Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 20:19

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.

19. against them ] This decidedly shews the primary sense of the Parable. As yet they hardly realized its wider significance. So when the priests and rulers saw that Jeremiah spoke against them, “Come,” said they, “and let us devise devices against Jeremiah…come, and let us smite him with the tongue,” Jer 18:18.

After this parable our Lord added the Parable of the Marriage of the King’s Son. Thus in three continuous Parables He convicted the Priests and Scribes (1) of false professions; (2) of cruel faithlessness; (3) of blind presumption. This with their public humiliation about John’s baptism made them thirst for speedy vengeance.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

There is nothing in these verses, but what we before met with, and is opened in the notes on Mat 21:45,46, or Mar 12:12,13. They let us see as in a glass the spirit and genius of wicked men filled with malice against the gospel. They are continually seeking to destroy such as have any relation to Christ, and, to effect their ends, they will judge no means unfair; and their great art is to represent them as dangerous persons to the civil government: so as if good men find the same things still, they have this to comfort them, that the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

19. the same hourhardly ableto restrain their rage.

Lu20:20-40. ENTANGLINGQUESTIONS ABOUT TRIBUTEAND THE RESURRECTIONTHEREPLIES.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And the chief priests, and the Scribes, that same hour,…. As soon as he had delivered the above parable, together with that of the two sons:

sought to lay hands on him; they had a good will to it, being exceedingly gravelled with the question he put to them concerning John’s baptism, which confounded them, and put them to silence; and with the parables he delivered, in which they were so manifestly pointed at:

and they feared the people; lest they should rise and stone them, as in Lu 20:6 or rescue him out of their hands;

for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them: and that they were the husbandmen that had used the servants of God so ill, and would put to death the son of God, the Messiah; and who would at length be destroyed themselves, and the kingdom of God be taken from them, though they seem to detest and deprecate it, saying in Lu 20:16 God forbid; that we should kill the heir, or that we should be destroyed, and the vineyard given to others: these things grievously nettled them, and exasperated them against him; but they knew not how to help themselves at present.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

To lay hands on him ( ‘ ). Second aorist active infinitive of , an old verb and either transitively as here or intransitively as in Mr 4:37. Vivid picture here where Mark 12:12; Matt 21:46 has “to seize” ().

In that very hour ( ). Luke’s favourite idiom, in the hour itself. Not in Mark or Matthew and shows that the Sanhedrin were angry enough to force the climax then.

And they feared ( ). Adversative use of = but they feared. Hence they refrained.

For they perceived ( ). The reason for their rage. Second aorist active indicative of .

Against them ( ). As in Mr 12:12. The cap fitted them and they saw it.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

JESUS QUESTIONED REGARDING TRIBUTE V. 19-26

1) “And the chief priests and the scribes,” (kai hoi grammateis kai hoi archiereia) “And the administrative priests and the scribes,” court clerks and keepers of the archives, with malice and fury toward Him, because of the parable He had just spoken.

2) “The same hour sought to lay hands on him;” (ezetesai epibalein ep auton tas cheiras en aute te hora) “Sought (opportunity) to lay their hands upon Him, from that hour,” bargaining, conniving, and seeking an “hit-man,” someone who could “put Him away,” without causing a tumultuous riot or uproar, Joh 7:30.

3) “And they feared the people:” (kai ephobethesan ton laon) “And (yet) they feared the people,” and hated Him “without a cause,” as aforetold Psa 35:19; Psa 69:4; Joh 15:25.

4) “For they perceived,” (egnosan gar) “For they realized,” or understood that Jesus knew their hearts and motives in what they had done and were then determined to do to Him, Joh 2:24-25.

5) “That he had spoken this parable against them.” (hoti pros autous eipen ten parabolen tauten) “That he spoke the parable directly at them,” concerning their greed and graft and violence and murder-bent hearts.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

CRITICAL NOTES

Luk. 20:19. And they feared the people.The state of mind in which the attempt to ensnare Jesus was made: and they did so in fear of the people (Alford).

Luk. 20:20. They watched Him.Rather, and having watched for an opportunity. Spies.Men suborned. Just men.I.e., honest, ingenuous men, perplexed with a doubt which He might solve. Power and authority of the governor.I.e., to the Roman power, and to the authority of the governor.

Luk. 20:22. Tribute.The word means a poll-tax which had been levied since Juda became a Roman province. The insurrection of Judas of Galilee had been occasioned by the belief that it was unlawful to pay this tax, since God was the only true ruler of the Jewish people. This belief was held by a large section of the people; if Christ decided against it, He would alienate them; if He agreed with them He would embroil Himself with the Roman authority. The idea that the Herodians who, as St. Matthew says, joined with the Pharisees in putting this question, approved of the tax, is utterly unfounded. It is a mere conjecture of Origens. There would be very little craftiness in the plot if two classes, one of them notoriously opposed to the payment of the tax, and the other as notoriously in favour of it, were represented in the same deputation. The Herodians, as clinging to the last fragment of Jewish national independence in the rule of the Herods, would naturally be opposed to complete subjection to Rome.

Luk. 20:24. A penny.The Roman denarius.

Luk. 20:25. Render, therefore.It was a decision of the rabbis that wherever any kings money is current, there that king is lord. By accepting the coinage of Csar they had acknowledged his supremacy in temporal things, and consequently his claim to tribute. But the answer goes further. The followers of Judas of Galilee regarded the authority of Csar as incompatible with that of God. Our Lord distinguishes between temporal and spiritual sovereignty, and shows that the two are not opposed to each other. God was no longer, as of old, the civil ruler of His people. They had rejected His authority, and He had given them over to a foreign power, who reigned and claimed tribute by His ordinance (cf. Rom. 13:1; Rom. 13:7). But God was still, and must ever be, the spiritual Ruler of the world, and to Him now, as ever, worship and obedience were due.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Luk. 20:19-26

Csar and God.Jesus thus refuses to decide formally a question of politics, just as, on another occasion, He had refused to interfere between the two brothers who were in dispute about an inheritance. It was not for settling questions like these that He came to earth. More than once the people sought to force Him to take up the rle of a political leader, but in vain. He firmly refused to compromise His cause by associating it with any of the political factions of His time. Yet He did not merely maintain a prudent silence on this occasion, when the question of the lawfulness of paying tribute to Rome was brought to Him for solution. He spoke words which cast a new light upon the whole subject, and which solved the difficulty which these men hypocritically professed to experience, but which really troubled many devout hearts in Israel.

I. It was new to hear that the theocracy was now a thing of the past.Up to this time the religious ideal of Israel was the subordination of civil society to the priestly order: though the nation was actually subject to a foreign power, it was considered that the normal condition of matters ought to be the direct government of the state by ministers of Jehovah, acting in His name and employing, by His authority, all the resources and powers that are at the disposal of earthly kings and rulers. It was a magnificent dream, but all attempts to realise it had hopelessly failed. Christ now distinguishes between the two spheres of national life: the one is purely civil, and may be an empire, a kingdom, an oligarchy, or a democracy; the other is purely religious and in it God is the supreme Ruler.

II. The duties belonging to both spheres are to be discharged in a religious spirit.Christ did not represent civil society as a domain which is withdrawn from holy influence, and, as it were, isolated from that in which God rules. One of the most striking characteristics of the gospel is that it ignores the pagan distinction between things sacred and things profane, and that it does not make religion a distinct part of life, but a Divine influence upon every part, which penetrates, pervades, and governs the whole. St. Paul states this fact in very strong terms: Whether ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. And wherever Christianity exists as a living power it acts upon the consciences of men and directs their conduct, not only in matters of specially religious duty, but also in all that concerns the well-being of the body social. It purifies public opinion, brands as evil all customs and practices of a degrading kind, and spreads its shield over the weak and helpless. None of the spheres of human activity can be sealed against it.

III. Yet there is a profound distinction between religious and civil society, both with regard to the domains they occupy and the modes of action they employ.The domain of the State is that of the present life and of interests that are purely temporal. The State ought to secure for each individual the free enjoyment of all rights and liberties belonging to him, and to endeavour to increase the sum of happiness of all who are under its care. But it has to do only with man as a citizen. All teaching concerning God, the human soul, religious duties and aspirations, and the hope of immortality, are out of its province. It should stand neutral towards all varying forms of religious belief, as the defender of liberty of conscience, and of the religious rights of all. The Church and the State also differ in the nature of the means which they employ. The arm of the State is force; it has the power and the right to overcome, by material strength, all resistance to its laws. The arm of the Church is persuasion; it has not the power or the right to use force for the establishment or maintenance of any form of religious belief. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal (2Co. 10:4), said one of the greatest of its champions. Its sword is the Word of God; its instrument of triumph is the cross, which symbolises the submission of its Lord to sufferings and death; and the Spirit which animates it is compared to a dove. Such are the figures under which Holy Scripture represents the power it wields. To the State we owe tribute, obedience to its laws, and the sacrifice of our time and strength for securing the common good. To God we owe ourselvesthe homage of mind, will, and heart. The influence of the world and of sin may almost have obliterated the Divine image and superscription upon the soul which proclaim that it belongs to God and should be rendered to Him; but they never wholly disappear.

SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk. 20:19-26

Luk. 20:19. The chief priests and scribes sought.There is

(1) a bitterness against Christ, which arises from a misunderstanding of Him; but
(2) a still deeper and more intense bitterness is manifested here by men who understood Him far too well, and who were only the more estranged from Him in consequence.

Luk. 20:20. Take hold of His words.They could not find Him guilty in any of His actions, but hoped to force Him into some hasty utterance upon a complicated question.

Just men.I.e., they came pretending to be upright persons who were perplexed on a point of duty; but their real intention was to entrap Him into the expression of an opinion which might be used against Him.

Luk. 20:21. We know that Thou, etc.It is not hard to see the treachery that lay beneath this praise. The Jews were firmly convinced that it was unlawful to pay tribute to Csar, but found it advisable to conceal their feelings of aversion. Those who now approached Christ wished, by flattering His courage and integrity, to force Him to express an opinion of which they might take advantage to put Him to death.

Luk. 20:22. Is it lawful for us?The difficulty of the question arose from the contradiction between the condition of subjection in which the nation actually was at the time, and the independence which it should have enjoyed, and which seemed to be anticipated and promised in the writings of the prophets.

The True Way to Follow.The way to follow in this abnormal position was not that of revolt, which in this case would have been revolt against God, but that of humiliation, repentance, and devout submission to God, who alone could give them deliverance, since it had been national sin that had led to their being subjected to the Gentile yoke. The error which Jesus dissipates, in His reply, consisted in applying to the actual state of the nation the principle laid down by God as governing its normal state. Jesus virtually said to those who interrogated Him, Become ye again dependent upon God, and He will render you independent of Csar; but until He has accomplished that deliverance you are bound to fulfil the duties which belong to your present state.Godet.

Luk. 20:23. Perceived their craftiness.Neither force nor craft could prevail against the Lord. In an instant He saw through the wiles of His enemies, and escaped the snare they had laid for Him. Thus He exemplified the counsel He gave to His servants and combined the wisdom of the serpent with the harmlessness of the dove.

Luk. 20:24. Show me a penny.It was not to gain time that He desired that a denarius should be shown Him: the image and title it bore decided the question that was put to Him.

Whose image and superscription?Christ serenely walks through the cobwebs spun by His enemies, and lays His hand upon the fact. The currency of the country proclaims the monarch of the country. It is too late to ask questions about your tribute when you pay your bills in his money. Does not the other side of Christs answerto God the things that are Godsrest upon a similar fact? Does not the parallelism require that we should suppose that the destiny of things to be devoted to God is stamped upon them, whatever they are, at least as plainly as the right of Csar to exact tribute was inferred from the fact that his money was the currency of the country?

I. Note the image stamped upon man, and the consequent obligation.Our spirits show that God is our Lord, since we are made in a true sense in His image, and therefore only in Him can we find rest. We are like God in that we can love; we are like Him in that we can perceive the right, and that the right is supreme; we are like Him in that we have the power to say I will.

II. Look, next, at the defacement of the image and the false expenditure of the coin.Our nature has gone through the stamping-press again, and another likeness has been deeply imprinted upon it. The awful power that is given to men of degrading themselves till, lineament by lineament, the likeness in which they are made vanishes, is the saddest and most tragical thing in the world. Yet every fibre in your nature protests against the prostitution of itself to anything short of God. Only misery and unrest can ensue. Only when we render to God the thing that is Godsour hearts and ourselvescan we find repose.

III. The restoration and perfecting of the defaced image.Because Jesus Christ, the God-man, has come, and in our likeness presented to us the very image of God and irradiation of His light, therefore no defacement that it is possible for men or devils to make on this poor humanity of ours need be irrevocable or final, and we may look forward to a time when the coinage shall be called in and re-minted in new forms of nobleness and of likeness.Maclaren.

Luk. 20:25. Csar and God.We owe to kings, as rulers,

(1) Honour;
(2) obedience to the laws;
(3) payment of taxes;
(4) the duty of prayer. We owe to God
(1) ourselves;
(2) our substance;
(3) our time, talents, and influence;
(4) our love.

I. Religion and loyalty should accompany each other.

II. In cases where the commands of earthly rulers interfere with the will of God, they are to be disobeyed, at whatever hazard or loss.

Two Distinct Spheres.Things civil and things sacred are

(1) essentially distinct from each other, yet

(2) quite harmonious. Neither may overlap or intrude itself into the sphere of the other. In the things of God we may not take law from men (Act. 4:19; Act. 5:29), while in honouring and obeying Csar in his own sphere we are rendering obedience to God Himself (Rom. 13:1-7).Brown.

Render.The chief priests and scribes had asked if it were lawful to give tribute to Csar, as if tribute were a boon. Christ reminds them that it is not a gift, but a due. Render, therefore, tribute of your coin to Csar; and tribute of yourselves, coined in the Divine mint, and stamped with the Divine image and superscription, to God.

Render unto Csar.This precept of Jesus is developed in Romans 12, 13; in Romans 12, Render to God, and in Romans 13 Render to Csar.

Luk. 20:26. Marvelled at His answer.All the synoptical Gospels lay stress upon the astonishment excited by the the reply of Christ, and thus imply that it was expressed in some very visible manner. The statement here made, that His enemies could not take hold of His words before the people, gives a hint of the critical position in which He would have been placed if He had failed to silence the questioners.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Appleburys Comments

The Search For An Excuse
Scripture

Luk. 20:19-47 And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he spake this parable against them. 20 And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who feigned themselves to be righteous, that they might take hold of his speech, so as to deliver him up to the rule and to the authority of the governor. 21 And they asked him, saying, Teacher, we know that thou sayest and teachest rightly, and acceptest not the person of any, but of a truth teachest the way of God: 22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or not? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, 24 Show me a denarius. Whose image and superscription hath it? And they said, Caesars. 25 And he said unto them, Then render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars, and unto God the things that are Gods. 26 And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.

27 And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection; 28 and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a mans brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died childless; 30 and the second: 31 and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no children, and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection therefore whose wife of them shall she be? for the seven had her to wife. 34 And Jesus said unto them, The sons of this world marry, and are given in marriage: 35 but they that are accounted worthy to attain to that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: 36 for neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the place concerning the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 39 And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said. 40 For they durst not any more ask him any question.
41 And he said unto them, How say they that the Christ is Davids son? 42 For David himself saith in the books of Psalms,

The Lord said unto my Lord,
Sit thou on my right hand,

43 Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.
44 David therefore calleth him Lord, and how is he his son?

45 And in the hearing of all the people he said unto his disciples, 46 Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and love salutations in the marketplaces, and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts; 47 who devour widows houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these shall receive greater condemnation.

Comments

sought to lay hands on him.The scribes and priests knew that Jesus had been speaking of them in the parable of The Husbandmen, but they completely rejected His warning. They were ready at that very hour to arrest Him. All that kept them from it was their fear of the people who were still glorifying God for all that He had done for them. But they kept close watch on Him and sent spies to listen to Him as He taught the people, hoping that He might say something that would give them the excuse to turn Him over to the governor. They even attempted to flatter Him, hoping to throw Him off guard.

Teacher, we know.According to Matthew, it was the Pharisees who sent the Herodians to set a trap for Jesus. The Herodians were a party of the Jews that supported the rule of the Herods whose power was derived from Rome. The Pharisees were, in their way, upholding the Law of Moses and submitting to the authority of Rome only because they had to. But these two opposing parties joined forces in an attempt to find an excuse to destroy Jesus.

What the Herodians said to Jesus was true: What He taught was right; He taught the way of God; He was impartial in dealing with men. They asked, Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? This could have been a real problem to conscientious Jews, but the hypocrisy of the Herodians was poorly disguised.

But he perceived their craftiness.They expected Him to answer Yes or No. They were prepared to pounce on Him for whichever answer He would give. If He should say yes, they were prepared to accuse Him of disloyalty to His people, the Jews. One of the favorite accusations against the early church was their supposed opposition to the Law of Moses (Act. 6:11; Act. 26:22-23). If He should say no, they were ready to report Him to the Roman authorities for disloyalty to the government under which He lived.

Show me a denarius.It was a small coin with the image of Caesar on it. The superscription was Caesars too. They had planned for two possible answers to their question, but there was only one possible answer to His question, Whose image and superscription are on the denarius? But He had two things to say to them that were unexpected: Give to Caesar the things that are Caesars, and to God the things that are Gods.

They had intended to catch Him on one or the other of the two issues involved in their question. He, however, caught them on both issues involved in His answer. Had they paid their taxes honestly? Were they giving to God the lives they owed Him?

not able to take hold of the saying.He was more than a match for them; they couldnt twist His answer so as to use it against Him. They knew that the people were with Him. They marvelled at His answer, but kept still.

And there came unto him certain Sadducees.Jesus had so completely routed the enemy in the first encounter that one wonders how the Sadducees found the courage to try their favorite question on Him. But people who hold to views like theirs usually keep on trying them out on everyone who will listen. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection or in angels or spirits (Act. 23:8). While the Herodians had been silenced, these Sadducees seemed confident that their question could not be answered by anyone holding to the doctrine of the resurrection.

Teacher, Moses wrote unto us.Jesus frequently appealed to the Scriptures as He taught. They must have felt that they were on safe ground when they referred to Moses. They did quote accurately from Deu. 25:5 which said that if a mans brother died leaving a childless wife, he was to take the wife and raise up children for his brother. Their hypothetical case: One woman was married to seven brothers before she died. All this was perfectly legal according to Moses! Then the question: In the resurrectionsupposing there is such a thingwhose wife will she be, for they all had her for a wife?

As things like this usually go, it is not too much to suppose that the Sadducees broke out laughing at their clever question, being certain that He couldnt answer it. Undoubtedly, they had tried it on many a man, and no one had ever been able to give a satisfactory answer. They had the only solution: There simply couldnt be such a thing as a resurrection!

The sons of the world.Jesus answer begins with a contrast between this world and the heavenly state of righteousness. Those who belong to this world marry and are given in marriage, but those who attain to that world and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are they given in marriage. Marriage is for this age, but in the resurrection they are equalin this respectto the angels. They are called sons of God because they have been raised from the dead.

they that are accounted worthy to attain unto that world.Jesus does not imply that some will not be raised. He plainly stated that all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment (Joh. 5:28-29).

Paul also speaks of the resurrection both of the just and unjust (Act. 24:15; 1Co. 15:22).

But that the dead are raised.Jesus then proceeded to showand from the Scriptures, toothat there is a life beyond the grave. Moses spoke of God, when he told of His appearing in the burning Bush, as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. But these men had long since been dead. Jesus explained: He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all live unto Him. That is, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were living in the world beyond the grave where the eternal living Godthe Lordwas their God.

Teacher, thou hast well said.Some of the scribes were willing to admit that He had given the correct answer, a more gracious attitude than that of the Herodians who chose to remain silent. But there were no more questions of this kind for the Teacher!

And he said unto them.It was His turn; they had asked Him two questionsaccording to Matthew, threeand now He had one for them: How can they say that Christ is Davids son? The question seemed elementary, for all the Jews who knew anything about the Scriptures knew that Messiah was to be from the line of David. But the problem was greater than that. Jesus quoted Psalm 110:8, a Psalm of David, which said, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet. Then Jesus asked the hard one: Since David calls him Lord, how is he his son?

The answer is perfectly clear to those who know and believe the Word of God. Paul gives it in Rom. 1:3-4. Luke had already explained it to Theophilus in his account of the conception and birth of Jesus. Jesus was the son of David according to flesh, but He was demonstrated to be the Son of God according to the spirit of holinessa reference to the eternal One whom John calls The Wordby the resurrection from the dead.

And in the hearing of all the people.They could have answered the question about Davids son being Lord, but that would have compelled them to confess that Jesus was the Christ.

Now before all the people, He warned His disciples against these hypocrites. They walked in long robes and publically received the adulation of the people; they sought out the chief seats in the synagogues and at the feasts; they devoured widows houses and for a pretense at being righteous, made long prayers, These were they who had sought to discredit the Lord Jesus Christ.

Summary

It seems strange that the One to whom all authority in heaven and on earth had been should be challenged by men. But the chief priests and the scribes with the elders had the audacity in Jesus day to say, By what authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority? Their vague reference to these things that He was doing included not only the cleansing of the temple but also the healing of a blind man. What authority, indeed?
But Jesus asked them a question that forced them to answer their own, although they were not big enough to admit that His authority was from God, just as John the Baptists was.
The parable of The Husbandmen shows just what the attitude of the Jews toward Jesus was. They were waiting for their opportunity to kill Him and take over the kingdom of God. They did put Him to death, but the kingdom was given to those who produce the fruit of righteousnessthe believers in Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles.
Those who rejected their Messiah have already suffered one devastating blowthe destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D. Another act of judgment awaits all who persist in rejecting Him as King. Like the stone that grinds to powder the one on whom it falls, the judgment of Christ will scatter those who oppose Him.
But the Jews persisted in their search for an excuse to destroy Him. They sent spies to listen in as He was teaching. They hoped to hear something on which to condemn Him; but He answered their questions and silenced them before the multitudes. They refused to answer His question about Davids calling Christ Lord since He is Davids son. Their hypocrisy was so evident that Jesus took occasion to warn the disciples against them.

Questions

1.

What was Jesus doing when His authority was challenged by the chief priests and scribes?

2.

Why were they not more specific in their charge?

3.

What, if any, is the difference between preaching and teaching?

4.

How did Jesus force the priests to answer their own question about His authority?

5.

Why didnt Jesus tell them that He had all authority in heaven and on earth?

6.

Why did He tell the parable of The Husbandmen?

7.

How did He show that He was aware of the thing the Jews were planning to do to Him?

8.

What did the sending of the various servants suggest as to the treatment the Jews had given the prophets?

9.

Who is represented by the son in the parable?

10.

What did they intend to do after killing the son?

11.

What is suggested by the fact that the Lord of the vineyard was to destroy those wicked men?

12.

To whom was the kingdom to be given?

13.

Is the church as the kingdom of Christ producing the fruits of it?

14.

Why did Jesus quote the prophecy about the rejected stone?

15.

What was to happen to those on whom the stone fell?

16.

Why were the scribes and priests searching for an excuse to kill Jesus?

17.

What question did the Herodians ask?

18.

What answer did they evidently expect Him to give?

19.

How did His answer prevent them from accusing Him of wrongdoing?

20.

Who had joined the Herodians in this attempt to trap Jesus?

21.

How did the Herodians react to His answer?

22.

Why did the Sadducees take up the issue?

23.

What was their peculiar belief and how did it differ from that of the Pharisees?

24.

What was the foundation of the story they told?

25.

Wherein had they erred in applying the Law of Moses to the issue of the resurrection?

26.

How did Jesus show them their mistake?

27.

How did He describe the state of those in the resurrection?

28.

What did Jesus mean by saying that God is not the God of the dead, but the living?

29.

What question did Jesus ask them about Davids son?

30.

Why couldnt they answer it?

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

‘And the scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him in that very hour, and they feared the people, for they perceived that he spoke this parable against them.’

The parable made the Scribes and the chief priests even more determined to arrest Jesus, and they sought to find ways of doing so, but always the people got in the way, for they would not leave Jesus alone. And while the people were there in such huge numbers they recognised that any attempt to arrest Him would simply cause excessive trouble.

We may, perhaps, conclude our comments on this passage by drawing from the application made of the parable by a well known scholar:

It tells us of human privilege. God had given to His people an inheritance which all recognised as a blessing.

It tells us of human sin. Man misuses what God has given and appropriates it for his own purposes.

It tells us of human responsibility. The inheritance was given in order that man may pay his proper respects to God and show his proper respect to his neighbour.

It tells us of God’s patience. Over the long centuries, while God had chastened His people, He had preserved them through it all and had even brought them back to their land. And now He was still lovingly reaching out to them.

It tells us of God’s mercy. In reaching out to them He even gave His only beloved Son.

It tells us of God’s judgment. One day the consequence of this can only be that for those who have rejected His Son will come judgment.

It tells us that Jesus knew what was coming and yet did not turn back from it. he suffered for us, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to God.

It tells us that He never doubted God’s ultimate triumph. He knew that in the end God’s purposes would prevail and man’s folly be revealed for what it is.

It tells us that He is the only beloved Son of God, greater than Moses and all the prophets, even greater than John the Baptiser. They were beloved servants but He is the beloved Son. There is no other.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

The Pharisees and Sadducees Confuted.

The question of the Pharisees:

v. 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.

v. 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.

v. 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.

v. 22. Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?

So embittered were the scribes and the chief priests on account of the merciless frankness of Jesus that they sought to lay violent hands upon Him in that very hour. But their fear of the people caused them to take such a step under advisement. Though they fairly ached to vent their anger upon Jesus, since they understood that the parable had been spoken against them, yet they deemed it expedient not to try extreme measures. The people at the time of Jesus, not having received the proper instruction in the Word of God, were about as fickle as the majority of the people today that live without God in the world and are driven hither and thither by every wind of doctrine, no matter from which side it is presented. But they had to do something to have an outlet for their feelings, and so they employed watchers and sent them to observe every move the Lord made and every word He spoke. The instructions of these spies were simple. They were to simulate great piety and righteousness, surely not a difficult matter for the sanctimonious hypocrites, all for the purpose of laying hold of some word of His, which might be construed in His disfavor. In that event the Jewish leaders wanted to deliver Him to the rule and authority of the Roman governor. To strike once and for always, under the semblance of honesty, in the pose of men that were sincerely anxious to know and do, their duty, that was the program of the Jewish leaders. Their ingenuousness in the entire matter seems pitiful when the omniscience of Christ is taken into account. But they earnestly try to insinuate themselves into His favor by words of honeyed flattery. There are three points which they hold up before Him in order that He may not recognize their true selves under the mask. They flattered Him that He had sound judgment, that He always said the right thing at the right time; they praised His impartiality, that it made no difference to Him whom the sentence would strike, so long as the truth prevailed; they gave due deference to His sincerity, that He always said just what He thought. All of which, in their mouths, was the basest and most hideous flattery. But what made the matter almost ghastly was the fact that every word they uttered was true, in the full sense of the word. If only they had come to Him with sincerity in their heart and with openness of mind, then He would have been but too glad to lead their steps on the right way for their soul’s salvation. Their question was in the nature of an alternative, whether it was the right, the proper, the obligatory thing to pay tribute, the imperial tax to the Roman emperor, or not. Whether the answer of Jesus proved to be positive or negative, the Pharisees hoped to gain the upper hand. For should He, in the presence of such notorious opponents of the Roman government, declare Himself against the payment of the tax, then they could accuse Him before the governor. But should He declare Himself in favor of paying the tax, then they could fasten the suspicion upon Him, as though He were not the true friend of the people, but an abettor of the Roman tyranny.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

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.

Ver. 19. They perceived ] Conscience, their domestic chaplain, told them so much. God hath a witness to his truth in every man’s bosom.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

19. ] before . is not but: the clause signifies the state of mind in which this their attempt was made: and they did so in fear of the people.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament