Luke
19:45-20:19
Lesson 150
19:45-20:19
Lesson 150
Luke 20:20-40
Taxes and the resurrection 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. 27 Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, 28 Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. 31 And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife. 34 And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. 37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 39 Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. 40 And after that they durst not ask him any question at all. |
Margin notes:
"They watched him, and sent forth spies." (20:20) - The Pharisees kept a close eye on Jesus, hoping to trip Him up. Additional note: Later, Spies were also sent to watch Paul (Galatians 2:4). "Feign themselves just men." (20:20) - Means, "Pretend to be honest men." "Take hold of his words." (20:20) - "Catch him in His words." "The governor." (20:20) - The governor was Pontius Pilate, the fifth Roman procurator (governor) of Judea and Samaria. He served from AD 26 to 36 and disliked his Judean assignment so far from home. Pilate, no fan of the Jews was routinely charged with cruelty against them, accusations he usually deserved, and Jesus was well aware of Pilate's harsh reputation (Luke 13:1). The Jewish religious leaders returned Pilate's animosity and frequently complained about him to Rome. They accused him of corruption, cruelty, insensitivity to their customs and religion, and once of stealing money from the Temple to build an aqueduct. Pilate's headquarters was in Caesarea, but he was in Jerusalem with his wife Claudia to keep order as the Holy City filled with pilgrims over the Passover holiday. While in Jerusalem, the Jewish high council (Sanhedrin) brought Jesus to stand trial before him. The Sanhedrin lacked the authority to sentence a prisoner to death (John 18:31), so they pressured Pilate to crucify Jesus. A pure politician, Pilate was more interested in political expediency than justice. Already disciplined by Rome once, Pilate wasn't willing to release Jesus and risk more Jewish complaints. He repeatedly declared Jesus innocent (Luke 23:4; 23:14; 23:22; John 18:38) yet was prepared to order execution (Matthew 27:24-26; Mark 15:15). In AD 36, Pilate finally lost favor with Rome after the Governor of Syria brought yet more charges of cruelty against him. He was exiled to Vienne in Gaul, where he committed suicide in AD 38. "Master, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, neither acceptest thou the person of any." (20:21) - "Teacher, we know that what you say and teach is right and you don't show partiality to anyone." The spies are flattering Jesus before they test Him. "Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar." (20:22) - "Is it right for us to pay tax to Caesar." This is a verbal trap set by the "spies" (20:20) of the chief priests. If Jesus answers "yes, pay the taxes," the crowd will turn against Him because they hate the Romans. If Jesus says, "don't pay Caesar's tax," the Romans may arrest Him for sedition. "Why tempt me." (20:23) - "Why test me." "Whose image and superscription hath it?" (20:24) - As stated in this verse, the image was Caesar's. The superscription on the reverse read, "Tiberius Caesar Augustus, son of the divine Augustus." "Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's." (20:25) - Although God should always come first, Jesus taught that Christians have a responsibility to their government. This message is also recorded in Matthew 22:15-22 and Mark 12:13-17. "Moses wrote unto us..." (20:28) - See Deuteronomy 25:5. "Equal unto the angels." (20:36) - Means, "Like the angels." See "Today's Question" below. "He calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." (20:37) - This is a paraphrase of Exodus 3:6, where God told Moses, "I am" the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and not "I was the God." This shows that there is life after death and that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still exist. "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:32). "After that they durst not ask him any question at all." (20:40) - "After that, they dared not ask Jesus any more questions." The Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes gave up trying to catch Jesus in their verbal traps. |