To The Metal

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.

⁹ 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.

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 ² and spoke to Him, saying, “Tell us, by what authority are You doing these things? Or who is he who gave You this authority?”

³ But He answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one thing, and answer Me: ⁴ The baptism of John—was it from heaven or from men?”

⁵ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why ^[a]then did you not believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.” ⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it was from.

⁸ 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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

19 Then Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. ² Now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. ³ And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not because of the crowd, for he was of short stature. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see Him, for He was going to pass that way. ⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up ^[a]and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, ^[b]make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶ So he ^[c]made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. ⁷ But when they saw it, they all ^[d]complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”

⁸ Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”

⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; ¹⁰ for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus comes to Zacchaeus’s house.  Z, a wealthy tax collector did not know Jesus but sought to see him so greatly that he humbled himself to the point of climbing a tree merely to catch sight of him.  As Jesus passed by, he looked up, called him by name, and stated He was to stay at Z’s house. 

Jesus was received joyfully, much to the dismay of the Pharisees and others who cared more that Z was a tax collector, a sinner, than someone in need of salvation.  Christ Himself said that salvation had come to Z’s home, He knew that Z was lost, the 1 of the 99, and sought him out.

³⁵ Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. ³⁶ And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. ³⁷ So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸ And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

³⁹ Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁰ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, ⁴¹ saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

⁴² Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” ⁴³ And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Luke 18:35-43

A blind man receives his sight.  I do not see it as coincidence that as Christ approached Jericho whose walls fell be faith and obedience to God, that a blind man should cry out to him in faith.  He knew that Jesus could tear down the walls that blinded him.  When others attempted to stop him, he only cried out to Jesus more, as we all should! 

He had faith that Jesus would hear and heal him, and nothing was going to stop him from reaching out to Christ.  Such a simple request made in faith with such a staggering result.  Not only did this man receive his sight, he believed without ever seeing and was blessed!  That he joined the multitude, glorifying God, showed how truly grateful he was for the gift Jesus had bestowed upon him. 

³¹ Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be ^[a]accomplished. ³² For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. ³³ They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

³⁴ But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

Luke 18:31-34

Jesus a third time predicts His death and resurrection.  This third time in Luke, Jesus shares with His apostles what comes next for Him, that the prophecies will be fulfilled in Jerusalem.  He will be delivered to the gentiles, mocked, insulted, spat upon, scourged, and killed… that He shall rise again on the third day.

It is specifically pointed out each time that the apostles do not understand what He is telling them.  They were Jews, they knew the scriptures and prophecy, they were living it!  Still the thought that not only would Jesus be tortured and killed, but rise again on the third day was incomprehensible to them. 

How could the Son of God who they have known, loved, and followed for three years, Who performed miracles and wonders before them, suffer and die?  I only have conjecture here based on what I have read, but I can understand it simply not making sense to them.  Such a loss, such a gain was beyond them.