RSV ~ Luke 20 Notes

Lk 20:8 | ISB Notes

by what authority: Jesus turns the tables on his interrogators to silence them. If the Jerusalem leaders rejected John’s heavenly authority, they would inevitably reject Jesus and his divine mission as well (7:29-34).

Lk 20:9-16 | ISB Notes

The parable of the Wicked Tenants. Jesus pictorially recounts OT history as it culminates in the Messiah, God’s beloved son (20:13). The parable challenges Israel’s leaders, the tenants (20:9), and warns them of the consequences of rejecting Jesus (20:15-16).

• Israel is often portrayed as Yahweh’s vineyard in the OT (Ps 80:8; Is 5:1-7; Jer 2:21; Hos 10:1). See note on Mk 12:1-9.

Lk 20:17-18 | ISB Notes

Jesus brings together three OT texts that employ the image of a stone: Ps 118:22, Is 8:14-15, and Dan 2:44-45.

• Psalm 118 describes the Messiah as one rejected by Israel’s builders, yet chosen by Yahweh to be the honored foundation stone of a new Temple. Isaiah 8 describes the Lord as a stumbling stone that will trip and destroy the sinners of Israel, especially those in Jerusalem. Daniel 2 recounts a vision in which God destroys the empires of the earth with a crushing stone, replacing them with his messianic kingdom. Similar uses of these texts are found in Rom 9:33 and 1 Pet 2:6-8.

Lk 20:20 | ISB Notes

the governor: Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea. See note on Lk 23:1.

Lk 20:22 | ISB Notes

Is it lawful … ?: A trap question. If Jesus affirms the tax, he will provoke to anger fellow Jews who aspire to national independence from Rome. If he denounces the tax, he will be reported to the Romans on charges of sedition. See note on Mk 12:13.

Lk 20:24 | ISB Notes

a coin: A “denarius” bearing the stamped likeness (or “image”) of the Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar (A.D. 14-37).

Lk 20:25 | ISB Notes

to Caesar … to God: Jesus evades his interrogators’ trap by using the example of Roman taxation to illustrate a higher duty. Since Caesar’s image belongs to him, he should receive it back (Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pet 2:13-17). It is nevertheless more important to give yourself, stamped with the “image” of God, back to God (Gen 1:27). .

Lk 20:27-40 | ISB Notes

The Sadducees challenge Jesus about his teaching on the afterlife. They are convinced that the Mosaic Law says nothing about a future resurrection (20:27) and so present him with a dilemma: If Moses permits a woman to remarry every time her husband dies (Deut 25:5), will this not bring confusion into the next life? How will she determine who is her legitimate spouse if all of them are raised? Jesus deals with his objectors on their own terms: first, by denying that marriage exists in the next life and, second, by deliberately citing the Mosaic Law against them.

• The burning bush episode shows that Yahweh identified himself with the patriarchs long after th

eir death (Ex 3:6). If Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still with God, then life must endure beyond death and a future resurrection is implied in the Pentateuch. See topical essay: Who Are the Sadducees? at Mk 12.

Lk 20:35 | ISB Notes

that age: The institution of marriage will not exist in heaven. See note on Mt 22:30.

Lk 20:36 | ISB Notes

equal to angels: Like the angels, the saints will be clothed in glory and immortality; but, unlike the angels, they will ultimately live in resurrected bodies and not as disembodied spirits (1 Cor 15:35-50). They are thus equal in some respects, but not the same in all respects.

• Belief in the general resurrection is central to the Christian faith. The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed both state that our physical bodies will be raised again to enjoy eternal life.

Lk 20:41 | ISB Notes

David’s son?: The greatness of David was proverbial in the OT. He was the ideal king of Israel by whom all others were measured.

• Jesus uses the OT to challenge a mistaken assumption that even the Messiah would be inferior to David. On the contrary, David himself calls the Messiah his superior “Lord” in Ps 110:1 (20:42; Acts 2:34-36). See note on Mk 12:36.

Lk 20:47 | ISB Notes

greater condemnation: Severe judgment awaits the scribes who abuse their authority to exploit the defenseless. Widows were particularly vulnerable to their tactics. See note on 18:3.