Luke 20:19-26 – Give honor to whom honor is due

The Pharisees, high priests and the elders knew that Jesus was talking about them in the parable He spoke earlier.  Because of His popularity, they couldn't do a thing about it. So they devised a trap to ensnare Him. In Matthew 22:15-22 we see the same account being recorded. In Matthew's reckoning, we are told that the Pharisees sent some of their disciples to team up with the Herodian in their scheme to trap Jesus. The Pharisees were members of a religious sect, whereas the Herodian were more political in their orientation, seeking to find favour with the Romans. Here we see two rival groups united by a common cause to get Jesus. They sent spies who pretended to be righteous, to try and nail Jesus when He should say the wrong words. They flattered Him glowingly, describing Him as a righteous person, a true teacher who taught God's truth correctly and impartially. What they had said were all true. Unfortunately they didn't believe a thing of what they themselves had described of the Lord. Hence, what they had said were mere flattery.

Then they asked the trick question, "Is it lawful to pay tax to Caesar, or not?" If Jesus had answered them with an affirmative, He would incur the wrath of the populace. If He had answered in the negative, He would run foul with the Roman authority. Of course the Lord detected their trap. And with a master stroke He left them dumbfounded. He asked for a denarius. And He asked them whose inscription was on the coin. They responded rightly by saying it's Caesar's. His reply was "Render to Caesar what's rightly his and to God what's rightly God's." That silenced them. For they realized that their trap didn't work. Luke tells us in verse 26, that they themselves were amazed by the answer of the ingenious Master and were silent.

Christ advocates proper balance when it comes to government and our belief. We need to pay our dues to the government for the law and order, and all the amenities we enjoy as a citizen of our nation. But we must also realize that we are citizens of the Heavenly Kingdom. It's only right for us to respect our government whom God had set above us but we mustn't neglect our duties to God our Heavenly Father. So let us be good citizens and render to our government what we need to do as citizens of our nation, and to God what we need to do as citizens of heaven.

As Paul had taught in the letter of Colossians, if we have been raised with Christ, then set our eyes on things above where Christ is seated. Don't just merely focus on the things below but also set our sight on things eternal.

Luke 20:9-19 – Christ’s Authority

It seems quite obvious that the chief priests, Pharisees and the elders – the Sanhedrin - knew where Jesus' authority came from, but refused to acknowledge it. So adapting from a parable told in Isaiah 5:1-2, Christ then told them the parable of the tenant in Luke 20:9-16

The vineyard represents Israel. The landowner represents God. And the vine growers or the tenants were the people of Israel. The slaves were the prophets that God sent to them. Obviously Jesus was saying that God had established Israel and given her to the care of her spiritual leaders, the vine growers. He did not show His presence for a long time. The longer He was absent the less power He seemed to have.

Hence in the interim, God sent prophets time and again to retrieve the fruit grown in the vineyard. They were expected to bear fruit, since the slaves were sent during harvest times. But the tenants ill-treated all of the prophets, treated them shamefully and even wounded some of them and cast them out. All of the prophets were sent away empty-handed. Finally God sent His beloved Son. He reckoned that they would respect the Son since He was the heir. On the contrary, they did not. Heir or not, they cruelly treated Him and would deliberately kill Him in order to take control.

Two things were indicated here:

(1) Jesus' opponents recognized His authority;

(2) Jesus was hinting about His impending death which took place outside Jerusalem.

Although the chief priests and Pharisees and the elders knew Christ's authority, tragically they neither heed His warning nor repent. They recognized that it was God who had given Him but refused to acknowledge it. Thus their sin was all the more grievous. They were now about to kill the Son. Their consequence would be severe. God was about to give the care of His land to others.

The opponents of Jesus retorted with, "May it never be!' Since they refused to accept what Jesus had just told them, He directed them to Psalm 118:22 to support what He said. ‘The stone which the builders rejected, this became the chief corner stone’. Christ virtually became the chief cornerstone of the Church. Paul applied this to his teaching in Ephesian 2:20. The foundation of the church, Paul said, is built on the teachings of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Himself the chief cornerstone.

Verse 18 is an adaption from Isaiah 4:14-15.  He said, "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust.” Everyone who rejects Christ would be dealt with. When the judgement fall they would be crushed. Those who wilfully oppose Him would be dealt with even more severely.

More than anything else, this parable underscores for us the authority of Jesus. He told us that "All authority in heaven and on earth" is His. Let us consider an intensely personal question: Is He a stumbling block to the things we want to do or the Master, Whom we delight to obey and serve? Each of us need to answer this question individually. And our answer to this question will reveal whether Christ is the authority in our life or not.   

Luke 20:1-8 – Be truthful

Jesus came to Jerusalem with two clear signals of His authority: (1) His triumphant entrance on the back of a donkey and the people's adulation and (2) the cleansing of the temple where the money changers were driven out. In Luke 20:1-8 He was teaching and preaching the Gospel in the temple. His opponents, namely, the chief priests, scribes and the leaders of the Sanhedrin, came questioning His authority. It was quite clear that the question asked was not to clarify something they did not understand. They were asking the question to trap Jesus.

It's not really a smart thing to question Jesus, for He had quite amply proven Who He was, and by what authority He did what He did. So the Lord asked them in return, by whose authority John the Baptist baptized the people. It was an opportunity they had spurned. They could have seized this opportunity and come clean. But they won't. This revealed the hardness of their hearts. So they reasoned among themselves.    

John the Baptist was considered a prophet by the people. Many knew and believed that he was sent by God. The opponents knew that they would be checkmated if they should say John came from heaven. They anticipated the next question would be: then why didn't they believe in him? And if they should say he came from men, they were afraid of being stoned. Refusing to answer, they claimed ignorance. Christ could read their intention, so He also told them in that case He would not answer their question concerning His authority.

The Lord only deals with truth because He is the Truth. When we come seeking for truth we will find it in Him. We will always go away having our honest doubts and fears cleared. However, we should never twist scriptures to cover what we already knew to be a flaw. We should never try to wriggle out of the truth. David discovered that, so He wrote in Psalm 51:6, “Behold Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part thou wilt make me know wisdom." The Lord desires truthfulness and abhors deceitfulness. Let's seek to be truthful, sincere and honest.  

Luke 19:45-48 - God's Holy Habitation

Three years earlier, Jesus had already cleansed the temple courtyard once (John 2:13-16). Here in Luke 19:45-48, He is seen cleansing the temple for the second time. In the duration of three years, the money changers and stall holders had crept back and again used the temple courtyard as a venue for trading and exploitation.

The purpose of the temple was violated. Instead of being a house of prayer, they had made it into a den of thieves. What did He mean by that? They had set up stalls for people to buy animals for sacrifice and would charge them at exorbitant prices, higher than their value. They had money changers for the people to acquire temple currency to pay their temple taxes. The people were also charged higher than the value. People were being exploited just because they wanted to worship God.

The contrast between the temple being a house of prayer and a den of thieves is a very strong one. God expects fragrance incense, a type of the prayers of the people, to be offered daily. But instead of sweet fragrance, it was incense that was tainted by exploitation, deceits and hypocrisy. That greatly annoyed Christ. So He drove the money changers and stall holders out.

In verse 47 Christ then went on teaching daily in the temple. Among His audience were the chief priests, scribes and the leaders of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council.  Their motive was to catch Jesus saying something that they could use to accuse Him. Their intention was to destroy Him. However, they could not find fault with Him. Furthermore the people were drinking in everything that He taught.

As believers, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in us. Paul said in I Corinthians 6:19, that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom we have from God, and that we are not our own. Hence we need to guard it zealously that we should not make it repulsive to the Holy Spirit. Sinful habits, wrong attitudes and worldly influence must be dealt with. 

Two thoughts for our contemplation:

·   Our bodies, the temples of God, are cleansed by the precious blood of Christ. Are we keeping it clean by washing and renewing it daily with the water of the Word of God?

·     Our daily prayers are like the incense being offered in the temple. Are we offering sweet and uncontaminated incense daily?

Be mindful that we are the dwelling place of God's eternal Spirit. Let's make our lives a true temple where the Spirit is pleased to dwell.

Luke 19: 28-44 - The Triumphant King

Having made the call to His disciples to be faithful to share the Gospel, Jesus proceeded toward Jerusalem. He must have also spent a night at Bethany in the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha (John 12:1). Here in Luke 19:29, He and His disciples were nearing Mount Olivet. He then despatched two of His disciples to the village, likely to be Bethphage, to complete an unusual mission. He told them that they would find an unbroken colt, to untie it and fetch it to Him. How did He know so exactly about the colt and what would happen? Some people think that He had pre-arranged for the colt to be there. Others conclude that as God He was all knowing. Whichever position you accept, we know that Jesus had precise information and His instruction was very exact.

The two disciples went and found it as He had said.  The colt was tied and as told, the owner asked "Why are you untying the colt?" So they answered as instructed: "The Lord has need of it." The disciples then brought the colt to the Lord, threw their coats over it and put the Lord on it. So He rode into Jerusalem on the back of that unbroken colt.  In referring to Himself as "the Lord," Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah King and was exercising His Messianic authority.

What would be on the mind of the people? They must have thought that He was in Jerusalem to free them from the dominion of the Roman oppression and to establish the Messianic Kingdom. Notice what the people did. As the Lord was near the Mount of Olives, they praised the Lord joyfully, shouting, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” These words were taken from Psalms 113-118. On their minds were all the miracles He performed.

Notice how extravagant they were in their praises and honour. They waved palm leaves and even sacrificed their coats to smoothen the path for Him. They loudly hailed Him as their Messiah King. And Jesus did not stop them for He knew that He had to be in Jerusalem to fulfil the Scriptures. Although He knew that their concept about His kingship and the Kingdom were skewed, He allowed them to proceed with their praise and adoration.

But some of the Pharisees told Him to silent the people. But the Lord refused and replied that if the people did not praise Him, even the stones will cry out in praise of Him. In that statement Jesus had implicitly acknowledged His Messiahship. If the people then, only knew Who Jesus was and what they were doing. If only they truly recognized Jesus as the King of kings and sincerely adored Him. But obviously they didn't.  For shortly, they would be shouting, "Crucify Him, Crucify Him!"

So as they shouted their adulation, and even as their praises were ringing in Jesus' ears, He wept over Jerusalem. The Lord foresaw what was coming. He wept over Jerusalem, the city He loved, and prophesied its destruction which took place in AD 70.  They failed to discern the day of the Lord's visitation.

Isn't it hard to imagine a King with all the resources of heaven, riding on the back of a colt? He could have easily ridden into Jerusalem in a chariot drawn by a whole troop of brilliant horses. But He didn't. He came on the back of a donkey. His was a demonstration of true humility. He emptied of Himself. He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped. He came to our broken fractured world, and as He wept over Jerusalem, He wept for us. So Paul called on us to have this mind that was in Christ Jesus. He emptied of Himself.  Let's emulate Him for it's in Him that we live and move and have our being. It's in Him, our King that we have a new kind of life to live.

Luke 19:11-27 - Not giftedness but faithfulness

As the whole entourage of Jesus was nearing Jerusalem, He told His disciples another parable. This parable recorded in Luke 19:11-27 was told to elicit faithfulness in investing the Gospel, placed in each one of us.

This parable had often been mistaken to be similar to the parable of the talent. But this story is different in that it tells us that the master called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.  Ten minas for ten servants. It would mean that everyone had equal share. Everyone had one mina. One mina is equivalent to a person's wage for three months. The servants were told to invest that one mina each of them had. This is referring to the Gospel deposited in each one of us. Obviously Jesus is the master in this parable. When He comes back we, His servants, would be giving account for the Gospel deposited in each one of us. There will be those that had multiplied more out of that deposit and would be doubly rewarded.

However, we are told in this story that one of the servants was paralyzed by fear and did not do a thing with the mina. He hid it in the ground for he was afraid of losing it. He was fearful that it could be stolen or that He was not competent to invest it. So he merely hid it and did nothing about it. The master was angry with his negative attitude and passivity. His excuse was that he knew the master to be an exact man and would take what he did not lay down and take what he did not sow. This is obviously untrue. For if that was truly his thought he would have invested it. Hence he was snared by his own words.

Quite obviously, this account tells us that all of us are given a deposit of the Gospel. We are expected to invest it regardless of our ability. Are we investing the Gospel? Are we sharing with others about what Christ has done for us? Are we giving more, to help others see what Christ can do for them?  All of us will be rewarded so long as we invest the Gospel, the treasure deposited in us. It has nothing to do with our giftedness but our faithfulness. The final hour is around the corner. Are we investing?

Luke 19:1-10 - True Repentance

Both the conversion of Bartimaeus, the blind beggar and Zaccheus, the chief publican, took place in Jericho. One was extremely poor and the other extremely rich. But both found faith in Jesus and were saved. They were among the lost that Jesus came to seek and find. Luke 19:1-10 give us the account of Zaccheus' conversion. He was a Jew. His name means "the just" or "pure." It sounded like a mockery. Because in practice he was far from just or pure. In fact he was mean and exploitative. From what was described of him, we can conclude that he was a little man full of eagerness, but cunning and energetic.

Luke 19:1 says he was the chief tax collector. His main job was to collect tax on the behalf of the Roman authority. In doing his task, he would exploit his fellowmen by collecting more than what was due from them. That explained how he became rich. Hence, he was despised and hated by the Jews. As far as they were concerned, he was an outcast. In verse 3 we are again introduced to the common scene wherever Jesus went: a crowd gathered. Being small in built, Zaccheus was unable to see Jesus because the crowd had occluded him. But being eager, he refused to give up. So he ran ahead of Jesus and ingeniously climbed up a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Him. This was truly undignified of a person of his position. But who cares about dignity when confronted by the need to see Jesus!

Discerning Zaccheus' readiness for Him, Jesus stopped right under where he was perched. He looked up and told him to come down. Amazingly, the Lord invited Himself to his house to spend the night there. What an honor Zaccheus must have felt! Notice in verse 6, how he hurried down and gladly received Jesus. The Pharisees as usual had nothing positive to say. They failed to see the mission of Jesus. So they became critical and grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” Obviously Zaccheus was convicted of his wrong doing and repented. As signs that he had repented, he offered to give fifty percent of his possession to the poor. As if that was not enough, he offered to make restitution to all that he had defrauded, offering to pay four times what he had taken from them. This act tells us that true repentance always expressed itself in restitution. Jesus commended his act and declared him saved. He truly belonged to the legacy of Abraham - a child of faith. With that statement Jesus reiterated the mission He came to do: to seek and save the lost.

Where do we go from here? When we turn to Jesus, we make a round-a-about turn from our past. We must be prepared to lay everything at His feet. Be prepared to withhold nothing from Him. We put all that we are at His disposal. Are there areas in our life that God is now dealing with?  Would we go to the person we have wronged and sincerely apologize? To whom much is given, much is required!