Tonight, we continue our study of Luke’s Gospel with Luke 19:38-20:47. These readings give us an account of Jesus’ first days in Jerusalem. You can join us any time on our journey.
Question of Authority: (vv.1-8)
Immediately after Jesus cleanses the Temple, Jesus begins to teach in place of those he drove out. The Temple authorities, not unreasonably, ask him the source of his authority and on whose authority, he has performed his actions and taught the crowds. Like today, serving, teaching, and performing acts in the Temple can only be done under the requisite authority. The chief priests were appointed (and deposed) by the Roman governor, Scribes had authority based on their education and ability to read and interpret Scripture, and the elders gained authority from their long service in the Temple and to the people. Everyone knew why these men were in charge and why they had the right to teach and act in the Temple. Jesus was simply an itinerant preacher from the hinterlands of Galilee.
Jesus’ answer regarding his authority is found in John the Baptist. Jesus turns the chief priests’ question back on them and asks by whose authority John baptized. As Luke tells us, this question puts the priests in a populist bind. vv.5-6. But the question is not simply a gotcha-question from Jesus. Jesus’s authority comes through John at his baptism, and so John’s authority is the same as Jesus’s.
The chief priests, scribes, and elders responded to Jesus by saying they do not know the source of John’s authority. Consider how this answer undermines the authority of the chief priests, scribes, and elders among the populace and how this confrontation incites anger and vengefulness in these authorities.
Parable of the Wicked Tenants: (vv.9-19)
Jesus follows up this direct confrontation with the Parable of the Wicked Tenants. In the parable, the landlord (God) sends his servants (the prophets) to his tenants (the Jewish leaders) who are lawfully occupying the landlord’s property (the Temple). The tenants beat the servants, and finally, the landlord sends his “beloved son,” whom the tenants killed to take over the property. The parable answers the question of Jesus’s authority (he is the Son) but also answers the question of the authority of the chief priests, scribes, and elders (they are merely tenants).
The Jewish leaders rightly believe that Jesus told the parable against them and now actively look for a way to eliminate Jesus.
Question of Paying Taxes to Ceasar: (vv.20-26)
The easiest way to get rid of someone in first-century Jerusalem is to get the Romans to do it. Therefore, a spy for these Jewish leaders asks Jesus a question as to Roman authority – is it lawful to pay taxes to the evil Roman empire? A “no” from Jesus gets him in trouble with Rome, but a “yes” undercuts his authority with the crowd.
In response, Jesus asks to see the interlocutor’s coin. The coin at issue is a Roman denarius. It bears the graven image of Emperor Tiberius, inscribed with the words “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” The coin is both idolatrous and directly challenges Jesus as to who is the true son of God – Jesus or Tiberius. Jesus responds, “Return to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.” In other words, not only pay your taxes but, better yet, return the entire economic system of Roman coinage to Caesar.
But Jesus takes his answer one step further and says, “Return to God what belongs to God.” In other words, the Temple (and Jerusalem, the Jewish nation, and the world) belongs to God, and the Jewish leaders have consistently failed to maintain a God-focused worship. Now is the time, Jesus is saying, to return the Temple from the Jewish leaders to God.
Question on the Resurrection: (vv.27-40)
We now encounter the third controversy brought against Jesus. This time, the questioners were the Sadducees. The Sadducees were a Jewish religious sect, like the Pharisees. They generally controlled the Temple priesthood, they recognized only the Torah (and not the Prophets) as authoritative Scripture, and they denied the Resurrection. Their question about marriage stems from the so-called levirate marriages mentioned in Deuteronomy 25:5, which require a widow to marry her deceased husband’s brother to have children on behalf of her deceased husband. If a woman goes through seven husbands, to whom is she married in the Resurrection?
Jesus answers the question in two ways. First, Jesus emphasizes that the age to come is different than this age. In the age of the Resurrection, there is no need for procreation and, therefore, no need for marriage. Second, Jesus argues against their denial of the Resurrection. As we read in the Old Testament lesson on Sunday, the voice from the burning bush says, “I am the God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac.” Ex. 3:6. God is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living, therefore the Patriarchs must be alive.
Luke tells us that after this exchange, the Jewish religious authorities no longer asked him any questions.
Question on David’s Son: (vv. vv. 41-47)
Jesus now asks them a question. David is considered to be the author of Psalm 110, which begins with the phrase, “The Lord said to my Lord.” If the first “Lord” is God, then who is the second “Lord” mentioned by David? The answer is that the Messiah, David’s descendant, is not simply an earthly king with earthly powers but the very embodiment of God and, therefore, superior to David and his mere earthly kingship. The Psalm then goes on to speak of the second Lord, the Messiah, sitting at the right hand of the first lord, God, until God has put down all the enemies (the Jewish authorities) of the Messiah.
The Story Line of Chapter 20:
In this chapter, there are four questions and one parable. This organization gives us a preview of the remainder of the Gospel. We begin with a question about Jesus’s authority, which takes us back to his baptism. Next is the parable of the Wicked Tenants, which highlights Jesus as the last but greatest prophet, as he is the Son, and emphasizes that the Son will be killed. The question concerning paying taxes to Ceasar shows that Jesus will be handed over to the Roman authorities for execution. Like the Gospel, the questions end with the Resurrection and Jesus being exalted as King.
Dinner is at 6. The menu is tomato soup and grilled cheese. Discussion about 6:45. Hope to see you here.
The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, *
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The LORD will send the scepter of your power out of Zion, *
saying, “Rule over your enemies round about you.
Princely state has been yours from the day of your birth; *
in the beauty of holiness have I begotten you,
like dew from the womb of the morning.”
The LORD has sworn and he will not recant: *
“You are a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord who is at your right hand
will smite kings in the day of his wrath; *
he will rule over the nations.
Psalm 110:1-5