Luke 20 - An Audience of One!
The Authority of Jesus Questioned
20 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?” 3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me: 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” 5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” 7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.” 8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”
Though the religious leaders always tried to trap and corner Jesus, they never managed to do it. Why? Because Jesus was wiser and smarter than them. Jesus often answered a question with a question, especially when they were trying to trap him. You might want to try that the next time someone corners you.
Today they were questioning his authority to "do these things". This could have been his teaching, his miracles, his signs, or most likely what he had just done in the temple with the money changers. So Jesus gave them his own trap when he questioned them about John the Baptist's authority. Was it from God or man? They had nothing to say.
Jesus didn’t look for these great debates with the religious leaders. He wanted to teach the people and tell them about God’s good news. Yet the questioners came to Him, and He answered them with great wisdom and power. - Guzik
The Parable of the Tenants
9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. 13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” 17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’[a]? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” 19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
After that skirmish, Jesus went on to teach a parable that was not likely to smooth things over with the religious leaders.
This parable had more than a cultural connection; it was also rooted in the Old Testament. Jesus’ first listeners would remember that the vineyard was used in the Old Testament as a picture of Israel (Isaiah 5:1-7). In this parable, the tenants (the vinedressers) represented the religious leaders among the Jewish people. - Guzik
In the Old Testament the people of Israel were called the "Vine of God". The fruit they were to bear was to be a witness to the nations of who God was. Therefore, the landowner would be God. The tenants didn't buy or own the vineyard, they were given the right to live off the land but also a responsibility to produce fruit to give it to the owner. It was a very equitable arrangement.
It was only right that the owner would send his own servants (the prophets) to collect what was due to him. The owner shows incredible patience by sending three servants in succession, all of whom were mistreated. The tenants mistakenly killed the son, they could receive the inheritance.
The renters of the vineyard foolishly thought they could benefit from killing the son who had or would inherit the vineyard. They were seriously wrong in this foolish assumption. - Guzik
Then Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22 - "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone."
What is the significance of the cornerstone in a building?
“designated in antiquity the stone used at the building’s corner to bear the weight or the stress of the two walls. It would have functioned somewhat like a ‘keystone’ or ‘capstone’ in an arch or other architectural form. It was the stone which was essential or crucial to the whole structure.” (Fitzmyer, cited in Pate)
Every aspect of our Christian faith relies on Jesus, born of a virgin, suffered under Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. After three days he rose from the dead. None of this is not up to interpretation as some theologians have tried to do over the past couple of centuries. Some liberal theologians have denied the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus, saying it is only a metaphor.
But as Paul said, "If Christ did not raise from the dead, we are among all men most to be pitied." 1 Corinthians 15:14-17
The religious leaders knew he was talking about them, for they had their own version of the Messiah, which Jesus did not fit. That God could become a man was unthinkable to them, though the prophets said the Messiah would be born of a virgin, be born in Bethlehem, and raised in Nazareth. Indeed the fact that Jesus is both 100% and 100% man trips up a lot of people but it is the cornerstone of our doctrine. If Jesus was not 100% man he could not have died. If Jesus was not 100% God he could not rise from the dead. This is a mystery that can only be explained by God just like the Trinity.
Paying Taxes to Caesar
20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” 26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.
Once again the religious leaders were looking to trip Jesus up so this time they asked if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. If he said "no", they would accuse of him being a law breaker. If he said "yes", he would be a sympathizer with the regime that was oppressed the Jews. But Jesus once again replied in a way that only he could given his divine wisdom.
Jesus took the coin with Caesar's image and distinguished the difference between paying a tax to him, and giving to God what is God's, which would be everything. This is the beginning of the separation of the church and state. Martin Luther called it the kingdom on the left and the kingdom on the right. Paul talks about it in Romans 13, where he says to give to the governing authorities what the are due, because they are ordained by God to keep law and order in the world. The church has been given the keys to the kingdom, which is the proclamation of the gospel that forgiveness is found in no other name but Jesus.
Any government that has tried to mix church and state, which we call a "theocracy", has failed miserably. Anytime religion becomes compulsory, or the church receives its funding via taxes from the state, it ceases being a biblical church.
The Resurrection and Marriage
27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” 34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[b] 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” 39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whereas the Pharisees were legalistic fundamentalists, the Sadducees were more like our modern day liberals. The picked and chose which doctrines they liked, and if they could not explain it, they denied it. This is why they could not believe in the resurrection, because it was supernatural. But if God created the heaven and the earth, he could certainly raise someone from the dead.
So they tried to trick Jesus by asking him if there were seven brothers who all fulfilled their vow to marry their brother's widow to provide children, and they all died, whose wife would she be? But they started with the wrong presupposition. They assumed marriage in heaven would be like marriage on earth.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41 Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’[c] 44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
Once again Jesus shows the Jewish leaders how the Old Testament teaches that He was both God and man. After all how could David call him His Lord, if Jesus was born after him. But in fact Jesus was the pre-existent Word who spoke to David, who would be a part of the lineage leading to the Messiah, as promised.
Warning Against the Teachers of the Law
45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
Jesus always had the harshest words for those who claimed to represent God, but used their authority for selfish gain. The is the ultimate using of God's name in vain. This is why leaders need to stay humble and never seek to be honored and admired in the world's eyes, but remember they have an
"An Audience of One!"
Comments
Post a Comment