The Gospel According to Luke Chapter 20
Originally posted
General Comment: Frequently comparisons among
the writers' versions of similar passages are noted.
Luke Chapter 20:1-8 The
Authority of Jesus [see MT 21:23-27; MK 11:27-33]
Luke
and Matthew have used Mark's version almost word for word. Luke makes one
small change. When the leadership is discussing Jesus' question of
John's authority to baptize - whether it was from heaven or of human
origin, they could not answer that it was from heaven because that would
have led Jesus to ask why they did not believe John and be baptized. If
they said John's baptism was of human origin the people, who believed John was
a prophet, would stone them. Luke has changed Mark's less drastic phrase "they
were afraid of the crowd" to "all the people will stone us."
In
all the versions, Jesus asks the "rock and a hard
place" question. It cannot be answered without damaging the
leadership's religious credentials either because of their rejection
of God's divinely authorized baptism or because it would bring violence on
their own heads from an angry crowd because they rejected John as a Prophet.
Jesus has cleverly put himself on the side of the crowd and pointed to the
leadership as being against one of God's Prophets.
Luke Chapter 20:9-19 The
Parable of the Wicked Tenants [see MT 21:33-46; MK 12:1-12]
The
basis of the story for all three writers is Isa. 5:1-7, God's vineyard, Israel. The key elements for all three
are in agreement. The wicked tenants do not produce good fruit (good works of
mercy, justice and compassion) for the land owner (God) even though he has
repeatedly sent slaves (Prophets) to claim his right to the harvest. They will
even kill the land owner's son. The result will be that the vineyard will be
taken away from the evil tenants and given to others (believers in Jesus'
message of the Kingdom of God).
We
will remember that this is a Kingdom of God parable. The essential hook of the
parable causes a questioning of understanding of who will enter
the Kingdom and who will not. It is hidden in the idea of bearing fruit
for God. Will those who enter be the self justified religious leadership
that has rejected John's baptism and Jesus' as the "stone that the builders
rejected?" Or will it be those who accepted John as a Prophet and believed
in Jesus' Kingdom message? For all three writers the common conclusion was that
God would reject Israel (a collective term for the unrepentant) and give the
Kingdom to the Church. It was the beginning of the misplaced position of
Christian exclusivist that has yet to be effectively challenged.
Luke Chapter 20:20-26 The
Question of Paying Taxes [see MT 22:15-22; MK 12:13-17]
The
previous passage ends with the scribes and chief priests [and elders?] realizing
that Jesus had aimed the parable of the wicked tenants at them. It is a sign of
a very good parable when a particular group or person recognizes itself in
the story. The current passage opens with this same challenged group
watching Jesus and trying to find some way to trap this master of the same art.
Luke has added their deceitful pandering as they attempt to sound innocent in
their question regarding the paying of taxes to the emperor. Luke gives them
away by adding their evil intent to hand Jesus over to the Prefect,
Pontius Pilate, who was in Jerusalem to maintain order during the
Passover. They were as mistaken about Jesus' perceptiveness of their
transparent deceit as they were when they asked him about the source of his
authority to speak against the Temple (19:45f).
Luke
ends the passage by including the "people" (crowd) as witnesses to
Jesus' outwitting of those who were trying to set the trap. All the
deceivers could do was to fall silent to avoid any further descent into
embarrassment.
Luke Chapter 20:27-40 A
Question About Resurrection [see MT 22:23-33; MK 12:18-27]
Luke's
unique contribution to this story is found in vss. 34-36 and vss.
39-40. His emphasis shifts from a simple comparison between human
activities to heavenly. He introduces the larger issue of the Kingdom of God
framed in the difference between this age and the age of the Kingdom of God as
fully realized in the final resurrection. Now the question is about those
who will be considered worthy to have a place in that new age. It is not about
some extension of human institutions into the heavenly realm. Those of the new
age are eternal in existence, children of God and children of the
resurrection.
The
tenor of the text need not lead us to think that the Sadducees had any
dishonorable motive in asking such a question. The question of resurrection was
one of ongoing debate before and during Jesus' time. The Sadducees (and
generally the priestly class) rejected it because it could not be found in
Torah. The Pharisees were strong proponents. Still others would have held
intermediate ideas of what happens after death from the nothingness of the
shades of Sheol to the paradise on earth of Isaiah and other Prophets. Jesus
would have agreed with the Pharisees but not with their "managed
care" view of achieving it.
Luke Chapter 20:41-44 Who is
David's Son [see MT 22:41-46; MK 12:35-37a]
Luke
follows Mark and does not identify the audience as the Pharisees (MT 22:41). He does not
have Jesus' opening question, "What do you think about the Messiah?
Whose son is he? Also, Luke uniquely changes David's speaking by the Holy
Spirit to David speaking in the book of Psalms. This is
interesting because Luke frequently introduces the Holy Spirit as the
source of prophetic inspiration and even the power to heal.
Luke Chapter 20:45-47 Jesus
Denounces the Scribes [see MT 23:1-36; MK 12:37b-40]
As
we can see, Luke has used Mark's entire version of this passage. Matthew is
using his own special source (M)
which is quite extensive, parts of which do appear elsewhere in unconnected
sections of Luke. Luke changes the audience from Mark's crowd to the disciples
in the hearing of the crowd. Matthew has both as parts of the audience.
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