April
2nd Luke
20 Objection – Authority
1:
And it came to pass, that 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, 2: And spake unto him,
saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is
he that gave thee this authority? 3: And he answered and said unto
them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: 4: The baptism of
John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5: And they reasoned with
themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why
then believed ye him not? 6: But and if we say, Of men; all the
people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.
7: And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. 8: And
Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these
things.
The
Vineyard
9:
Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man
planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a
far country for a long time. 10: And at the season he sent a servant
to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the
vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11:
And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and
entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12: And again he
sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. 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. 14:
But when the husbandmen 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. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16:
He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the
vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.
17: And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written,
The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of
the corner? 18: Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken;
but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. 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.
Question
– Taxation
20:
And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign
themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words, that so
they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor.
21: And they asked him, saying, Master, we know that thou sayest and
teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any, but
teachest the way of God truly: 22: Is it lawful for us to give
tribute unto Caesar, or no? 23: But he perceived their craftiness,
and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? 24: Shew me a penny. Whose image
and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. 25: And
he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be
Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's. 26: And they could
not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at
his answer, and held their peace.
As
Christ is teaching in the Temple the religious leaders accost him to
ask what authority he has to teach. Remember that in the previous
passage they were plotting to murder him somehow. Christ answers
their question by asking one of his own. The baptism of John, was it
from heaven, or of men? They had to think about this! They were
caught in a trap. If they said from heaven then he would challenge
them as to why they did not believe in his message. But if they said,
from men, then they would loose favour with the people. So they said
we are not sure!! Christ was not playing ball either. So he said if
you won’t answer my question, l will not answer yours.
Then
Christ tells a parable very similar to the parable he had just told
the disciples. Except that this is a vineyard. The vineyard and the
vine are always symbolic of Israel in scripture. So what does the
husbandman, the owner of the vineyard look for? He looks for fruit.
So he sent servants to obtain fruit but the keepers of the vineyard
beat him and sent him away empty. So he sends another servant. But
they beat him too and treated him shamefully. The owner sent a third
and him they wounded and threw him out. Then we have a very touching
phrase - 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 owner of the vineyard – the Father had high hopes for
Israel. But they were dashed. When the keepers saw the son they said
let us kill him! - Which they did. Then Christ asks them a question
what will the owner of the vineyard do? And the whole history of
Israel past present and future hangs on this question. There is
silence. So Christ answers his own question. He shall come and
destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. The
religious leaders were horrified. They said, God forbid. Those who
say there is no future kingdom and no future for Israel will have to
explain what the owner of the vineyard will do next? We know that
Christ was rejected but when will the owner return and give the
vineyard to others who will bring forth fruit to the glory of God?
Then
Christ pushed his teaching further. He quotes scripture, what is this
then that is written, the stone which the builders rejected, the same
is become the head of the corner? Christ may be rejected now but one
day he will become the head of the corner. The head or corner stone
is the first stone to be laid in a house. When Christ returns he will
establish himself and all other stones will be laid in relation to
him. Then he prophesies concerning his enemies, he says, whosoever
shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it
shall fall, it will grind him to powder. The religious leaders had
had enough, that very hour they planned to arrest him but they were
still afraid of the people. They sent spies to catch him out so that
they might find a cause of death. One spy came asking if they as Jews
should give tribute to Caesar. Christ saw through their craftiness
and answered the question in such a way that even Caesar would have
agreed. Yet in his answer he still pressed home his message of
accountability to God. They were amazed at his answer and it silenced
them.
- What was the issue that the religious leaders had with Christ?
- How significant was this parable to Israel in those days?
- What is a chief corner stone? And when is it set in place?
No comments:
Post a Comment