Devotional – Luke 20:45-47

45 Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, 46 “Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, 47 who devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

Luke 20:45-47

Beware of the Scribes. This chapter of Luke closes with a public admonition of the scribes of Jerusalem.  They want power, recognition, and are fully self righteous.  They abuse the position they hold for their own self interest and put that above the Lord in their lives.  For such things they will receive greater condemnation in the kingdom.

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Devotional – Luke 20:41-44

41 And He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David? 42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.” ’

44 Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord’; how is He then his Son?”

Luke 20:41-44

How can David call his descendant Lord?  Jesus asked this question of the Pharisees to try and make it abundantly obvious that the Messiah was both Son of God and Son of Man.  He clarified this distinction by quoting Psalm 110:1 where “YHWH said to my Lord” – the Messiah, Jesus Christ. 

The Pharisees completely missed the boat here, again.  So engulfed with their own image and self-importance the fact that their Messiah stood before them was completely beyond their understanding.

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Devotional – Luke 20:27-40

27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 28 saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second [a]took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven [b]also; and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.”

34 Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

Luke 20:27-40

The Sadducees: what about the resurrection?  The Sadducees, a wealthy and powerful sect within the Sanhedrin did not believe in the resurrection so they came up with a complex hypothetical situation to challenge Jesus.  I see this as less of a “lets trick him into condemning Himself” and more of a genuine intellectual challenge hoping to call into question the resurrection itself. 

Using historical biblical precedent, Jesus made clear that God is the God of the living, not the dead, and that in the resurrection there would be no more marriage or death.  This cut off the challenge at the knees and silenced the Sadducees (for now) after the scribes acknowledged His position.

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Devotional – Luke 20:20-26

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.

21 Then they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: 22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, [a]“Why do you test Me? 24 Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

They answered and said, “Caesar’s.”

25 And He said to them, “Render[b] 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.

Luke 20:20-26

The Pharisees: is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar?  The Sanhedrin sent spies to test and attempt to outwit God.  How blinding worldly power is!  When Jesus asks “Why do you test me?” In these verses, I wonder if it was rhetorical or if He was genuinely curious as to how blind they truly were. He knew the answer, of course.

They asked Jesus if it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar.  If He answered “no” they would have a case against Him with Rome.  Instead, He asked for a Denarius, asked them to admit whose likeness was upon it, and stated “render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s and render unto God that which is God’s.” 

The spies marveled at His response, yet still they did not truly believe.

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Devotional – Luke 20:9-19

Then He began to tell the people this parable: “A certain man planted a vineyard, leased it to [a]vinedressers, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 Now at [b]vintage-time 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. 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.

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.’ 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.’ 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard and killed him. Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others.”

And when they heard it they said, “Certainly not!”

17 Then He looked at them and said, “What then is this that is written:

‘The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone’?

18 Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

19 And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they [c]feared the people—for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.

Luke 20:9-19

The parable of the wicked vinedressers.  Here Jesus very clearly judges the Sanhedrin.  He speaks of a man who leased his vineyard to vinedressers, as God gave the promised land to Israel.  Every servant sent to retrieve fruit was beaten and cast out, as were the prophets sent to Israel while the leaders hid behind the law of Moses. 

Many were more than beaten, martyred.  Finally the man sends his son, thinking he will be respected. Instead the vinedressers murder him in the hopes of stealing his legacy.  The Jewish leadership had Christ crucified to protect their power over the people.  We know how that worked out for them.  Legalism still exists but the temple and pharisees are long gone. 

The owner of the vineyard, the God of Israel, returned as Jesus Christ and opened the vineyard, the promised land, to the gentiles.  He made it so all could be saved by the very cornerstone they tried – and failed – to destroy.  As much as they wanted to take Him away as he completed this parable, they feared the people, so they did not. 

They didn’t fear God any more than the vinedressers feared the owner of the vineyard.

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Devotional – Luke 20:1-8

20 Now it happened on one of those days, as He taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted Him and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why [a]then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Luke 20:1-8

Jesus’ Authority Questioned.  Here as Jesus is teaching in the temple, the chief priests, scribes, and elders are again trying to outsmart God.  I definitely get a “Jesus tempted in the desert” vibe here in the way He maneuvers around their inquiry.  Instead of trapping Him, He challenged them to admit the truth – which they could not. 

He did this by asking them where the authority of baptism is from, God or man?  If they respond with God, then they’d have to admit John actually was a prophet.  If they respond with man, they’d be stoned to death.  Instead they decided to play stupid.  They knew under Who’s authority Jesus and baptism were, but their worldly wealth and power was still more appealing than everlasting life and salvation.  As they couldn’t answer Jesus’ question, He did not answer theirs either.

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Devotional – Luke 19:45-48

45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who [a]bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house [b]is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

Luke 19:45-48

Jesus cleanses the temple.  Within the temple which was constructed as a place to worship God, Jesus entered and drove away all who bought and sold.  While He made clear that soon God will only need to be worshiped in spirit and truth (rather than a specific location – John 4:21-24), he moved to cleanse the temple by removing the rubbish (2 Chronicles 29:38) before he began to teach there daily. 

Though the chief priests, scribes, and elders sought to stop Him from restoring the temple to a house of God, the people remained unaffected as they paid close attention to everything He said.

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Devotional – Luke 19:41-44

41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Luke 19:41-44

Jesus weeps over Jerusalem.  The people of Israel had been awaiting the Messiah, and there He was right before them… but they could not see Him.  They were hard hearted and deceived by the world, by legalism, they were blind.  Jesus knew what was coming for Him, and foretold what was coming for them. 

They had turned away from peace, from God, from salvation… and they suffer from it to this very day.

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Devotional – Luke 19:28-40

28 When He had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to [a]Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here. 31 And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.’ ”

32 So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. 33 But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?”

34 And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road.

37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying:

“ ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.”

40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.”

Luke 19:28-40

The Triumphal Entry.  The week begins with a prophecy fulfilled (Zechariah 9:9) as Jesus enters Jerusalemo on a donkey.  He knew what was coming, knew every step, every praise and betrayal to come, and still He proceeded.  The Pharisees knew the same prophecies but responded in fear because Jesus was a threat to them…

He was only a threat to their worldly ambition, all they needed to do was repent but their hearts were truly hardened against Him.  They demanded He rebuke his disciples, the multitude, but Christ made it clear that if the people were silenced – the stones would cry out, rejoice, and praise God.  The joy could not be contained by man, the Messiah had arrived!

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Devotional – Luke 19:11-27

11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten [a]minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’

15 “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ 19 Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’

20 “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are [b]an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

24 “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ 25 (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) 26 ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ”

Luke 19:11-27

The parable of the minas.  I see this parable as a distinct reminder of the responsibility we have to our master, Jesus Christ.  He has given us salvation and asked very little in return.  His yoke is light, the harvest is at hand, He needs us to reach out and help bring the lost to Him. 

Those who bear much fruit will bear much responsibility while those who bear none, perhaps symbolizing those not truly saved, will be left behind and punished when the master returns.

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