is there anything that hurts more than being accused of hypocrisy? Or have we never been so accused? Is Jesus' wise reply to his questioners almost enough to make us believe ' he is who he is' without even the rest of what he goes on to do?

23-33   Would the rules of 'Levirate' marriage (N.4 above) work in our society? Would we want them to? Do we recognize any relic of them in our own family or society's customs? Given Jesus' assertion that these Sadducees get Scripture & God's power wrong, might he level the same charge at us, for any reason, today? O, but we wouldn't be like that, would we?
           Is point scoring over fellow Christians, or even God, something we come across much today? If & when we do, can we learn any tips from the way Jesus tackles any of those in this account? Do we ever get too big for our boots over religious or social issues? How do we keep a Jesus perspective? What makes us lose that perspective? How can we be sure of maintaining that integrity God values so highly, whether we're under fire or not?