Sermon Tone Analysis

PRAY

Intro: Most of you here hold an English translation of God’s word, the Bible, in your hands at this very moment.

Why do we care so much about what this book says?

Why do we strive so hard to submit to its teaching?

It’s simple.

Jesus is Lord of all, and if the supreme Lord elevates Scripture to the place of being the very word of God, revealing God and the truth to which we must submit, then we do the same.

That’s what you will find today as we look at the end of Luke 20 and into the beginning of ch. 21.

In the context (controversy and confrontation in the temple), Jesus now counters the attacks from his opponents.

First he demonstrates that the Sadducees are not the only ones failing to interpret Scripture rightly.

And the failure of the scribes proves fatal to their ability to decipher something central about the identity of the Messiah.

Secondly, such bad interpretation (and therefore bad doctrine) leads to bad spiritual leadership, so Jesus warns his disciples against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

Finally, he’ll contrast the character of the religious leaders with someone who appears to be helpless and lowly, but who demonstrates a humble love and trust toward God that is sacrificial instead of self-aggrandizing.

Luke’s reader is left to ponder: which one am I behaving more like?

With this line of questioning and scriptural quotation, for which the audience seems to be in stunned silence with no answer, Jesus is stating plainly…

Scripture Teaches That Messiah Is More Than David’s Descendent (20:41-44)

From Luke’s account here we see that everyone is still listening, and from Matthew’s account we know the inquiry is particularly in the direction of the group of Pharisees gathered there along with the many (Mt 22:41), and Mark informs us that the question mentions scribes specifically since they are the interpreters of the Scripture, experts of the law (Mk 12:35).

“How can they say that the Christ is David’s son?” is not a question meant to deny that he is indeed that, a descendant of David.

But the meaning is like asking, ‘In what sense do they mean that he is David’s son?” and again in v.44 restating the question.

He continues, “bc David himself says in the Psalms” and now he’s quoting from the first verse of the 110th psalm.

We might unknowingly assume that the scribes too must have at least believed this Psalm was a messianic text, but scholars have not found any clear evidence that such was regularly taught, that is until Jesus (and therefore his followers after him - Psalm 110:1 is the OT Scripture most quoted and alluded to in the NT!).

To this day it is a Christian interpretation and not one adhered to in Judaism.

The scribes were not interpreting Psalm 110 correctly.

Psalm 110 emphasizes, yes, that the Messiah will in fact be superior even to David: David refers to him as Lord.

But it also emphasizes the completeness of his rule over the nations (v. 6) and the total submission of those who serve him (v.

3).

The psalm further teaches the unique priestly office of this One who is Lord to be a Priest after the order of Melchizedek (v.

4), a theme which Hebrews picks up to explain that Jesus continues his priesthood forever, as opposed to the former levitical priesthood made up of fallible and finite humans.

In other words, though, the experts in the law were wrongly interpreting scripture to not see messianic promises that would lead them to conclude the superiority of the Messiah.

And this is not the only aspect of messianic promise in which their interpretation was lacking.

They largely missed the suffering servant aspect of his ministry in favor of the references which speak of his deliverance and rule.

(Christ’s deliverance offered would be even greater than mere political deliverance from Israel’s enemies and his rule more far-reaching than a simple little inconsequential kingdom in the middle east.)

It seems everyone missed that this suffering would in fact lead to his resurrection and exaltation, which in turn is what proves his superiority and cements his Lordship.

Back to Jesus quoting the first stanza of the poem/song.

- The LORD (God - Hebrew = Yahweh) said to my Lord (Hebrew = Adonai), sit at my right hand (the place of highest honor and authority), until I make your enemies your footstool (the point where all your enemies are completely conquered, so as to be under your feet, like a footstool).

If the Messiah is David’s Lord, what does the Lordship of Jesus mean?

Lord, at its most basic level, means someone who has superior authority and control and power over another.

So to say that Jesus is Lord is at least to verbalize his superiority over David and over us... and our submission to his authority and control.

With Jesus, that is part but not all.

Although it goes undisclosed here (the reader is left to ponder it), Luke intends to develop further what Jesus only hints at for the moment: Jesus’ Lordship is a result of not only his superiority but also his divinity.

It’s not as if this is out of the blue or unsubstantiated by Luke (not to mention other NT writers).

Think back to where Luke began his Gospel.

Jesus was uniquely born of a virgin, the only person ever to be conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and not by natural means.

Might that conception foreshadow his person and purpose?

Could he be both God and man?

Is that where his unique power and authority stems from in his miracles and teaching?

Might he be an even greater Messiah than they could have hoped for and expected?

Could he live a singularly perfect (sinless) human existence?

Could he give his life to atone for sin as the untainted Lamb of God? Did he indeed have authority to forgive sins like he said?

(Now back to the context of the passion week) Only a few short days from these interactions in the temple, Jesus will be secretly arrested and tried before various religious and political authorities.

Luke telescopes a couple of those interactions with members of the Sanhedrin (the council made up of religious leaders who served as the ruling body over Israel’s religion).

Although, Lord willing, we will study this text together as well later this year, let’s listen to their questioning and the result of that exchange.

Notice that by Jesus not denying what they say, he implies that these things are true even while the religious leaders are rejecting Jesus.

So He is putting it on them that they refuse to believe that he is indeed (three things in this flurry of questions) 1.

The promised Messiah, 2. The divine Son of Man from Daniel 7:13-14 who pre-existed and whose dominion will last forever, and 3.

The Son of God.

Recall that they have been looking for something to pin on him with his own words, and what they interpret as blasphemy is actually Jesus admitting the truth about himself.

Jesus already knows that this confession will lead to his crucifixion, but that his suffering of death would lead to his exaltation by resurrection from the grave.

Jump forward to Luke’s record in Acts of the first apostolic sermon on the day of pentecost, when Peter preaches to explain that after all the miracles and signs and wonders that Jesus did, it is ultimately his resurrection and exaltation, quoting OT prophecy from David in both cases as confirmation (Psalm 16 & 110), which is proof positive that Jesus is both the promised Messiah and that He is Lord (Acts 2:22-36).

Here is his conclusion:

It begins to make sense to us that, after his confirming resurrection and exaltation, NT teaching concerning Jesus is that he is indeed the promised Messiah, which would make him a superior worthy of lordship, but that he is also divine, the supreme Lord.

Jesus’ Lordship is supreme.

We, the Church, confess the declaration of Thomas, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28) in response to seeing the risen Jesus, and we embrace Peter’s statement to Cornelius that Jesus is “Lord of all” as he shared the gospel with his household.

The primary applications for us from this first section today are two-fold:

1. Jesus is Lord.

He is equal with the Father and Spirit in the Godhead, he is the Creator and Judge to whom you must give an account, and he is the only Lord to whom we must submit for salvation.

2. We are to interpret all of Scripture in light of the Lord Jesus Christ.

- This is not to say that every text is about Jesus, but that Jesus fulfills OT prophecy to an even greater and more complete degree than could be understood from the vantage point of the original audience, so we look to the NT to interpret that for us.

And the New Covenant teaches that everything which flows from Jesus’ exaltation onward is a growth out of his person and work on behalf of his people.

- Jesus is the fulcrum of history and the bullseye of God’s revelation to mankind.

These religious leaders missed the Lord standing before them, not only because they wrongly interpreted some scriptures as non-messianic, but also because their posture toward God and their practice as religious leaders was about themselves and not about God.

That is the accusation and warning Jesus levels next, continuing down the track of the scribes (associated with the Pharisees) as the example this.

In the hearing of everyone, including these religious leaders, Jesus issues yet another warning to his disciples to avoid the pharisaical approach to spiritual leadership.

In context of what we just covered, I think it’s fair to state the warning like this:

Warning!

Bad Doctrine Leads to Bad Religion (20:45-47)

Look where this lack of sincere submission to God leads!

When we don’t submit to God on his terms, religion simply becomes a tool for self-exaltation, which is the posture Jesus condemns here.

While they try to look pious, the Pharisees use their position for personal prestige and prominence and power.

They are proud and pretentious.

-Jesus gives specific examples to prove the point:

-Long robes - “some Jewish teachers wore a special identifying garb, in this case a long, white linen robe, similar to those of priests and temple officials” -Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Lk 20:45–46.

-Love greetings - “People normally greeted teachers with titles of honor; marketplaces, which were full of people, would provide many opportunities for teachers to receive such recognition.”

-Ibid.

-Best seats - “Seating at banquets marked one’s rank in society.”

-Ibid.

-Long prayers - “here Jesus criticizes not the longevity of prayers but the motive of this longevity” -Ibid, Lk 20:47.

AND (also in v. 47) they abuse their authority against those who are socially powerless, whom they should in fact be protecting and treating with compassion (according to the law of which they are experts):

Most likely, in the example Jesus gives, they were enforcing tithes on the poor to the point where, if they could not pay, said widow could lose her property, even her home.

Or the same might be true in some sort of legal issue, exacting the letter of the punishment instead of showing mercy… to the poor, the widow, the fatherless.

For their falsehood and lack of mercy their condemnation at the judgment will be severe: “They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Needless to say, Jesus pulls no punches in blasting the religious elite and warning his disciples that they must be an altogether different breed of spiritual leader.

*Having contradicted the scribes’ interpretation of Scripture, and having warned his disciples against their hypocrisy, Jesus now contrasts their falsehood with the private piety of a poor and powerless widow.

Just as Jesus transitioned smoothly using the scribes as the example of abusive, self-exalting spiritual leadership, so Jesus uses the example of a sincere widow to contrast true worship with the falsehood of the Pharisees.

Right Doctrine Leads to Giving Our Very Lives (21:1-4)

The point of this example from Jesus is simple: This widow likely doesn’t know 1/10 of the Scripture of these Pharisees, and yet she rightly submits her whole self to God.

Jesus of course has no problem whatsoever with the rich giving their gifts, as they should.

The comparison of generosity and sacrifice is what Jesus is driving at.

She gives to worship God… all she has left, in fact… because she loves and trusts and depends upon God.

Neither is the point that everyone must give away everything in order to please God.

The heart of the matter is the heart.

Do we love God or do we love self?