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Mark 12:13

ESV And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk.
NIV Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words.
NASB Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.
CSB Then they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to Jesus to trap him in his words.
NLT Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.
KJV And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, to catch him in his words.
NKJV Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.

What does Mark 12:13 mean?

Jesus and the disciples are in the courtyard of the temple. The temple sits near the west edge of the flat-topped Temple Mount, slightly north of center. Around the temple is the Court of the Gentiles, where God-following Gentiles may pray. Along the edges of the Temple Mount are porticoes where teachers can sit out of the sun and teach. The largest, Solomon's Portico, lines the south edge. Jesus is probably in one of these porticoes. It's common for teachers and philosophers to debate theological and ethical interpretations here.

What's not usual is for these debates to be motivated by the desire to have one's opponent killed. The actions of Jesus' critics here are not merely rhetoric; they have murderous political intention.

Luke 20:19–20 adds more detail. The scribes and chief priests want a valid excuse to arrest Jesus there and then, so they send the Pharisees and Herodians to try to trap Jesus into saying something that would incriminate Himself. "Trap" is from the Greek root word agreuo and literally means to hunt; the word implies an intent to capture by surprise. Matthew's account uses "entangle" which is from the Greek root word pagideuo: "to ensnare, as a bird in a net" (Matthew 22:15).

The Pharisees, obsessed with the law, will determine if Jesus encourages behavior that contradicts the tenants of Judaism. The Herodians—Jews who support the Rome-empowered kings and tetrarchs—are on the look-out for any seditious intent in Jesus' words. The priests, scribes, and Pharisees are invested in a tradition-bound version of Jewish culture; the Herodians prefer the Greek culture and Roman rule. In Jesus, they've had a common enemy for several years (Mark 3:6).
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