Chap20_luke

OOOOOOOOO Luke 20:1–8 (HCSB) The Authority of Jesus Challenged 20 One day as He was teaching the people in the temple complex and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came up 2 and said to Him: “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Who is it who gave You this authority?”

3 He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell Me, 4 was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?”

5 They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered that they did not know its origin.

8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

According to Mark, the disciples and Jesus got to Jerusalem late and Jesus looked at the temple and left and stayed in Bethany for the night. The next day he entered the temple and trashed it of money lenders and sacrifice sellers- then then left the Jerusalem again for the night. Commentators say that the next day Jesus returned [ it would now be Tuesday].

So they would arrive to accolades and then leave for the night, trash the currency exchangers and sacrifice sales and then leave the area and then come back for the scene of the crime. Jesus is relentless- like the Energizer Bunny, he just keeps returning.

Jesus returns to the scene of the yesterday’s crime scene when he destroyed not only the booths, but he also stamped these practices as an operation of thieves. In effect, Jesus called the high priest who backed the booths as thieves.

He has the gall to return and to teach openly inside the temple complex. The location where He taught was most likely in the Court of the Gentiles which was an open area that surrounded the Temple buildings. On one side of this court was the Royal Portico, which had a long section of steps that were interspersed with columns. This area was built by Herod as a public meeting place. During the Feasts of Passover and the Feast of the Booth, the Sanhedrin would come out to teach scriptures to the people at this spot.

Sold Jesus by his actions is showing that has authority over the physical use of the temple. And he labels Temple leadership as criminals, thieves. And since the sacrifices of the highest of holy days was being corrupted, these thieves were stealing from God! The temple maintenance was usually done by the Saducees, in a manner like deacons. The decorum and ceremony was in the hands of the high priests and Pharisees. The high priests were comprised of ex-high priests and their families - they were like temple aristocracy. The elders were men from different ares and towns that adjudicated problems , like the wise men or mayors.

As Jesus is teaching, he sees a gaggle of angry leadership approaching. Probably in full regalia, he observes the swinging tassels and expensive clothing, of the high priests, elders, and both Pharisees and Sadducees. Their hatred of Jesus has resulted in an alliance of all Jewish leadership. What is not represented is Rome. Israel had always been a pain in the tuchus. Rome had an alliance with Antiochus who fought the Maccabees a 100 plus years earlier. Later he was Rome’s hostage. But the Jewish problem was always there. Those pesky Jews refused to

They ask him two questions which could undermine his legitimacy, something that would question the credentials and behaviour of Jesus. those who manage the temple The Sadducees were often like the deacons, who were responsible for the physical maintenance of the Temple complex. ...ell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Who is it who gave You this authority?”

They want to know who gave him authority, as in who appointed him. Who told him that he could come into the temple and cause all the damage he has done, he’s desecrated the holiness of the temple, he’s spoken against the spiritual leaders, etc. Also it can be a question of what office does he think he is performing; as a prophet, a priest, a king, messiah?

Jesus does not answer their question. He is not intimidated. Instead he ignores their demand and shows that He is in charge by asking them a question.

These leaders huddle and try to answer. They are looking at the people and at Jesus. What are going to be the political ramifications? Will our authority be weakened? What will the people do? Everyone believes John was a prophet. If they say John’s authority was from heaven, then prophet John’s endorsement of Jesus as the long awaited messiah would also be affirmed by heaven. And they will be touted as not believing the truth from heaven as spoken by the prophet John. If they say that John was only a man on his own mission, then they will lose all support from the people.

They claimed to be ignorant. So Jesus said then he won’t answer them either. If these, a most revered group, the ones who claim to best know the will of God, try to evade the truth about John, then if they will not admit to them his own authority.

He directly goes to a parable which answers their question.

OOOOOOOOO Luke 20:9–19 (HCSB) The Parable of the Vineyard Owner 9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a slave to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent yet another slave, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. 12 And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out.

13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

14 “But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so the inheritance will be ours!’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”

But when they heard this they said, “No—never!”

17 But He looked at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of this Scripture:

The stone that the builders rejected—

this has become the cornerstone?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and if it falls on anyone, it will grind him to powder!”

19 Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on Him that very hour, because they knew He had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

The owner of the vineyard represents God. The tenants are those who use what is not theirs and pay the owner his due. They are like sharecroppers, they share a portion of their earnings to the owner as a rental payment. They do not own the land nor the fruit. They are allowed to keep an amount of the fruit for their labor. So the owner gets rent and a maintained vineyard and the tenants get temporary use of the land and its remaining produce.

Yet the tenants not only refuse to pay for use of the vineyard, but they refuse and eject the rent collector. The owner is patient and he sends another servant to collector and another rejection escalates with a beating of the owner’s slave. The owner continues to forgive and patiently sends a third and this time the collector is wounded.

The owner is perplexed. What do I do? I will send my Son. From the early days of His ministry Jesus was called the son of God. John 1:48–49 (HCSB)48 “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you,” Jesus answered.

49 “Rabbi,” Nathanael replied, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus throughout his ministry claimed to be the son who repeated or enacted whatever his father Gop told him. Matthew 11:25–27 (HCSB) 25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants. 26 Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. 27 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.

When the heir shows up the tenants want to kill him and keep the land. A little background. There were in those days in the upper JOrdan Valley North Shores of Galilee vast estates owned by foreigners - absent landlords. The absentee landlord was very common. Payment or rent was paid at harvest time. The tenants were acting as if they were the owners. They were usurping the ownership and authority of the owner. In the Mishna, the oral tradition of the Torah, it was taught about squatters rights which read :”Title by usucaption [noun Roman Law.the acquisition of property through long, undisturbed possession] ]to houses, cisterns, trenches, vaults, dovecot, bath-houses, olive presses, irrigated fields, and slaves and aught that brings constant gains is secured by occupation during three completed years. So if the tenants had continuous possession for three years, the can secure ownership of the vineyard”. In the first centure Rabbi Eliezer spoe of the idea of the “inheritance” is linked with the concept of “eternal life”. Was this being taught at the time of Jesus?

But in every violation of behavior of the tenants as met by grace from the owner. The people and the leaders of the Jews knew who this parable was aimed at. They understood that with such treachery, deceit, greed was practised against the owner that all would be taken from them. Jewish history was full of God’s ;consequences when Israel tried to disobey or supplant God’s will with theri own. The group knew well the implication and the consequences. When the group of leaders heard the parable, they exclaim But when they heard this they said, “No—never!” They know that this criminal behavior by the renters applies to them, to Israel. The result = “Therefore, what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those farmers and give the vineyard to others. So the murderes will be wiped out and the vineyard giving over to other management or sold. The vineyard, i.e., the privileged position, once granted to Israel, was subsequently transferred to the church universal.

.............. But when they heard this they said, “No—never!” 17 But He looked at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of this Scripture:

The stone that the builders rejected—

”Then to ensure that all understand the parable, Jesus looks intently or beheld them and quotes the 22nd verse of a psalm to confirm the teaching of the parable. This is is still sung by us today Psalm 118:21–26 (ESV)

21 I thank you that you have answered me

and have become my salvation.

22 The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s [Jehovah’s]doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day that the Lord [Jehovah] has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Save us, we pray, O Lord!

O Lord, we pray, give us success!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

We bless you from the house of the Lord.

This psalm was well known to the Jews of the time. It was one of their top 40 hits. It was understood. .It was clear that the Messiah was rejected . And the one rejected became the most important stone in the structure or possibly temple. All the rest of the foundations location and design depend on the corner stone. It was the sole point that all locations within the foundation were made. For a navigator, the sole point of fixed reference to locate all other stars was the North Star. For constructing a foundation, the cornerstone was the sole, fixed point. People knew that the Messiah was the cornerstone upon which all the rest of foundations are dependent upon.....??????????????

The leadership knew that this rejection alluded to their rejection of Jesus. The one discarded, rejected became the point of true guidance. The point that established and governed not only the foundation, but all that rested upon it. Then Jesus after responding to their exclaimed innocence with the the psalm added to the psalm.

Not only was Jesus claiming to be the foundation as his rejection, but the the consequences were firm and could not be avoided. ...18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and if it falls on anyone, it will grind him to powder. This warning verse and the dire consequences is also alluded in Isaiah 8:13–14 (ESV) 13 But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling to both houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem . The place of holiness, a consecrated place will be offensive to both houses of Israel and a trap to the populace of Jersalem. A double punishment both to Israel and also Jerusalem specifically. Remember Jesus weeping as he approached Jerusalem.

But Jesus is saying not only will they stumble, but they will be broken and that which is broiken will be crushed. Jesus is not just warning he is saying that those who reject Him will not only lose out or be bypassed, but they will be obliterated [ think of Sodom, the flood] The penalty is severe; more than the death penalty of, but punishment even after death.

........Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on Him that very hour, because they knew He had told this parable against them, but they feared the people. Right then and there the objective shifted and they conspired to kill Jesu. They are afraid of this Jesus and His pronouncements. Jesus was using the truth of scripture against them. Could He perhaps be cursing them? And at the same time they were afraid of the people. They were allies of Jesus. ,The people were accepting the teachings of Jesus against themselves.

OOOOOOOOO Luke 20:20–26 (HCSB) God and Caesar 20 They watched closely and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, so they could catch Him in what He said, to hand Him over to the governor’s rule and authority. 21 They questioned Him, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You don’t show partiality, but teach truthfully the way of God. 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 But detecting their craftiness, He said to them, 24 “Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” “Caesar’s,” they said. 25 “Well then,” He told them, “give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.”

26 They were not able to catch Him in what He said in public, and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.

Now there intention was not to trip Jesus up in public,but under the guise of sincere questioning they want to get incriminating evidence so he could be given to the governor [Pontius Pilate] for punishment. They were no longer looking for sanctioning or condemnation from Jewush leadership. The Romans had the authority and power for severe punishment, even to the extent of punishment of death.

They tried to soften Jesus up with flattery...You speak and teach correctly, and You don’t show partiality, but teach truthfully the way of God. They state that he is a good teacher, without bias, and correctly point the way to God. So they are moving the answer away from actions of Jesus and away from spiritual matters. They are now attempting to frame the question around secular tax laws. The people correctly hated to pay taxes to the occupying, infidel force of Rome. As a political move, it was expected that Jesus would side with popular opinion. So they tried to get Jesus to incriminate himself. They are trying to get Jesus to approve or encourage tax evasion. This would be a serious offense. Since such activity could even lead to denial of the emperor- this could lead to another Jewish uprising. This type of speech might even be called treason.

Jesus as usual turns their question into them providing the answer. Jesus asks him whose picture is on the coin and also what is his title.They admit that the answer to both questions is that it Caesar’s image and the official title. Jesus said it belongs to Caesar give it to him. So in a single statement Jesus reaffirms individual who rules and the authority of the emperor to tax. But he also says that not only is this an obligation, but that this is the emperor’s due, his right. Jesus does not affront the authority of Caesar at all, but Jesu affirms that the tax is within Caesar’s authority.

Jesus finishes by making a distinction between God and Caesar.

In the eastern empires under Alexander the Great, and the Pharaohs were considered gods. But in the west seeds of secular divinity were planted. Roma who came from Romulus was considered a divine event. And temples were erected in 2nd century to the power of Rome [Dea Roma]. Also it the culture of Rome idolized individual genius which determined a persons fate. Every Roman houselhold contained idols of Pares and Penates, the fate of those in the family along with other deities. So there was an emphasis of honoring family and the ancestors of the family along with your own fate and honor to oldest mail [pater famias]nd self. Offerings to dead ancestors were on the Roman calendar. idols to n families . Everyas well as were certain Roman families. So the soil was readied for the convergence with the Eastern acceptance of a divine ruler. The divination of Caesars started in the east with one statue calling him a “demigod” which changed at his death that he was a god. Popular demand was the driving force of this movement. . Yet Julius Caesar personally did not claim divination. Augustus actually opposed the title by not wanting any temple erected in his name. The saying about him is that when a palm [miraculously]dprung up at one of his altars, He stated , obiously you do not burn incense there. Down to the 5 th century almost all emperors were deified at their death. The exception was Nero, Caligula, and Domitian [ the worst persecutor of the church] as these men were so disliked by the Senate. Later the Caesar during Christ time felt in the same mode as Julius. In other words there would be no accusations of blasphemy against Augustous since the divination movement was new and Augustus would not support it.

The debate ceased- the spies were amazed and tongue tied.

OOOOOOOOO Luke 20:27–40 (HCSB) The Sadducees and the Resurrection 27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came up and questioned Him: 28 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without children. 30 Also the second 31 and the third took her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.”

34 Jesus told them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to take part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 For they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection. 37 Moses even indicated in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are raised, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 He is not God of the dead but of the living, because all are living to Him.”

39 Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 And they no longer dared to ask Him anything.

Jesus answered the scribes.- remember that they did not believe in the resurrection- they mocked the idea. There was no afterllife, only the here and now. - a member of a Jewish sect or party of the time of Jesus Christ . They were the aristocrats, the high priests- conservatives, were somewhat Hellenized, good relations with Rome, claimed status by birth, relatives, wealth - everything past the 1st 5 books of the law amounted to nothing - they were noted for corruption- they controlled the temple and the sanhedrin [oversight of religious and legal issues of the jew] They believed in unrestrained free will—meaning that God had no current in the personal lives of humans. To their way of thinking “souls die with the bodies.” The End, in spite of the previous, they believed strongly in ritual purity as prescribed by Moses. They didn’t want anything to disqualify them from “leading the temple services that generated income. >>>They always appear as inquisitors or opponents of John the Baptist, Jesus, or the early Christians Matthew 3:7–8 (ESV reference John the Baptist 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

In summary the Sadducees believed:

1.that denied the resurrection of the dead,

2.the existence of spirits, [angels, demons, heaven hell]

3.the obligation of oral tradition,

4. immortality of the soul

5. emphasizing acceptance of the written Law alone.

6. They were the secular Jews

These people were trying to pose an insolveable or at least a difficult “what if” scenario to entrap him in something they did not believe in. But most people did believe in the afterlife. They were trying to get Jesus into a quandry that would cause him to lose popular support.

What they did believe in was the Pentateuch- the 5 books. They believed in the written,in only what was written, they disavowed all the oral traditions and the rest of the O.T. So what did Jesus do? He told them what happens in heaven after the resurrection of the dead. And he quoted from their scripture, what Moses wrote down. That God is not the god of the dead but the living. He is

....“Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 And they no longer dared to ask Him anything. The Jewish manner of debate was that if one side could not come up with any further challenges , the debate ended when no more questions. One side conceded to the other by not posing any more questions.

OOOOOOOOO Luke 20:41–44 (HCSB) The Question about the Messiah 41 Then He said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is the Son of David? 42 For David himself says in the Book of Psalms: The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand 43 until I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ 44 David calls Him ‘Lord’; how then can the Messiah be his Son?”

Jesus answers the scribes

>>>>> ...... Messiah is the Son of David . This was not recognizing the lineage or genealogy of Jesus.This term was commonly used by the people to denote the Messiah, it was an alternate title. In a similar manner of using an alternate title, Jesus referred to himself as “the Son of Man” from Daniel 7. Individual example of this recognition are seen in ....... Then people are asking Matthew 12:22–23 (HCSB) 22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Him. He healed him, so that the man could both speak and see. 23 And all the crowds were astounded and said, “Perhaps this is the Son of David!” This was the BIG question, or hope that was in the minds of many

Another later a person, a mother Matthew 15:21–22 (HCSB)21 When Jesus left there, He withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is cruelly tormented by a demon.”.

Then later Matthew 20:29–31 (HCSB)29 As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. 30 There were two blind men sitting by the road. When they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” 31 The crowd told them to keep quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”

All these are culminating coming together from questions building into consensus among the people . Now with the grand procession ongoing, the entry into Jerusalem --..Matthew 21:9 (HCSB) 9 Then the crowds who went ahead of Him and those who followed kept shouting: Hosanna to the Son of David! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One! Hosanna in the highest heaven! The crowd is not cheering on a renowned rabbi, or leader- they are endorsing him as to who he is and with that all their expectations that rode on that donkey. For hundreds of years they had waited, their hope that was foretold in Zechariah 9:9 (HCSB) 9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout in triumph, Daughter Jerusalem! Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Now it was no longer a hope, but it was really happening! They welcomed him as the long awaited King.

The people are recognizing Jesus as the Messiah, The belief of the people and the fulfillment of the prophesy have joined together.

So now this Jesus, the one recognized by popular opinion to be the Messiah, poses this question to the Sadducees who have given up on the state of marriages in heaven. They just ceased from question Jesus, their actions indicate that they have been defeated once again in this round. They were walking away, why did Jesus bring them back into discussion. So why does Jesus start up with a question of his own? Why does he refer to the Psalms? Remember Jesus is not talking to the people, but addressing the very ones who study the Law, the ones who know the very intricacies of scripture. The Sadducces did not regard the oral teachings as significant like the Pharisee dids. They were the earliest version of the Protestants, sola scriptura. “Scripture and nothing but the scripture.”

Jesus chose the Psalm which probably had attracted a great deal of study over time. And it referred to God, a lord, a lord that is almost certainly the Messiah.

The Psalms Jesus referred to Psalm 110:1–4 (HCSB)1 This is the declaration of the Lord to my Lord: “Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.” 2 The Lord will extend Your mighty scepter from Zion. Rule over Your surrounding enemies. 3 Your people will volunteer on Your day of battle. In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, the dew of Your youth belongs to You. 4 The Lord has sworn an oath and will not take it back:

“Forever, You are a priest like Melchizedek.”

.... Lord declared to my Lord The first Lord which in English Bible is in small capitol letters and is the proper name of God, “Jehovah”. The second Lord which is in lower case letters is the word “adon” which means one who is possessed of absolute control, i.e. master.

So simplified translation might read, “ 1 This is the declaration of the Jehova to my Master:

“Sit at My [Jehova ]right hand until I make Your [referring to Master] enemies Your [referring to Master] footstool.” ... The Jehova will extend Your [referring to Master] mighty scepter from Zion. Rule over Your [referring to Master] surrounding enemies.

3 Your [referring to Master] people will volunteer

on Your [referring to Master]day of battle.

In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,

the dew of Your [referring to Master]youth belongs to You[referring to Master].

4 The Jehova has sworn an oath and will not take it back:

“Forever, You [referring to Master]are a priest

like Melchizedek.”

Verse 1 of Psalm 110 is used 9 times in the New Testament [Matt.,Mark,Luke,Acts, and Heb] As consistently explained in the NT (Mt 22:44; Mk 12:36; Luke 20:42–43; Ac 2:34–35; Heb 1:13), this opening verse describes the determination of God the Father (the LORD or Jehova or YWEH) regarding the ultimate victory and dominion of God the Son [Jesus] (my [David’s] Lord), hence establishing the parameters by which to understand the rest of the psalm.

.... on Your [referring to Master]day of battle. In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn Moreover, the King leads His people who volunteer freely to fight on the day of battle. This is an eschatological army, in holy array (lit., “splendors of holiness” hadre qodesh), referring, like the similar expression (hadrat qodesh) in 1Ch 16:29 and 2Ch 20:21, to the “holy attire” worn by the Levitical priests in praising the Lord. The specific scenario in view here is indicated by the expression in the day of Your power (v. 3), in which the term power (hayil) literally signifies “military might,” thus relating this depiction to the Messiah’s coming in power (“the day of His wrath” in v. 5

... from the womb of the dawn, the dew of Your [referring to Master]youth belongs to You[referring to Master]the dew of Your [referring to Master]youth belongs to You[referring to Master] The variant reading is also supported by the Syriac and a number of Masoretic manuscripts. The phrase “I have begotten you” would then be a clear allusion to Ps 2:7, another significant messianic psalm. The King is said to be begotten from the womb of the dawn, indicating that this divine King comes from the heavenly realms from eternity past, before the creation of morning light.

....Melchizedek.” means “King of Righteousness,” in Heb 7 means “King of Peace.” which refers to Isaiah 9:6 (HCSB)6 For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, .......He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

.. Jeremiah 23:5–6 (HCSB)The Righteous Branch of David 5 “The days are coming” —this is the Lord’s declaration— “when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David.........This is what He will be named: Yahweh Our Righteousness.

Since “righteousness” and “peace” are qualities centered in and administered by God, the implication is that Melchizedek is none other than God Himself—yet another example of the many theophanies (pre-incarnational appearances of the Son of God) in the OT. And Melchizedek is a priest forever, an eternal priest.

OOOOOOOOO Luke 20:45–21:4 (HCSB) Warning against the Scribes 45 While all the people were listening, He said to His disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces, the front seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive greater punishment.”

“