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Luke 20

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Jesus's Authority Challenged 1–8

1
And it came to pass, on one of the days, as he was teaching the people in the temple, and preaching the gospel, there came upon him the chief priests and the scribes with the elders; ​
2
and they spake, saying unto him, Tell us: By what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? ​
3
And he answered and said unto them, I also will ask you a question; and tell me:
4
The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men? ​
5
And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why did ye not believe him? ​
6
But if we shall say, From men; all the people will stone us: for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.
7
And they answered, that they knew not whence it was.
8
And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.

Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers 9–19

9
And he began to speak unto the people this parable: A man planted a vineyard, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into another country for a long time. ​
10
And at the season he sent unto the husbandmen a servant, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty.
11
And he sent yet another servant: and him also they beat, and handled him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
12
And he sent yet a third: and him also they wounded, and cast him forth.
13
And the lord of the vineyard said, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him. ​
14
But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned one with another, saying, This is the heir; let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours. ​
15
And they cast him forth out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do unto them?
16
He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. ​
17
But he looked upon them, and said, What then is this that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner? ​
18
Every one that falleth on that stone shall be broken to pieces; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will scatter him as dust. ​
19
And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he spake this parable against them. ​

Tribute to Caesar 20–26

20
And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. ​
21
And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God:
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Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Cæsar, or not? ​
23
But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them,
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Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Cæsar’s.
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And he said unto them, Then render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. ​
26
And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.

The Sadducees and the Resurrection 27–40

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And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection; ​
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and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man’s brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. ​
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There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless;
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and the second:
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and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died.
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Afterward the woman also died.
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In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife.
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And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: ​
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but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
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for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. ​
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But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the place concerning the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ​
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Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
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And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said.
40
For they durst not any more ask him any question.

Whose Son is the Christ? 41–44

41
And he said unto them, How say they that the Christ is David’s son? ​
42
For David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, ​
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Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.
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David therefore calleth him Lord, and how is he his son? ​

Warning Against the Scribes 45–47

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And in the hearing of all the people he said unto his disciples, ​
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Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts; ​
47
who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater condemnation. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Luke 20

Verse 1

preached the gospel — Euangelizo, to announce good news; Luke uses it of Jesus' teaching in the temple itself. The three groups who 'came upon him' (chief priests, scribes, elders) are the rulers who then ask by what authority he acts (v.2; Matt 21:23).

Verse 2

by what authority — Exousia, the right to act, not only the power. The question has two parts: the deeds ('these things') and the one who gave the right to do them. Moses met a like challenge, 'Who made thee a prince and a judge over us?' (Ex 2:14); the same question stands in Mark 11:28.

Verse 4

The baptism of John — Baptisma here stands for John's whole ministry. 'From heaven' is a reverent name for God. John had 'bare record that this is the Son of God' (John 1:34), so the answer to this question decides the answer to v.2.

Verse 5

reasoned with themselves — Syllogizomai, to reckon together, to deliberate. Their reckoning is of consequences and not of truth, because 'From heaven' convicts them of unbelief, and 'Of men' (v.6) endangers them. Matt 21:26 gives the same motive: 'we fear the people'.

Verse 9

planted a vineyard — The vineyard is Israel: 'the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel' (Isa 5:7). Here the weight falls on the georgoi, the land-workers to whom it is let, and on the owner's long absence ('for a long time'). It was told 'to the people', yet v.19 shows it was aimed at the rulers.

Verse 13

my beloved son — Agapetos, the Father's word at the baptism: 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased' (Matt 3:17). The owner's 'What shall I do?' recalls Isa 5:4, 'What could have been done more to my vineyard?' His 'it may be' voices a hope that the Son will be reverenced.

Verse 14

This is the heir — Kleronomos. The tenants recognise the Son and kill him to seize 'the inheritance'. God has 'appointed heir of all things' his Son (Heb 1:2; cf. Ps 2:8). Their 'reasoned' (dialogizomai) matches the rulers' plotting in Luke 19:47.

Verse 16

God forbid — Me genoito, literally a wish that it may not come to pass, and it is the hearers' cry when they grasp the verdict. 'To others' points to the later turning to the Gentiles: 'It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you' (Acts 13:46).

Verse 17

the head of the corner — Christ quotes Ps 118:22. 'Rejected' is apodokimazo, to reject after testing. Peter applies the verse to Jesus before the same rulers: 'This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders' (Acts 4:11; cf. 1 Pet 2:7).

Verse 18

grind him to powder — Likmao, to winnow, to scatter like chaff. The stone that is 'a stone of stumbling' to Israel (Isa 8:14–15) is also the stone that smote the image and left it 'like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors' (Dan 2:34–35). Falling on it breaks; its falling on a man destroys.

Verse 19

sought to lay hands on him — They acted 'the same hour' yet held back, 'feared the people'. Luke had noted that they 'could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him' (19:48). They knew the parable was 'against them', as the Son's death (v.15) was their own plan.

Verse 20

feign themselves just men — Hypokrinomai, to play a part, the root of 'hypocrite'. The spies are enkathetoi, men set in ambush. Their aim is to deliver him to 'the governor' (hegemon), the title of Pilate in Matt 27:2, where the plan is finally carried out.

Verse 22

tribute unto Caesar — Phoros is a tax laid on persons or property. The question is built as a snare with two edges: 'yes' could offend the people, 'no' would be an accusation before the governor. At the trial the charge returned: 'forbidding to give tribute to Caesar' (Luke 23:2).

Verse 25

Render therefore — Apodidomi, to give back what is owed. The coin bore Caesar's 'image and superscription' (v.24), so it is returned to him. Paul states the same debt: 'Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due' (Rom 13:7); the second clause sets God's claim beyond Caesar's (Acts 4:19).

Verse 27

Sadducees — They 'deny that there is any resurrection' (anastasis, a standing up again). Mark 12:18 has 'which say there is no resurrection'. The same party was grieved when the apostles 'preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead' (Acts 4:1–2).

Verse 28

raise up seed — The rule is Deut 25:5, the duty of a brother to a childless widow. It was already practised in Gen 38:8, where Judah told Onan, 'raise up seed to thy brother'. The Sadducees take 'Moses wrote' as their ground because they accepted the books of Moses.

Verse 34

The children of this world — 'World' is aion, an age; 'children' is huioi, sons, those who belong to it. Marrying and being given in marriage mark this present age, as in 'They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage' (Luke 17:27). Verse 35 speaks of 'that world'.

Verse 36

equal unto the angels — Isangelos, angel-like. Matt 22:30 puts it, 'as the angels of God in heaven'. The reason given is that 'Neither can they die any more'; marriage serves a world where death takes its toll. They are 'children of God' because they are 'children of the resurrection'.

Verse 37

at the bush — Moses 'shewed' (menyo, disclosed) the resurrection where God spoke from the burning bush: 'I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' (Ex 3:6). Christ argues from the books the Sadducees accepted (Mark 12:26).

Verse 41

Christ is David's son — Christos is 'anointed', the Messiah. That he is David's son is true (Matt 1:1; Isa 11:1, 'a rod out of the stem of Jesse'), and the blind man had so addressed him. The question exposes what is missing in the scribes' teaching, which treats him as David's son only (Mark 12:35).

Verse 42

The LORD said unto my Lord — These words are from Ps 110:1. The first 'LORD' is the divine name; the second is the one David calls 'my Lord'. Mark 12:36 adds that David spoke 'by the Holy Ghost'. Peter reads the same verse of the risen Christ (Acts 2:34–35), and Heb 1:13 of the Son above the angels.

Verse 44

how is he then his son? — The question is answered in Christ's own words: 'I am the root and the offspring of David' (Rev 22:16). He is David's son by descent, 'of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever' (Rom 9:5), and so David's Lord.

Verse 45

in the audience of all the people — The warning is spoken to the disciples while the crowd hears. The longer form is Matt 23, which gives the same marks: 'all their works they do for to be seen of men', and 'greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi' (Matt 23:5, 7).

Verse 46

long robes — Stole, a long gown worn as a mark of dignity. The 'highest seats' (protokathedria) and 'chief rooms' (protoklisia, first couches at table) are the places of honour. Christ had already said, 'Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues' (Luke 11:43; cf. 14:7).

Verse 47

devour widows' houses — Katesthio, to eat down, to consume. 'For a shew' is prophasis, a pretext, as 'pretence' in Mark 12:40. 'Damnation' is krima, a sentence of judgment, 'greater' because abundant; those who teach are judged more strictly (James 3:1).