New Testament Commentary - Luke 20

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 20 Chief priests oppose Jesus—He gives the parable of the wicked husbandmen—Render unto Caesar and God that which is theirs—Jesus teaches the law of marriage.
1 AND it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes came upon him with the elders, 2 And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority? 3 And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me:		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
4 The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men? 5 And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not? 6 But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a ^aprophet.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
7 And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was. 8 And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.		1^a D&C 128:20; 2^a Mark 9:2 (2-13); Luke 9:29 (28-36); John 1:14; 2 Pet. 1:16 (16-19); TG Jesus Christ, Glory of;
9 Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a ^avineyard, and let it forth to ^bhusbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time. 10 And at the season he sent a servant to the husbandmen, that they should give him of the fruit of the vineyard: but the husbandmen beat him, and sent him away empty. 11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. 13 Then said the lord of the vineyard, What shall I do? I will send my beloved son: it may be they will reverence him when they see him. 14 But when the husbandmen saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, This is the heir: come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.
15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, ^aGod forbid.
17 And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The ^astone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will ^agrind him to powder^a.	18^a grind him to powder Grinding one to powder is but the same as turning one into 'dust'. Thus the illusion is unto the trial of the flesh unto death when were men are so tried and as a result of that death to which all are subject, they will all be turned or worn unto dust. Thus all who live we be so humbled unto the dust of the earth, for dust we are and unto dust we do return as the body wears out and dies.
19 ¶ And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them. 20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, which should feign themselves just men, that they might ^atake 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 ^atribute unto Caesar, or no? 23 But he perceived their ^acraftiness, 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 ^aCaesar the things which be ^bCaesar'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^a, If any man's ^abrother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his ^bbrother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.	28^a Moses wrote unto us Now this particular question was much further reaching beyond that level of which Jesus allowed it to become. The Law of Marriage according to raising up seed to the dead is in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. And while the Saducees do not believe in the resurrection, their question presupposed it. Thus Jesus' answer put an end to the question ane he gave them a proof of the resurrection, in that God is not the God of the dead by the living, thus Abraham, Issac and Jacob must yet be alive, for he is the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. If the Saducees would dispute this the people would reject them. But that depth of the question which Jesus insured that it never reached, was back to and in respect to the marriage of Boaz to Ruth, and whether Obed was of the House of Judah or the House of Ephraim. They were aiming to commit the Lord to stating whether the Messiah was of Judah or of Ephraim and the house of Joseph. Jesus had diverted and avoided that question once before by answering only that which he desired to answer, that's when the Pharisees had stated, 'Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan.' That dispute or whether Messiah was of Joseph or Judah waged in the under-current of the Jewish religion. David had chosen Judah over Israel or Ephraim, and ever since then the Jews had claimed David as their own and placed in the book of Ruth primarily the genealogy of Boaz back to Judah as the ancestry of David. Yet they knew that according to the Law, Ruth was still the wife of Mahlon and that any male child first born of her would be the seed of Mahlon, and be of Ephraim. But Jesus put them out at first base, thus never allowing them to get to that home plate of the debate to which they were by thier design to go.
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 ^amarry, and are given in marriage: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain ^athat world, and the ^bresurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in ^cmarriage: 36 Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the ^aangels; and are the ^bchildren of God, being the children of the resurrection.
37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the ^abush, 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 ^adead, 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 ^aquestion at all.
41 And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's ^ason? 42 And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The LORD said unto my ^aLord, Sit thou on my right hand, 43 Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. 44 David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?
45 ¶ Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, 46 Beware of the ^ascribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the ^bhighest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; 47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.