When Religious Leaders Challenge Jesus

Luke 20:1-47

Child and baby dedications scheduled

Baptisms?

Good Friday and Easter

Intro:

In youth culture, particularly in the 1960s it became en-vogue to question authority. We were propelled into a culture of not just doubting authority but being encouraged to actively stand up to authority. Abuse of authority Authority in ancient Judaism............ Jesus had entered Jerusalem to much praise. But what was to come was the ridicule of the people and the shame of being killed like a common criminal. This king, all God and all man should be worshipped and adored by all but His arrival in Jerusalem was met with opposition in the form of the religious leaders of the day. Jesus proclaimed the gospel till His death. His message remained consistent. He called people to repent and believe the good news centered on Him as the Son of God, Son of Man, Messiah. He had foretold His suffering, death, and resurrection. Until His arrest, Jesus made a practice of teaching in the temple complex each day.

At the beginning of Luke chapter 20 Jesus is challenged by the chief priests, scribes, and elders concerning His authority.

**They challenge Him on His authority, on loyalty to the governing authorities, and on His theology. **

I. They challenge His authority to do the things He did. (V. 1-18)

Luke 20:1–18 ESV

One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “ ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

Jesus taught with great authority. He cleansed the temple with great authority. And yet, though Jesus was a Rabbi, He had not been approved of by the Sanhedrin. Therefore, He was not recognized as an official representative of Judaism by these other officials.

**I. Notice: Failure to recognize the authority of Jesus did not change the fact of His authority.**

They have a little side conference, a committee meeting if you will... They try to figure out how they should answer. They are trying to control the situation so they don't lose footing with the people. They fear losing their power and position if they give the wrong answer. It isn't even about the truth for them. It's all about what they stand to lose. ** They question the authority of Jesus but it's not about them vying for the truth.** Jesus demonstrates in His response that they are unqualified to question His authority. Imagine the tension in this moment as it went down... People love Jesus but the religious leaders want to kill Him. Jesus doesn't try to calm the situation down or pacify the religious leaders. Instead, He tells a story that is clearly aimed at them. And they understand fully what He is doing. The parable of the vineyard - In the Old Testament, a vineyard is an image that is used to represent the nation of Israel. If we go with that here, then the tenants are the leaders of Israel, the chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees. They were supposed to tend the vineyard on God's behalf, caring for God's people. Instead they mistreated the prophets that God sent and in a short time they would murder God's own Son. Jesus is pointing out that these wicked leaders were going to be removed from their office by God. Jesus includes a quote from Psalm 118 in verse 17. Jesus has told a story about a rejected son and then quotes this Psalm about a rejected stone. The words for son and stone in Hebrew and Aramaic are similar. Jesus would have likely been speaking Aramaic. McKinley points out that it is likely that Jesus is creating a play on words and mixing metaphors in making His point. "Jesus is both the Son of God and the cornerstone on which the people of God are built and on which the enemies of God are broken." Caretakers or stewards acting as the owners. Not using the land for the benefit of the owner but for their own purposes. It was selfish. We have been given many resources to serve God and we must not let sin have its way getting us to use those things for our own self serving purposes in stead of the benefit of the true owner. They're so upset with Jesus and want to catch him in something so they send spies. They're looking for a way to have justification for handing Him to the authorities. So they come up with a plan to challenge Him on something that would get the government authorities after Him.

II. They challenge Him in relation to the governmental authorities. (V. 19-26)

Luke 20:19–26 ESV

The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

their words of flattery

Not wanting to have it turned back on them like last time so they asked for a yes or no

Get a coin

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s - taxes of money with His image on it.

Give to God what is God’s - worship, devotion, obedience

“If Jesus were to say that they should obey Caesar at every point, again he would be guilty of speaking blasphemy, for he would be suggesting that the Jewish people should worship Caesar. If, however, he were to tell the people not to pay the tribute, then the chief priests and the scribes could report him to the Roman authorities. But again Jesus outwitted them by dividing the question up very neatly: ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’, in other words, worship, devotion, obedience—those things belong to God alone.”

R. C. Sproul, A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke (Great Britain: Christian Focus Publications, 1999), 363–364.

III. They challenge His theology. (V. 27-40)

Luke 20:27–40 ESV

There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.” And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

IV. Jesus challenges their theology. (V. 41-44)

Now that Jesus had dealt with this difficult and seemingly impossible to answer question from the Sadducees, He had a question for them. He poses His own question to them that was even more complex. If they had missed out on a basic premise of the way they thought about the question of marriage and heaven, now He would show them that they have missed an important part of the understanding of the identity of the Messiah sent from God.

Luke 20:41–44 ESV

But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “ ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” ’ David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”

The Jews expected the Messiah to come from the line of David.

They looked forward to the day when this Messiah would appear and restore the age of the monarchy that had been established with David.

Their hopes for this Savior King were tied with the character of David, their kingly hero.

Jesus brings attention to what someone might characterize as what seems to be a contradiction. Christ is the Son of David, but David refers to Christ as Lord.

This would have been mind boggling to them. For us, it’s not that hard because we have the whole story. The whole story was standing in front of them asking this question.

In the Jewish culture of the day, the going belief was that the father was always greater than the son, their grandfather was always greater than the grandson and so on… It was such a strong belief of honor given to someone’s parent and grandparents that saying the Son was greater than David, in place of father was unimaginable to them.

Jesus points to Psalm 110 quoting David himself.

David who is considered the greatest king in their history speaks of the coming Messiah as his own Lord.

Sproul gives us this helpful explanation:

“And so in this extraordinary passage we find David describing a conversation between God and the one who is David’s Lord. David is saying ‘God said to my Sovereign’, or ‘Yahweh said to my Adonai’—he is recognizing that there is one who has the name of God, Adonai, yet somehow must be distinguished from God, Yahweh. It is impossible to make any sense of this apart from the concept of the trinity and the concept of the incarnation, because here David is speaking about the Lord that God himself appoints to Lordship. The title Adonai is that which Paul calls ‘the name that is above every name’—the Messiah.”

David’s position is that if God gives Jesus the role of Messiah then He is David’s Lord, even though He be his Son.

Mary and Joseph certainly accepted this greatness of Jesus, even though Joseph was Jesus’ legal father.

Jesus’ question has another angle to it as well. Jesus is David’s son by earthy genealogy. But He is also of heavenly descent and it is by this that Jesus is greater than David because He is God.

Jesus is looking right at the Sadducees and claiming to the the Messiah long promised by the prophets.

And they don’t believe.

Jesus turns and gives some words of warning to His followers.

V. Jesus warns against the scribes. (V. 45-47)

Luke 20:45–47 ESV

And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

He accuses them once again of hypocrisy.

They love to be honored and celebrated in public . Yet, according to Jesus they exploit some of the most defenseless in their land. Being a widow was a desperate situation in that culture. They would look to these scribes to speak the words of God to them and advocate for them. They would trust them and these jokers would take advantage of them. They make a show of their religiousity but it’s shown to all be fake by the way they destroy those who they should protect and care for.

Jesus warns His people to BEWARE.

Conclusion:

What do we do with this authority of Jesus?

What do we do with this identity of Jesus?

What the religious leaders did vs what followers of Christ do?

We need to make sure that we don’t let our experiences of the use or abuse of authority dictate how we view God’s authority.

You cannot question His authority.

You cannot refuse His authority

You cannot trump His authority.

You cannot trivialize His authority.

You cannot avoid His authority.

You cannot be a good Christian and reject the Lord’s authority. That’s simply not the way it works. You can’t be following Jesus and deny His authority over everything. You can’t pick and choose which of His commands you will follow. You can’t pick social causes you want to support that He’s against and stand against things that God is clearly for.

Human authority is only as God allows or has ordained it for the purposes He has ordained it.

We must approach the bible with a deep sense of it being the authority in our lives. We don’t say, here’s what I want to do, can I proved it with the Bible, instead we say, what does the Bible say I need to do. Where the Bible is silent, there is some freedom unless there are pretty clear implications that may be indirect.

There are dire consequences for rejecting the Lord’s authority.