Chief Priests, Scribes, and Sadducees Try to Trap Jesus in His Words

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Luke 20:1) And it came to pass on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon Him with the elders.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and He was teaching daily in the temple.  On one of those days that He taught in the temple, the chief priests and scribes and elders confronted Him.

(2) And spoke to Him, saying, "Tell us, by what authority do you do these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?"

The chief priests and scribes asked Jesus by what authority He did the things He did, teaching and healing and performing any other miracles they had witnessed.  In other words, they asked who gave Him the authority to do them.

(3) And He answered and said to them, "I will also ask you one thing and answer Me."

Jesus answered that He would first ask them a question and He wanted them to answer Him first before He answered their question.

(4) "The baptism of John, was it from heaven or of men?"

Jesus asked a simple question about whether the baptisms that John the Baptist performed were from heaven or was it a doctrine made up by men.  After all, it was a rather new ordinance that men be baptized.  So was it of God or did John just do it of his own folly?

(5) And they reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?' (6) But if we say, 'Of men,' all the people will stone us for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."

The chief priests and scribes reasoned among themselves about what they might answer.  This certainly proves that they were not asking out of genuine curiosity to know the truth.  They knew the truth but did not want to admit it.  For if they admitted that John the Baptist baptized by authority from heaven, then they knew that Jesus would ask why they did not believe him if they knew his prophecies to be from heaven.  Likewise, they would have to admit that Jesus's authority came from heaven, too, since John spoke of Him specifically, and of course, that is one thing they did not want to do.  However, if they said John's baptism was simply from men, they feared the people would rise up against them because they saw John as the great prophet he was.

(7) And they answered that they could not tell where it was from.

Trapped by their own attempts to trap Jesus in His words, they cowardly answered that they didn't know where John's authority came from.

(8) And Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Jesus, knowing they only asked Him to try to trap Him, said He would not tell them by what authority He did those things if they did not want to answer Him.  Of course, they knew the answer, and Jesus knew they knew the answer as it could be easily ascertained by His question to them.

(9) Then He began to speak to the people this parable: "A certain man planted a vineyard and leased it out to farmers and went into a far country for a long time."

Then Jesus began to tell a parable.  He spoke of a man who planted a vineyard and leased it out to farmers, and then went to a faraway country for a long time.  This represented God who brought His people into a rich land of plenty in Canaan and then left them to tend it while He was not physically with them as in the days of Moses.  Physically is not exactly the right word for God's presence with them in the days of Moses, but His presence with them was known back then and was not so much at their present time.  And it was a very long time since Moses's day until that present time of Jesus.

(10) "And at the season he sent a servant to the farmers that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard, but the farmers beat him and sent him away empty."

When it was time for the harvest, the man sent a servant to the farmers to collect the fruit of the vineyard, but the farmers beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.  This servant represented a prophet that God sent to His people to exhort them to bring forth the fruits of righteousness.  However, the Jews only mocked the prophet and abused him and sent him away with no account of any fruitfulness in good works.

(11) "And again he sent another servant and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty. (12) And again he sent a third and they wounded him also and cast him out."

The owner of the vineyard sent another servant and the farmers beat him also and sent him away empty-handed, and again he sent another who was treated the same way.  These servants represented the prophets the Lord God kept sending to His people, but His people rejected and abused them.

(13) "Then said the lord of the vineyard, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; it may be they will reverence him when they see him.'"

The lord of the vineyard then decided to send his son expecting the farmers to show more respect to him.  This is symbolic of our sweet Lord having such love and patience for His people that even though they had rejected His word through His prophets countless times, He sent His only beloved son to save them from themselves and the enemy.

(14) "But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him that the inheritance may be ours.'"

However, when the farmers saw the vineyard owner's son, they reasoned among themselves that they should kill the son and then the inheritance would be theirs.  Of course, that is symbolic of the Jews, especially the scribes and Pharisees, and chief priests and elders, who wanted to kill Jesus so that their little kingdom in Jerusalem would be theirs to run as they wanted to, enriching themselves, not serving the Lord.

(15) "So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. What therefore should the lord of the vineyard do to them?"

The farmers in the parable indeed killed the vineyard owner's son.  Jesus then asked His listeners what they thought the lord of the vineyard should do after the farmers had killed his son.

(16) "He shall come and destroy these farmers and shall give the vineyard to others." And when they heard, they said, "God forbid."

Jesus answered the question Himself and replied that the lord of the vineyard would come and destroy the farmers and he would give his vineyard to others.  When the people heard what Jesus said should happen to the farmers, they said "God forbid."  Of course, the point of Jesus's question was to make them think about the consequences of rejecting and killing Him.  The Lord God would justly destroy them and give His gift of salvation to the Gentiles.  It's hard to believe that they would not see that this was a righteous judgment, but perhaps it was meant to mean, "God forbid that we should go as far to be as guilty of the crime as in Your parable."  But they did nothing to change their ultimate plans.  If their "God forbid" was an indication that they did not see themselves reflected in the parable, then they were very foolish indeed.

(17) And He beheld them and said, "What is this then that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner'?"

Jesus then asked the people who had said, "God forbid," what they thought the scripture meant in Psalms 118:22 that said that the stone the builders refused had become the head of the corner, or the cornerstone.  The word of God in that prophecy had stated emphatically that they would reject their Messiah who would regardless be the cornerstone of their church.  Before He told them this, He "beheld them."  Luke made it a point to add that bit of information which means it was probably more than just looking at them to answer them.  He probably felt compassion and pity for them, grieved to know that they would indeed be guilty of the crime He had described in His parable, and that they did not recognize themselves to their detriment and ultimate demise.

(18) "Whoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken, but on whoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

Jesus told them that whoever fell on that cornerstone would be broken, meaning whoever stumbled on His word and was offended by Him, would only injure himself and be broken.  One has to be broken to self to completely submit to Jesus, but whatever a person chooses to do when he shall without a doubt be broken, determines where he will spend eternity.  He really doesn't have to DO anything but choose to let the Lord do for him.  If the persecution and rejection reach the point where that cornerstone falls on someone (as opposed to him falling on it), he will be completely destroyed, ground to powder, just as what was to happen to Jerusalem after they rejected and killed Christ.

(19) And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on Him, and they feared the people, for they perceived that He had spoken this parable against them.

Incredibly, the chief priests and scribes understood that Jesus's parable was about them, but it didn't matter.  They still sought to seize the Son even after Jesus had told them what would happen.  However, they didn't go through with it because they feared the people who would likely rise up against them.

(20) And they watched Him and sent forth spies who would pretend to be just men that they might take hold of His words so that they might deliver Him to the power and authority of the governor.

So the chief priests and scribes continued to watch Jesus and sent spies to pretend to be righteous men who might be able to seize upon something Jesus said against the Romans so that they could deliver Him to the governor.  It seems they realized they couldn't catch Him or at least feared to catch Him saying anything religiously "incorrect," but they felt they might be able to catch Him saying something against the Roman government.

(21) And they asked Him, saying, "Master, we know that you say and teach rightly, neither do you accept the person of any, but teach the word of God truly."

The spies came up to Jesus and complimented Him on His ability to teach correctly the word of God.  They recognized that He did not show partiality or favoritism to anyone because of social status or wealth, but just taught the word of God truthfully.

(22) "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or no?"

They asked Jesus if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar.  They had supposed if Jesus answered that it was lawful for Jews, God's people who boasted never to be in bondage again, to pay tribute to a heathen emperor, that the people would rise up against Him because they expected their Messiah to free them from Roman bondage and would stand by them in denying tribute to Caesar.  However, if Jesus had said that it was not lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, then they could take Him to the governor with something to accuse Him of, which is what they were trying to do.

(23) But He perceived their craftiness and said to them, "Why do you tempt Me?"

Jesus knew they only asked in order to try to trick Him up and He let them know that He knew they asked only as a trap by asking them why they were tempting Him.

(24) "Show Me a penny. Whose image and superscription does it have?" They answered and said, "Caesar's."

Jesus told the spies to show Him a penny and asked them whose image and superscription was on the penny.  They answered that it was Caesar's.

(25) And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's."

Jesus demonstrated to them that since it was Caesar's image on the coin and the Jews indeed traded with his money, they were accepting the fact that they were under his government as indicated on the coin.  Therefore they were to give Caesar what was due him, in this case tribute, and give to God what was His.

(26) And they could not take hold of His words before the people; and they marveled at His answer and held their peace.

The spies were not able to seize Jesus the way they anticipated they would be able to.  They, in fact, had to marvel at His answer that He had spoken in the presence of the people, so they just held their peace.

(27) Then came some of the Sadducees who deny that there is any resurrection, and they asked Him, (28) Saying, "Master, Moses wrote to us if any man's brother dies having a wife, and he died without children, that his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother."

Some Sadducees then came to Jesus to ask a question.  The Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection.  They may have supposed that they had a logical argument against the resurrection, so they began describing a hypothetical situation.  They first recounted Moses's law that if a man's brother died leaving a wife but no children, that he should marry his brother's widow and raise up children for his brother (Deuteronomy 25:5-6).

(29) "There were therefore seven brothers and the first took a wife and died without children."

So began their hypothetical situation.  There were seven brothers and the first of them married a wife but then died without children.

(30) "And the second took her as wife and he died childless."

The second brother took his dead brother's widowed wife as his wife, but he then also died before having any children.

(31) "And the third took her, and in like manner, the seven also, and they left no children and died. (32) Last of all the woman died also."

Then the third brother took his brothers' widowed wife as his own, and this apparently continued to happen to all the brothers as the Sadducees took their hypothetical to a rather ridiculous level.  All brothers took the woman as their wife and all died childless, and finally the woman herself died.

(33) "Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? For seven had her as wife."

The Sadducees then asked Jesus that if there was a resurrection, whose wife would the woman be since she had married all seven brothers.

(34) And Jesus answering, said to them, "The children of this world marry and are given in marriage. (35) But they who shall be counted worthy to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage."

Jesus answered that the people in this world marry and are given in marriage, but those who were counted worthy to be resurrected from the dead and be a part of the kingdom of heaven would not marry nor be given in marriage, nor would marriages be recognized in heaven.  After all, the elect is the bride of Christ.

(36) "Neither can they die anymore for they are equal to the angels and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection."

Jesus continued saying that the resurrected would not die for they were the children of God and equal to the angels.  Death or marriage, neither one, would be recognized in heaven.

(37) "Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. (38) For He is not a God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."

Jesus went on to explain regarding the resurrection of the dead.  He said that even Moses when he was at the burning bush called the Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He told them that God was not a God of the dead, but only the living.  Therefore when he referred to God as he did, it meant that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be living in their afterlife.

(39) Then certain of the scribes, answering, said, "Master, You have well said." (40) And after that they dared not question Him.

One of the scribes who did believe in the resurrection which the Sadducees rejected, told Jesus He had spoken well on the subject, and after that, none of them asked Him any more questions.

(41) And He said to them, "How can they say that Christ is David's son?"

Jesus went on to speak to them all, asking how it was that people said that Christ was David's son, which was, of course, common knowledge among the Jews.

(42) "And David himself said in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit on My right hand, (43) Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'"

Jesus then quoted Psalms 110:1 where David said, "The Lord said to My Lord, 'Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool.'"  Of course, David was speaking of Jesus Christ as sitting at the right hand of Father God until He destroyed all Christ's enemies, Satan, the antichrist, all the ungodly who followed them, and sin and death itself.

(44) "David therefore called Him Lord; how is He then his Son?"

Jesus then asked the question how Christ could be David's Son if David himself called Him his Lord.  His point was directed to the Pharisees and all who expected Christ to be a mortal man from the line of David who would sit upon his throne and would be a victorious king who would deliver them out of the hands of their earthly enemies.  If that were so, then why would David have referred to Him as his Lord?  Of course, that could only be reconciled by realizing that Christ was the divine Lord of David who had come to earth in human form through the line of David.  His reign was spiritual in nature and He would indeed deliver those who believed in Him from their enemies.

(45) Then in the audience of all the people, He said to His disciples, (46) "Beware of the scribes who desire to walk in long robes and love greetings in the markets and the highest seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts, (46) Who devour widows' houses, and for a show, make long prayers; the same will receive greater damnation."

Jesus then spoke to His disciples in the hearing of all the people in His audience.  He told them to beware of the scribes who loved to walk around in long robes and be greeted in the marketplaces.  They loved to have the places of highest honor in the synagogues and at feasts.  For a show, they would make long prayers while they devoured widows' livelihoods and homes.  They were glory-seeking and greedy and they must be avoided for they were worthy of and would receive greater damnation than the average person because they had used their pretended piety for their own gain and had led people astray away from true salvation.  So we must avoid the example of glory seeking and covetous pastors and the like, and so shall they receive greater damnation for leading their flocks astray.