Tyndale Open Study NotesLuke 20

In this series of controversies between Jesus and the religious leaders of Jerusalem, they repeatedly questioned and challenged him, and he repeatedly outmatched them with his spiritual wisdom, insight, and authority.

the chief priests and scribes, together with the elders: These were the most influential Jewish leaders in Jerusalem. They united against Jesus because he threatened their authority.

by what authority are You doing these things: Since these groups were the recognized Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, they wanted to know how Jesus could claim authority to enter Jerusalem as a king and drive the merchants from the temple.

The question Jesus asked trapped the religious leaders (see 20:5–6) because either answer would accuse them.

The people will stone us: Stoning was a capital punishment where people threw rocks at the offender until he or she died. Stoning was the punishment for:

• blasphemy (speaking against God; Leviticus 24:14–15).=,

• idolatry (worshiping false gods; Leviticus 20:2; Deuteronomy 13:10), and

• other acts of opposition against God.

The people might have considered rejecting a true prophet as blasphemy, which deserved the penalty of stoning.

The Jewish authorities refused to answer the question Jesus asked, so Jesus had no obligation to answer their question. Both their question and their refusal were guided by self-interest rather than integrity.

This story adapts Isaiah’s Song of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5:1–7) to describe the rejection of Jesus by Israel’s leaders. In Isaiah’s story, the vineyard owner represents God, and the vineyard represents Israel, which failed to produce good fruit and would be judged.

Jesus added new characters to the story. The tenant farmers represent Israel’s unrighteous leaders, the servants represent the Old Testament prophets who were repeatedly rejected, and the son represents Jesus. God would judge Israel’s leaders for rejecting and killing his Son.

rented it out to some tenants: This was a common practice in first-century Palestine, especially in Galilee. Many poor farmers would rent land from wealthy owners so they could grow crops.

the tenants beat the servant: God’s prophets were often mistreated and opposed by the people of Israel (1 Kings 19:10, 14; 2 Chronicles 24:21; 36:16; Nehemiah 9:26; Jeremiah 2:30; 26:20–24; 37:15).

my beloved son: The Messiah was predicted to have a unique father-son relationship with God (see 2 Samuel 7:14; Psalms 2:7; 89:26–29).

Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours: They believed that killing the heir would give them power over the estate. They foolishly failed to realize that the owner was still alive and would demand justice. Similarly, the religious leaders thought that they could keep their authority over the people of Israel by killing Jesus.

The stone … cornerstone: Jesus quoted Psalm 118:22 to predict that he would be rejected and later restored to honor. The cornerstone was the most important stone in a building because it helped support and align the walls. Jesus was rejected by the builders, meaning the religious leaders, but he would become the foundation of a new building, the church.

Jesus expanded the stone metaphor (20:17) with references to Isaiah 8:14–15 and Daniel 2:34, 44–45. Although Israel rejected him, Jesus became the foundation for the new people of God. He began the reign of a kingdom that would last forever.

realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them: The story provoked the religious leaders to act it out by arresting and killing Jesus.

The religious leaders asked this question to trap Jesus, but he answered in a way that avoided their trap.

we know that You speak and teach correctly: These dishonest words of praise were meant to trick Jesus (see Psalms 5:9; 12:2–3; 78:36; Proverbs 26:28; 28:23; 29:5; Ezekiel 12:24).

Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?: If Jesus said yes, he would make the people angry, because they hated the burden of Roman taxation. If he said no, he would be accused of rebellion against the Roman authorities.

a denarius: This Roman coin had the image and inscription of the emperor Tiberius Caesar (see 3:1) stamped on it.

Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s: Jesus gave a clever answer. There are two ways to understand this statement. On the surface, he said that the coin belonged to Caesar and should be given to him. But his Jewish listeners also understood that, in the end, nothing truly belongs to Caesar, because everything belongs to God.

the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection: See "The Sadducees" Profile.

Moses wrote for us: A dead man’s brother would marry the widow to produce children who would maintain the dead man’s name and property (Deuteronomy 25:5–6; see also Genesis 38:8–10; Ruth 4:1–12).

Well, suppose there were seven brothers: A similar story of a woman married to seven husbands appears in the Old Testament Apocrypha (Tobit 3:7–17; 6:10–8:18).

in the resurrection, whose wife will she be?: The Sadducees told this made-up story to show that the idea of resurrection (rising from the dead) did not make sense. They wanted people to think that belief in resurrection was foolish.

They likely used this same argument many times. It was a common attack that the Sadducees used when they debated the Pharisees.

will neither marry nor be given in marriage: Jesus taught that marriage belongs to this present life on earth. It is not part of life after the resurrection (when the dead rise to life again).

because they are like the angels: Angels are not married, and they are immortal. The Bible never teaches that people become angels (compare Hebrews 1:5–2:18), but that we will be like them.

• After answering the Sadducees’ question about marriage, Jesus turned to the larger question of the resurrection (rising from the dead).

• Even Moses demonstrates that: Jesus used the books of Moses to show that the resurrection is true. These books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) were the only Scripture the Sadducees recognized as authoritative.

• the God of Abraham … Jacob: God called himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob long after these patriarchs had died. Since he was still their God, they must have had a continuing existence after death.

Teacher, You have spoken well!: Most teachers of religious law were Pharisees, so they agreed with Jesus on the resurrection and were pleased that he refuted the Sadducees.

The wise answers of Jesus confused his opponents. They could not defeat him in argument.

They had tried to trap him with difficult questions. Instead, his replies exposed their motives and showed his wisdom.

As a result, their plans to trap him failed.

After Jesus silenced his opponents, he began to challenge the religious leaders and their understanding of the Messiah.

The Old Testament predicted that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David (see study note on 18:38).

Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1. By quoting this verse, Jesus shows that the Messiah (God's chosen leader) is more than a descendant of David. The Messiah is also David’s Lord.

Jesus asked why King David called his son (meaning his descendant) his Lord. The implied answer was that the Christ was more than a human king from David's family line. He is Lord of all (see 2:11; Acts 10:36).

Psalm 110:1 became an important passage for the apostles. It confirms that Jesus is the Son of God (see Mark 14:62; Acts 2:34; 7:56; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12–13; 1 Peter 3:22; Revelation 3:21).

• Jesus continued confronting his opponents by warning people about the hypocrisy and exploitation practiced by the teachers of the law. These leaders sought honor and respect for themselves while taking advantage of vulnerable people.

• the greetings in the marketplaces: See study note on 11:43.

• the places of honor at banquets: See study notes on 5:30; 14:7.

They defraud widows: This might mean taking advantage of widows' property that they should have protected. It could also mean forcing widows to give more money than they could afford.

Widows were the most vulnerable members of society. God had special concern for them. He would judge those who took advantage of them (Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 10:18; 27:19).