When Jesus entered the temple (back in Matthew 21:23), his authority was immediately questioned by the chief priests and elders. Jesus quickly quashed their inquiries, but went on tending to those around him, teaching them through his favorite method — parables. But after unfolding three parables Jesus is again confronted with a question from the religious establishment. This question had been carefully crafted as a "trap" and was loaded with intentional "malice."

The unusual group that comes to Jesus in 22:15-22 is composed of both Pharisees and "Herodians." To understand how strange these bedfellows, you’d have to imagine the the NRA and the ACLU joining forces against a third party.

The Pharisees were, of course, the most Torah-tight, ritually correct, scripturally-bound scholars in fi…