THE DEEP STATE ENSNARING JESUS

KEY VERSE: …Then saith he unto them, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.” (Mat 22:21; Mark 12:17; Luke 20:25)

  The Pharisees and the Herodians sought to trip up Jesus, knowing if He answered either one of two ways, he would either offend one group. The two opposing groups colluded together to undermine Jesus. “They took counsel how they might entangle him in his talk” (Mat 22:15). They asked if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar. For the Herodians who supported the Roman government to whom they paid tribute, their law was Roman law. To the Jews, their law was the Mosaic Law. Just which law was Jesus to submit? They knew that He was not a respecter of persons and would offend one group or the other.
  The plotters were not after truth but were only trying to snare Jesus into offending one law or the other, and to divide the people against Him. Plotters always seek to discredit and divide, but Jesus stuck to the truth and they marveled at His discernment (Mat 22:22). In modern times, those two groups would parallel the Democrat and Never Trumpers “Deep State.” As I wrote recently in my blog (https://kentuckyherrin.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-real-deep-state.html), in whatever era and whatever government, there is a “Deep State” seeking to undermine and destroy the legitimate government.  
  By Roman law, they were the legitimate government, but by Mosaic Law, the Sanhedrin was. By God’s Law, Jesus was the King of the Jews, and even Pontius Pilate seemed to recognize that! The Herodians, representing Caesar, were the “Socialists” of that era (Democrats in the modern Lexicon) and the Pharisees the “Never Trumpers” (Republicans in name only). This analogy is not to address modern times, but for the reader to understand the dilemma that Jesus was in was much like the enigmatic situation of Donald Trump.
  Now consider for a moment the words of the different apostles: Matthew said that they tried to “entangle” Jesus, and for that Jesus called them wicked! Does that not sound familiar; Jesus called them what they were, and Donald Trump is condemned for using nearly the same words!
  Mark, however, used a different description when he wrote, “Jesus, knowing their hypocrisy” (mark 12:15). They were accusing Jesus of doing what they were doing. The Herodians paid tribute to both the Sanhedrin and to Caesar! They had “two masters” without choosing one or the other, but as Jesus said, they denied Him (Psalm 118:22-23).  The Pharisees were fakes! They bore “fake news” against Jesus.
  Luke wrote that Jesus, “perceived their craftiness” (Luk 20:23). Between the three we find that Jesus’s adversaries were wicked, hypocritical, and crafty. They had their laws, knew them well, and endeavored to force Jesus’s into ensnaring Himself. This was not the first time, but a series of traps that Jesus’s adversaries set and failed.
  Does that not ring true to the Democrat Deep State of present-day United States! I repeat; there has always been and always will be a “Deep State” and usually it is socialistic in nature; not so much in doctrine but methodology. They always attempt to overthrow the legitimate institutions, divide, entrap, propagate misinformation, and undermine the legitimate authority. Jesus was the long awaited Messiah and as such the Herodians and Pharisees should have recognized the coming of the Kingdom of God; not unlike many righteous people in David’s time recognized him as the legitimate king even when Saul was king.
  Jesus was and is God’s heir to His Kingdom. Satan is His adversary. He is the “George Soros” of modern times — the Satanic (adversarial) man almost invisible to the world who operates in stealth through numerous complex organizations. All those work against the legitimate American government and are there to trip-up those who follow the Constitutional and clerical laws, especially of Christians and Jews. Understand that there is always a Deep State because Satan is always adversarial to Jesus. His “useful idiots” are different in each era, but in Jesus’s time, it was the Herodians, Pharisees, scribes, and such! There was even an independence movement by zealots which finally were not content until their vigilant tactics destroyed the Jewish state and faith!
  The importance of the Deep State is of interest in Roman/ Herodian times, and is of interest today. But of most intense interest is the Deep State of the Apocalypse — the complete and final destruction of the world! That word is a misnomer. It is the destruction of the world that is ruled by the “prince of the power of the air” known as Satan, but Jesus will reign afterward for one-thousand years as legitimate King. Satan is and has always been a mere pretender to God’s throne (Isa 14:12). He is the wicked “Deep State” against the righteous Kingdom of God, and the same adversary who always undermines legitimacy.
  The Apocalyptic one-world government will be ruled by the Beast’s (Satan’s) “useful idiot” the Antichrist who will think that he is Jesus Christ. He will be “a god” as Caesar long before him and will be the universal “caesar” (czar). The first 3-1/2 years of his reign will fool even Christians (the elect), but many cannot be fooled. 144,000 Jews will convert to Christianity, many Gentiles will follow suit, and both groups will reject the adversarial civil and spiritual “Deep State” in the following 3-1/2 years. The seven year “tribulation” period will see a loved and respected socialist-type of state show its true colors; it will reveal that it is communistic because death will be used to “encourage” dissidents to believe in the Antichrist, Marxism, and the Law of Sin.
  Furthermore, there will be an alliance of all religions. That is why fundamental Christians abhor ecumenicalism; namely that Truth cannot be compromised! However, the Catholic Church and liberal Protestantism will ally themselves with pagan religions, especially Islam. I have written before that I believe the end-of-time religion will be Islam and the “communistic” government Sharia Law. It is not only the Catholics who will go completely awry, but the entire minstream “Christian” church who propagate “social justice” over righteous judgment.
  Just as in America today wherein the liberal church is allied with secretive officials to undermine Church and State, the end-of-time government will have the same type of “Deep State.” As a Christian, I despise shadow governments and dark liberal church doctrine because both are adversaries against civil government and true Christianity. When government freedom fails, Christianity pales. The freedom to worship Jesus in Spirit and Truth without government interference is imperative, but socialism is against God and the U.S. Constitution.
  Why would cunning groups of people try to undermine Jesus? To diminish Him when it came time to impeach and execute the innocent man! Indeed, there is nothing new under the sun.

(picture credit: Ray Downing of Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, Scribes, and High Priests)