O to Be Like Thee

by Samuel E. Ward Part 4:  Jesus' Journey to the Cross   Introduction   In Luke 20, Jesus manifests His divinity in his dealing with the religious rulers in Jerusalem who were seeking to entrap Him with carefully constructed questions.  There is divine wisdom and knowledge on display in His dialogues with them that make them look inept and foolish.  It is almost enough to make one cheer for Jesus.  No! It is enough to make one cheer for Jesus!   I. The Religious Rulers Seek to Entrap Jesus by Questioning His Authority, Luke 20:1-8   A. The Religious Rulers' Question, Luke 20:1-2    Luke 20:1-2 (NIV) (1) One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him.  (2) "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?"   B. Jesus' Question, Luke 20:3-4.   Luke 20:3-4 (NIV) (3) He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me,  (4) John's baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?"   C. Pharisee's Non-Answer, Luke 20:5-7.   1. Here was a bitter taste of their own "medicine," Luke 20:5-6 Luke 20:5-6 (NIV) (5) They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?'  (6) But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet."   2. Here was their sorry attempt to recover, Luke 20:7.   Luke 20:7 (NIV) (7) So they answered, "We don't know where it was from."   D. Jesus' Non-Answer, Luke 20:8   Here was a fair response to an unfair and insincere query.   Luke 20:8 (NIV) (8) Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things."   Why wouldn't Jesus simply answer their question about His authority?   The first reason may have to do with the timing of the question.  Though He is only days away from surrendering His life to them to be crucified, He was in control of the timing.  Jesus knew  their purpose in the question was to cause an offense to discredit Him and hopefully lead to charges of blasphemy.  This could be grounds for a death sentence.  The second reason is that Jesus considers His truth to be precious and dispenses the deeper truths to those who are honest seekers.  He has already taught concerning His authority and they had refused to believe it.    Matthew 11:27 (NIV) (27) "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.   Now they were asking Him for the purpose of condemning Him in the sight of the people.   Jesus was clear at other times concerning both His authority and gave the reason why the chief priest and lawyers would not accept it. If you are having a difficult time believing in Jesus, you might do well to ask the question, "Why?"  The Pharisees feared they might lose prestige, control, wealth, and power.  Today, if we are to see the real Jesus, we must be willing to surrender all this, as well.   II. Jesus Exposes the Religious Rulers' Violent Intent Against Him, Luke 20:9-19   A. The Parable's Setting, Luke 20:9   Luke 20:9 (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.    B. The Parable's Story, Luke 20:10-16a Luke 20:10-16 (NIV) (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?  (16a) He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others."   C. The Parable's Effect, Luke 20:16b   Luke 20:16b (NIV) (16b) When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!"   D. The Parable's Pointed Application, Luke 20:17-18   Luke 20:17-18 (NIV) (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."   E. The Religious Rulers' Correct Interpretation, Luke 20:19 Luke 20:19 (NIV) (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.   How did this parable relate to the chief religious rulers?  They had been identified with those within Israel's history who had resisted and killed the prophets and other servants of God who had come to call the nation back to God.  Now God had sent His own Son to redeem His people and they would soon put Him to death.  As horrified as the people were with the violence in the story, Jesus said for the benefit of the chief priests that this story was exactly what was unfolding before their very eyes.  It was the fulfillment of prophecies recorded in Psalm 188:22 and Isaiah 8:14.  Israel would stumble on the capstone (Jesus) and cast Him aside. People still stumble over Jesus.  He is not what some look for in a Deliverer.  Israel was looking for a political hero.  He came instead as Priest and Prophet from Heaven offering Himself as king of a spiritual kingdom that would one day fill the earth.  The truth of the matter is, Jesus must be accepted on His terms and according Who He is rather than Who we want Him to be.  He is the Capstone that fits the building that God is constructing, not men, which is exactly why Jesus does not fit in theirs.  Jesus is not Who we believe Him to be, but Who He is whether we believe it or not.  The way to salvation is not by choosing one path that best suits us.  It is by the one path offered by the One True God, which rejected, leads to spiritual death instead of eternal life.    III. The Religious Rulers Seek to Entrap Jesus by Attempting to Place Him in a Quandary, Luke 12:20-26.   A. Note the Spies' Cagey Character, Luke 20:20-21a.   Luke 20:20-21 (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.  (21a) So the spies questioned him:   B. Note the Spies' Conniving Question, Luke 20:21b-22.   Luke 20:21-22 (NIV) (21b) 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?"   C. Note Jesus' Clever Response, Luke 20:23-25.   Luke 20:23-25 (NIV) (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."   D. Note the Spies' Deafening Silence, Luke 20:26.   Luke 20:26 (NIV) (26) They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.   Keep in mind that the main purpose of the spies was to find a way to incriminate Jesus in a charge of either treason against Rome or disloyalty to His own countrymen.  Divine wisdom prevails as Jesus answers their questions without incriminating Himself and is able to teach principles to guide believers (Jewish or Gentile) in their relationship to government.  God has ordained governments, even those that occupy other nations from time to time, but they are to only receive what is due.  These include respect for its authority, submission to its lawful ordinances, support through taxes for its divinely established responsibilities to protect its citizens from wrong-doers and to judge those who do wrong, and so on.  However, government's authority is not absolute.  Where God's law and will are in conflict, the believer is to submit to the sovereign authority of God and obey Him.  Peter and the other apostles did not submit to orders to cease preaching the gospel, Acts 4:18-20; 5:28-29.        IV. The Sadducees Seek to Entrap Jesus by Posing an Absurd Hypothetical, Luke 20:27-40.   A. The Absurd Hypothetical Meant to Show the Absurdity of Resurrection, Luke 20:27-33   Luke 20:27-33 (NIV) (27) Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.  (28) "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother.   (29) Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless.   (30) The second  (31) and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children.  (32) Finally, the woman died too.  (33) Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"   B. The Apt Application Showing the Absurdity of Disbelief in the Resurrection, Luke 20:34-38.   Luke 20:34-38 (NIV) (34) Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.  (35) But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage,  (36) and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.  They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.  (37) But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  (38) He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."   This passage is used to teach interpreters of the Bible that proper interpretation often hinges on the meaning of one word.  In this case it is the word "am" in Exodus 3:6.  If Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead, God would have said that He "was" the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.     C. The Unexpected Praise of Jesus from Some of the Pharisees, Luke 20:39-40.   Luke 20:39-40 (NIV) (39) Some of the teachers of the law responded, "Well said, teacher!"  (40) And no one dared to ask him any more questions.   Of course the Pharisees would agree with Jesus' teaching on the resurrection.  It agreed with their doctrine.  But what we see in this incident is the skill in which Jesus answers the Sadducees' question.  The question itself was invalid because it was based on a false assumption.  Nothing in the Hebrew scriptures taught the continuance of marital unions in heaven.  In fact, Jesus said that there was no marriage in heaven.  Scriptures teach that even earthly marriages dissolve when one of the mates die and here we are told that they are not re-established in heaven. This may be disturbing to some and that is no surprise.  The love that forms between a married couple in this life feels eternal and timeless.  And yet, as great as that is, there must be something greater beyond our imagination that God has in store for us where the love for lost mates is not lessened even though the marital union does not continue in heaven.  We'll just have to wait until we get there to find out.   V. Jesus' Exposition of Psalm 110:1, Luke 20:41-44   It's almost as if Jesus was saying, "While we're talking about the proper interpretation of Scripture, here's another one for you!"   A. A Thought-Provoking Question, Luke 20:41-43   Luke 20:41-43 (NIV) (41) Then Jesus said to them, "How is it that they say the Christ£ is the Son of David?  (42) David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:     "'The Lord said to my Lord:     "Sit at my right hand (43) until I make your enemies     a footstool for your feet."'£   B. The Thought that It Was Meant to Provoke, Luke 20:44. Luke 20:44 (NIV) (44) David calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"   Jesus used the opportunity to show that He was more than an ancestor of David and rightful heir to the throne.  He was humanly a descendant of David, but He was more than human.  He was and is divine.  He is Lord of David as He is Lord of all of us.  He is more than the Son of David.  He is the Son of God.  When the two meet, it is David who bows to Jesus.   VI. Jesus' Warning to His Disciples Concerning the Religious Rulers, Luke 20:45-47.   A. He Draws Attention to Their Love of Attention, Luke 20:45-46. Luke 20:45-46 (NIV) (45) While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples,  (46) "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.    B. He Draws Attention to Their Merciless Robbery, Luke 20:47a. Luke 20:47 (NIV) (47a) They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers.   C. He Promises Severe Judgment for Their Wicked Ways, Luke 20:47b. Luke 20:47 (NIV) (47b)  Such men will be punished most severely."   When it comes to following after certain religious teachers, we in the twenty-first century could use a similar warning.  Avoid the ones that promote themselves in gaudy ways whether it be by attire or platform sets.  Steer away from those who like their titles and prominence, and are constantly seeking to be in the public eye.  Keep away from those who splurge on themselves at the expense of the sacrificial gifts of others.  Ignore them if you hear more about them, their programs, and books than you do about Jesus.          To be like Jesus . . .   1. We must learn to wisely answer those who are critics of the Lord and our faith.  When we encounter  questions concerning our faith, we can follow Jesus' example.  Jesus did not feel obligated to answer the questions of those who only wanted to be argumentative or disrespectful.  Those who were true seekers were welcome to His truth. 2. We must be skillful interpreters of God's Word, knowing that there is truth even in the details. 3. We must understand that some questions cannot be answered because they start with wrong assumptions or are absurd.  We can lead them to understand what is true but their question may be too absurd to waste time with.  Ex.  "If everything needs a creator, then who created God?"  God, by definition is the Uncaused Cause.  "If God can do anything, then can He create a rock He cannot move?"  Here we have a wrong assumption that is also absurd.  The answer to the question even sounds absurd, which is "No, God cannot create a rock He  cannot move because He can move anything. He cannot do anything that He cannot do!4. We must be careful whose spiritual counsel we follow.  Godliness is found in humility rather than pomp and circumstance.