Daily Devotions
Luke
Luke 20:19-26 "THEY KNEW HE HAD SPOKEN THIS PARABLE AGAINST THEM" Luke 20:19"
Day 249 – Luke 20
Text: Luke 20:19-26
“THEY KNEW HE HAD SPOKEN THIS PARABLE AGAINST THEM” Luke 20:19
The chief priests and scribes were steeped in the knowledge of the Scriptures. The chief priests were people who had devoted their lives to the service of the Temple. They oversaw the day-to-day activities of the Temple. They were the people who had administrative oversight of the affairs of the Temple. They were the experts in religious customs and practices. Whether or not the Temple precincts should be used as a market place would be decided by these chief priests.
The scribes were the experts in the Scriptures. These scholars devoted their lives to copying of the Jewish Scriptures. They hand-copied the Book of Moses, their ancient history, and other sacred literature. If anyone knew about Messianic prophecies and other subjects, these scribes would have a fairly good grasp on any subject mentioned in the Scriptures.
When Jesus told the Parable of the Vineyard, the chief priests and the scribes knew that Jesus had indeed spoken this parable against them. Though they were not mentioned by name or specially identified, they knew that Jesus was describing them in His parable.
They were the vinedressers. They were the ones entrusted with looking after the vineyard, Israel. They were the ones who were supposed to show fruit and profit for the work put in.
All sent by God to them had been abused. Even now they were plotting the death of The Son, the Heir of the Vineyard. They were not unnerved that Jesus saw through them.
They heard what Jesus said. One day God would destroy them. They were unafraid of that day of judgment. They also rejected the idea of Jesus being the chief cornerstone!
The battle lines were even more clearly drawn now. If they could they would have laid hands on Jesus there and then. But they could not. They feared how the masses would react if they tried laying hands on Jesus! The multitude loved Jesus even though they may not have fully understood all that He had taught. Anyone who dared to lay a hand on Jesus would be set upon by the multitudes.
The chief priests and scribes had read the situation and the crowds very well. They were astute, but their “wisdom” was wasted! They pursued wrong goals!
ANOTHER SET OF PLANS HATCHED
There was no repentance in the hearts of the chief priests and scribes, even though they had understood the message of Jesus. Whereas they should have repented and received salvation, they hatched another plot to destroy Jesus. Obviously, their conscience had been seared, and their hearts hardened. They were so consumed with fury that they merely sought many other ways to capture Jesus.
The next set of plans were discussed and agreed upon. Luke recorded those plans.
“So they watched Him, and sent spies
who pretended to be righteous,
that they might seize on His words,
in order to deliver Him to the power
and authority of the governor.”
Luke 20:20
There was a major shift in their plans. This time round, they were going to see if they could find fault with Jesus, not on matters of their religion, but perhaps on civil matters. Would Jesus really know all that much about civil law? Could He be somehow trapped into making some kind of remarks against the Roman authorities? If so, then He could be hauled up to the governor and be charged with breaking the Roman law.
This was a major change of plans, because in ordinary circumstances, the chief priests and scribes would prefer to have nothing to do with the Roman governor. The Jews had always resented the presence of the Roman governor. They resented being ruled by the Romans. They hated to pay taxes to Rome. They hated the laws of Rome. They despised the religion of the Romans. There was no love lost between the religious leaders of Jerusalem and the Romans! Yet, here they were, filled with so much hatred that they were actually planning to do anything, just so long as they could see Jesus killed!
“SPIES WHO PRETENDED TO BE RIGHTEOUS…” Luke 20:20
How little the chief priests and scribes knew about Jesus! Did they think that Jesus could not see through them? Did they think that they could pretend to be righteous? Did they think that they could hide themselves among the crowds and fool Jesus?
These spies were told what to do. They were firstly to watch Jesus. They were not to attempt to attack Him in any physical way, lest the crowds turned on them. They were told just to watch and see if Jesus would trip Himself in His teaching. They figured that in the multitude of words, somehow, sooner or later Jesus would make a mistake. They could then pounce on those mistakes and then haul Jesus to the governor!
“IS IT LAWFUL FOR US TO PAY TAXES TO CAESAR OR NOT?” Luke 20:21
An opportunity soon arose for these spies to attempt to spring a trap on Jesus. They said,
“Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly,
and You do not show personal favouritism,
but teach the way of God in truth:
Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”
Luke 20:21
There must have been an uncomfortable silence when this question was raised. How would Jesus answer this question? Nobody liked paying taxes! Would Jesus come out in support of the Romans, then He could become unpopular. If He spoke up against paying taxes, then He could be brought up to the Governor on a charge of sedition. How would Jesus answer this loaded question?