Tertullian — Against Marcion 38

Christ knew the baptism of John, whence it was. Luke 20:4 Then why did He ask them, as if He knew not? He knew that the Pharisees would not give Him an answer; then why did He ask in vain? Was it that He might judge them out of their own mouth, or their own heart? Suppose you refer these points to an excuse of the Creator, or to His comparison with Christ; then consider what would have happened if the Pharisees had replied to His question. Suppose their answer to have been, that John's baptism was of men , they would have been immediately stoned to death . Luke 20:6 Some Marcion , in rivalry to Marcion , would have stood up and said: O most excellent God ; how different are his ways from the Creator's! Knowing that men would rush down headlong over it, He placed them actually on the very precipice.

For thus do men treat of the Creator respecting His law of the tree. But John's baptism was from heaven. Why, therefore, asks Christ, did you not believe him? Luke 20:5 He therefore who had wished men to believe John, purposing to censure them because they had not believed him, belonged to Him whose sacrament John was administering. But, at any rate, when He actually met their refusal to say what they thought, with such reprisals as, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things, Luke 20:8 He returned evil for evil ! Render unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar's, and unto God the things which be God's. Luke 20:25 What will be the things which are God's? Such things as are like Cæsar's denarius — that is to say, His image and similitude.

That, therefore, which he commands to be rendered unto God , the Creator, is man , who has been stamped with His image, likeness, name, and substance. Let Marcion's god look after his own mint. Christ bids the denarius of man's imprint to be rendered to His Cæsar, (His Cæsar I say,) not the Cæsar of a strange god. The truth , however, must be confessed, this god has not a denarius to call his own! In every question the just and proper rule is, that the meaning of the answer ought to be adapted to the proposed inquiry. But it is nothing short of madness to return an answer altogether different from the question submitted to you. God forbid, then, that we should expect from Christ conduct which would be unfit even to an ordinary man!

The Sadducees , who said there was no resurrection, in a discussion on that subject, had proposed to the Lord a case of law touching a certain woman , who, in accordance with the legal prescription, had been married to seven brothers who had died one after the other. The question therefore was, to which husband must she be reckoned to belong in the resurrection? Luke 20:27-33 This, (observe,) was the gist of the inquiry, this was the sum and substance of the dispute. And to it Christ was obliged to return a direct answer. He had nobody to fear ; that it should seem advisable for Him either to evade their questions, or to make them the occasion of indirectly mooting a subject which He was not in the habit of teaching publicly at any other time. He therefore gave His answer, that the children of this world marry.