Luke 20 reminds me of the Russian proverb, translated as “Trust, but verify”. Blindly trusting any one person or headline is unwise. Friendly skepticism means we go to the original source because everyone has a bias. We begin with Jesus teaching the people about the good news. No doubt He taught that man had even corrupted and complicated the act of atonement. The entire political structure supporting the Temple came against Jesus, demanding “Who gave You this authority?” Just as today, some ask questions only to argue, rather than seeking to learn. He responded with a simple question back to them, “John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin?” The politicians were stuck. Deny God’s authority, or the will of the people? Out of fear they said, “We don’t know”. Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things”. Instead, Jesus gave them a parable about a man that planted a vineyard, and then “rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time”. At harvest time, the owner sent his servant to collect “some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed”. The owner sent a second, and a third servant to collect, but each time the tenants became more abusive, “they beat and treated shamefully… wounded him and threw him out”. Finally the owner sent his son, believing “they will respect him”. The tenants plotted together, “Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours”. After killing the son, Jesus asked and answered, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others”. Who is the Master of your harvest?
Jesus looked at the political leaders and quoted Psalm 118, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”. Clearly they understood that Jesus was claiming to be Messiah because, “The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest Him immediately… But they were afraid of the people”. Their solution was to send minions to infiltrate and “pretended to be sincere”. They asked questions intended to trap Him. “Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” Jesus responded with irrefutable wisdom. Looking at the Roman coin with the face of Caesar, He told them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”. Friend, are you sincerely looking for answers?
The chapter ends with more argumentative questions from “the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection”. Knowing a man’s obligation to care for his brother’s childless widow they asked, if each of seven brothers married her and then each died, “at the resurrection whose wife will she be?” I imagine they snickered waiting for the answer, but they did not understand that the resurrection will change everything. They “will neither marry nor be given in marriage”. We will not have the same urges or physical needs. The apostle Paul describes the resurrection as something like what happens with a seed planted in the ground; the plant that sprouts is dramatically different from the seed. “The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory… it is raised a spiritual body” (1 Corinthians 15:44-45). It says no one dared ask Him any more questions designed to deceive. Jesus added, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect”. But He added, “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers”. My bias is simple, man corrupts; and God restores. My friend, please verify this, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9).