Day 97

Luke 20:20–26 (NIV)

²⁰ Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. ²¹ So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. ²² Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

²³ He saw through their duplicity and said to them, ²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?” ²⁵ “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” ²⁶ They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

Helpful Info

Part of the background needed to understand the seriousness of the question is to understand that in 6 AD the some Jews had rebelled against the tax of Rome. Rome came down hard on those Jews at that time.

The tax being referred to is a poll tax that all adult male Jews had to pay. It was one denarius (the very coin given to Jesus) which was worth an everyday laborer's day of work. This tax was actually the responsibility of the Sanhedrin (Jewish Leaders Religious & Government Heads) to collect. There was a strong debate about paying such a tax because some felt that to do so was to give Caesar (who called himself a God) a status that was not true. The idea there is no King but God.

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage

Read the Passage

Who is in the passage?

What action verbs do you see?

What other words stick out in your mind

Questions

Why do the Jewish leaders send spies instead of asking the question themselves?

By Jesus’ answer what do we see about how He views earthly governments?

What does that mean for how we obey our government? When does one not obey the government because of your faith?

Notes

vs 20- Jesus has embarrassed the Jewish leadership in 20:1-8, He has ridiculed them as evil in 20:9-19. To the point where the leaders now do not want to confront Jesus outwardly for it has gotten nowhere and they are afraid of the crowd’s reaction. So they develop the scheme of sending people pretending to be followers of Jesus to trap him with a question that will bring the wrath of Rome upon Him.

vs 21 In the question they try to butter Jesus up.

· He teaches Truth,

· you defer to no one. Remember Jesus calls out the Jewish leaders, yet raises up the status of sinners (chap 15) and children (18:15-16) .

· You are telling the people the way to get to God

The second one, not showing partiality, is where they seek to trap Him. Surely Jesus will speak against Caesar is the thought.

vs 22- The question is meant to trap Jesus. If he says do not pay then they can hand Jesus over to the governor. If He says pay the tax then He is belittled in the eyes of the people and loses clout. Then the Jewish leaders can take care of Him. (vs 19 points out they are scared to do anything with Jesus because of the people)

vs 23- Jesus knows their motives

vs 24 - probably the picture is of Tiberius with the inscription "Tiberius Caesar, son of divine Augustus"

vs 25- The answer is interesting. There is a sense that Jesus accepts the claim of the government of Rome. Very similar perhaps to Paul's thoughts in Rom 13:1-7. But he places that governing power under the direction of God. Jesus point may also be that the things of this world are not what He is about. His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36) so it is possible to live under the rule of an earthly kingdom. The key however is while we are under the rule of the earthly kingdom that we realize the earthly kingdom is not what life is about. It will go away. What does matter is Jesus' kingdom an how one responds to it. (12:33-34). So Caesar can take his tax, but that doesn't prevent one from living for what really matters.

vs 26- The answer leaves them dumbfounded. The plot this time fails although when the charges do come against Jesus it is one the Jewish leaders accuse Jesus of (23:2)

Day 96

Luke 20:9–19 (NIV)

⁹ He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’ ¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!” ¹⁷ Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? ¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage

Read the Passage

Who is in the passage?

What action verbs do you see?

What other words stick out in your mind

Questions

Who do the actors in the parable represent?

What do you learn about God from this parable?

What does this parable say about the authority of the leaders? The authority of God?

Notes

Reading this parable we must remember what has just happened. The Religious leaders have just asked- "By whose authority do you do these things?" In this parable Jesus not only answers the question but he also calls into question the motives of the Leaders and all of Israel.

The vineyard idea of this parable reflects a judgment parable in Isa 5:1-7.

In Matt 21:33, and Mark 12 :1 the writers even tell of more the owner does to make the crop area secure and useful.

vs 9-10 In Israel the idea of tenet farming was common. An owner would provide the materials and plantings. The tenets would care for the crop until harvest. At harvest the agreed upon percentage would be dispersed between the farmers and the owner.

vs 10b- 11- Each action of the tenets who are now acting like they own the land becomes worse. To the point that their actions would be horrendous to the people listening to the parable. But now it even gets worse

13- the land owner, who now many would consider a fool for letting it go this long without a justified response, gives the tenets one more chance. He does not play it safe but rather shows how much He is willing to do to get the issue straight. While the owner may seem a fool he also realizes the chance he is taking. We see this in the word "perhaps" the tenets may or may not do the right thing. But for some reason the owner is willing to increase the risks for the good of the tenets.

vs 14 -15 the tenets understand the stakes have also increased. They "talk the matter over" - this isn't a decision made in haste. It is a deliberate action. It is premeditated making the action that much worse. Their reason isn't about the owner being bad or anything like that. It is about trying to take something that does not belong to them.

The throwing out is a symbol of their rejection of him as having owner rights. Their killing of him is a symbol of how far they are willing to go for their own.

15b-16- What the crowd listening would have thought would have happened long before finally comes true. The justified judgment is rendered. The giving of the vineyard to others is a statement that God has others, not just Israel that are His. (Israel has in mind that God is only for them and not anyone else)

So what do we learn from the parable about God?

· He is extremely patient- even after the leaders like Moses, the law, the prophets are rejected by Israel God still gives them a chance. The best Chance yet. He sends Jesus.

· While He is extremely patient there is a judgment to happen for how He is treated

· We see God's love for the people being so strong that even though He knows what will happen to Jesus, He gives Him anyway

· God is not just a God of Israel but of all people. Salvation is available to anyone!

What do we learn about the people-

· They are only interested in themselves. They do not accept that God is the one in charge

· They are without excuse- by their actions and their motivations they are clearly guilty

16b- the people's reaction to the parable is complete horror that such injustice would be done.

17-18 from Ps 118:22- (read Ps 118:15-29) Jesus takes the quote and applies to the parable and clearly the parable points to Him.

Jesus will be the judgment of all people. Though rejected He is the center of what God does in this world. No matter what we may say or do that fact does not change!

vs 19 - It is clear the parable is understood. What is ironic is the parable causes the very actions within the parable. Jesus has in the parable claimed He was from God and that the Leaders, if not all Israel, have no authority over God's ownership.

The question "By whose authority do you do these things" (vs 2) is answered. The leaders, and it turns out the people as well, just do not want to hear it!