Luke 20
20
1-2One day he was teaching the people in the Temple, proclaiming the Message. The high priests, religion scholars, and leaders confronted him and demanded, âShow us your credentials. Who authorized you to speak and act like this?â
3-4Jesus answered, âFirst, let me ask you a question: About the baptism of Johnâwho authorized it, heaven or humans?â
5-7They were on the spot, and knew it. They pulled back into a huddle and whispered, âIf we say âheaven,â heâll ask us why we didnât believe him; if we say âhumans,â the people will tear us limb from limb, convinced as they are that John was Godâs prophet.â They agreed to concede that round to Jesus and said they didnât know.
8Jesus said, âThen neither will I answer your question.â
The Story of Corrupt Farmhands
9-12Jesus told another story to the people: âA man planted a vineyard. He handed it over to farmhands and went off on a trip. He was gone a long time. In time he sent a servant back to the farmhands to collect the profits, but they beat him up and sent him off empty-handed. He decided to try again and sent another servant. That one they beat black-and-blue, and sent him off empty-handed. He tried a third time. They worked that servant over from head to foot and dumped him in the street.
13âThen the owner of the vineyard said, âI know what Iâll do: Iâll send my beloved son. Theyâre bound to respect my son.â
14-15a âBut when the farmhands saw him coming, they quickly put their heads together. âThis is our chanceâthis is the heir! Letâs kill him and have it all to ourselves.â They killed him and threw him over the fence.
15b-16 âWhat do you think the owner of the vineyard will do? Right. Heâll come and get rid of everyone. Then heâll assign the care of the vineyard to others.â
Those who were listening said, âOh, no! Heâd never do that!â
17-18But Jesus didnât back down. âWhy, then, do you think this was written:
That stone the masons threw outâ
Itâs now the cornerstone!?
âAnyone falling over that stone will break every bone in his body; if the stone falls on anyone, heâll be smashed to smithereens.â
19The religion scholars and high priests wanted to lynch him on the spot, but they were intimidated by public opinion. They knew the story was about them.
Paying Taxes
20-22Watching for a chance to get him, they sent spies who posed as honest inquirers, hoping to trick him into saying something that would get him in trouble with the law. So they asked him, âTeacher, we know that youâre honest and straightforward when you teach, that you donât pander to anyone but teach the way of God accurately. Tell us: Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?â
23-24He knew they were laying for him and said, âShow me a coin. Now, this engraving, who does it look like and what does it say?â
25âCaesar,â they said.
Jesus said, âThen give Caesar what is his and give God what is his.â
26Try as they might, they couldnât trap him into saying anything incriminating. His answer caught them off guard and left them speechless.
All Intimacies Will Be with God
27-33Some Sadducees came up. This is the Jewish party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, âTeacher, Moses wrote us that if a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother is obligated to marry her and give her children. Well, there once were seven brothers. The first took a wife. He died childless. The second married her and died, then the third, and eventually all seven had their turn, but no child. After all that, the wife died. That wife, nowâin the resurrection whose wife is she? All seven married her.â
34-38Jesus said, âMarriage is a major preoccupation here, but not there. Those who are included in the resurrection of the dead will no longer be concerned with marriage nor, of course, with death. They will have better things to think about, if you can believe it. All ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. Even Moses exclaimed about resurrection at the burning bush, saying, âGod: God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob!â God isnât the God of dead men, but of the living. To him all are alive.â
39-40Some of the religion scholars said, âTeacher, thatâs a great answer!â For a while, anyway, no one dared put questions to him.
* * *
41-44Then he put a question to them: âHow is it that they say that the Messiah is Davidâs son? In the Book of Psalms, David clearly says,
God said to my Master,
âSit here at my right hand
until I put your enemies under your feet.â
âDavid here designates the Messiah as âmy Masterââso how can the Messiah also be his âsonâ?â
45-47With everybody listening, Jesus spoke to his disciples. âWatch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preen in the radiance of public flattery, bask in prominent positions, sit at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But theyâll pay for it in the end.â
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Luke 20: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.