Words in italic type have been added for clarity. They are not found in the original Hebrew or Aramaic.

Luke 20

• What should I learn from this chapter?
  Riddle: Who is both: the Father of King David AND (AS WELL AS) the Son of King David?

Jesus’ Authority Questioned

Luke 20:¹ Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him

Luke 20:² and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

• Why would Jesus need someone’s permission to speak?

Luke 20:³ But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me:

Luke 20:⁴ The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

Luke 20:⁵ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’

Luke 20:⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

Luke 20:⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

Luke 20:⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

The Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

Luke 20:⁹ Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers (tenant farmers), and went into a far country for a long time.

Luke 20:¹⁰ Now at vintage-time (Lit. the season) he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

Luke 20:¹¹ Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.

Luke 20:¹² And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.

Luke 20:¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’

Luke 20:¹⁴ But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’

Luke 20:¹⁵ So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

Luke 20:¹⁶ He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”

And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”

Luke 20:¹⁷ Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone’?

You can’t get blood from a stone – unless that stone is Jesus.

Luke 20:¹⁸ Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

Luke 20:¹⁹ And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people (were afraid) — for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

The Pharisees: Is It Lawful to Pay Taxes to Caesar?

Luke 20:²⁰ So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.

• A pretender is an actor, someone who wears a mask, a hypocrite.

Luke 20:²¹ Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:

Luke 20:²² Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Luke 20:²³ But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me?

• To be crafty is to manipulate others in the same way a basket weaver manipulates the reeds in order to make a basket (even today we call people who make things “crafty”) The serpent in Genesis was craftier than all the other animals in the garden.
• Satan and all who are under his influence are nothing more than “Pretenders”

Luke 20:²⁴ Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

Luke 20:²⁵ And He said to them, “Render (Pay) therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

Luke 20:²⁶ But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?

Luke 20:²⁷ Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him,

Luke 20:²⁸ saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.

Luke 20:²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children.

Luke 20:³⁰ And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.

Luke 20:³¹ Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also (also left no children); and they left no children, and died.

Luke 20:³² Last of all the woman died also.

Luke 20:³³ Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.”

Luke 20:³⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

Luke 20:³⁵ But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

Luke 20:³⁶ nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

• A true resurrection is someone who is raised from the dead, never to die again.

Luke 20:³⁷ But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’

Luke 20:³⁸ For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

Luke 20:³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”

Luke 20:⁴⁰ But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?

Luke 20:⁴¹ And He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?

Luke 20:⁴² Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,

Luke 20:⁴³ Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

Luke 20:⁴⁴ Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”

• Jesus, as the Creator, created Himself and injected Himself into the lineage as the descendant, or “Son” of King David.
• Jesus, as the Creator, also created David, therefore He is also David’s “Father”.
• Conclusion: Jesus is both Father and Son of King David.

Beware of the Scribes

Luke 20:⁴⁵ Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples,

Luke 20:⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,

Luke 20:⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

• People of Pretense are: pretenders, actors, hypocrites, and criminals.

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