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Religious Leaders Question Christ’s Authority
Luke 20:3 But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: :4 The bapsm of John—was it from heaven or from men?”
Luke 20:5 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
John had clearly testified that Jesus was the Messiah. If John was a prophet whose words were true, they ought to believe his testimony about Christ.
On the other hand, it would have been political folly for the Pharisees to attack the legitimacy of John the Baptist or deny his authority as a prophet of God. John was enormously popular with the people, and a martyr at the hands of the despised Herod.
For the Pharisees to question John’s authority was to attack a national hero, and they knew better than that. So they pleaded ignorance (v. 7).
Luke 20:6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”
Luke 20:7 So they answered that they did not know where it was from.
Luke 20:8 And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the question, unmasking their evil motives.
He wasted no truth on them. - Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.
Parable of the Vineyard Owner
Luke 20:9 Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long me.
Luke alone noted the parable was addressed to all the people, not just the Jewish leaders.
Luke 20:10 Now at vintage-me he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that they might give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the vinedressers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
Luke 20:11 Again he sent another servant; and they beat him also, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. :12 And again he sent a third; and they wounded him also and cast him out.
Luke 20:13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. Probably they will respect him when they see him.’
Both Luke and Mark recorded this expression, which makes clear that the son in the parable is an illustration of Christ.
Finally God sent His beloved son, with the express thought that they would respect Him (although God knew, of course, that Christ would be rejected).
Notice that Christ distinguishes Himself from all others. They were servants; He is the Son.
Luke 20:14 But when the vinedressers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’
True to their past history, the vinedressers determined to get rid of the heir. They wanted exclusive rights as leaders and teachers of the people—“that the inheritance may be ours.”
They would not surrender their religious position to Jesus.
If they killed Him, their power in Israel would be unchallenged—or so they thought.
Luke 20:15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
Luke 20:16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.” And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”
This probably pictures the destruction of Jerusalem.
May it never be! Only Luke recorded this hostile reaction from the crowd. The response suggests that they grasped the meaning of the parable.
Luke 20:17 Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is wri en: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone’?
Quoted from Ps 118:22.
Luke 20:18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”
The two comings of Christ are indicated in verse 18. His First Advent is depicted as a stone on the ground; men stumbled at His humiliation and lowliness, and they were broken to pieces for rejecting Him.
In the second part of the verse, the stone is seen falling from heaven and grinding unbelievers to powder.
Herodians Question Tribute Money
Luke 20:19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.
Luke 20:20 So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.
The fact that the Jewish leaders resorted to such tactics is a measure of their desperation. They could not find any legitimate reason to accuse Him.
The governor. I.e., Pilate, who was in town for the coming Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Luke 20:21 Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favori sm, but teach the way of God in truth: :22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
Then they asked Him if it was right for a Jew to pay taxes to Caesar. If Jesus said no, then they would accuse Him of treason and turn Him over to the Romans for trial. If He said yes, He would alienate the Herodians (and the great mass of the Jews, for that matter).
Luke 20:23 But He perceived their cra iness, and said to them, “Why do you test Me?
Luke 20:24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscripon does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”
Jesus realized the plot against Himself. He asked them for a denarius; perhaps He did not own one Himself. The fact that they possessed and used these coins showed their bondage to a Gentile power.
Luke 20:25 And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” :26 But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people. And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
Then Jesus silenced them with the command, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They were seemingly so concerned about Caesar’s interests but they were not nearly so concerned about God’s interests.
Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 121). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. MacArthur, J. F., Jr., MacDonald, Farstad, Believers Bible; Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 2195). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
