60 to 75 min Analyze how Jesus responds to challenges regarding his authority by pointing to John the Baptist. Examine the Parable of the Wicked Tenants as an indictment of the Jerusalem temple leadership. Understand the trap regarding paying taxes to Caesar and the distinction between Caesar's image and God's image. Explore Jesus' defense of the bodily resurrection against the Sadducees, proving God is the God of the living. Teaching daily in the Jerusalem temple, Jesus is confronted by a coalition of chief priests, scribes, and elders demanding to know by what authority he acts. Countering with a question about John's baptism, Jesus exposes their cowardly concern for public opinion. He tells the devastating Parable of the Wicked Tenants: tenants who beat the owner's servants and murder his beloved son will be destroyed, and the vineyard given to others. Spies attempt to ensnare him with Roman treason on taxation; Jesus famously distinguishes between coins bearing Caesar's image and human beings bearing God's image. Sadducees attempt to ridicule the resurrection with an absurd scenario of seven brothers married to one woman; Jesus refutes them by revealing that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him. Jesus exposes corrupt religious stewardship, proclaims God as the God of the living, and demands that we render to God what bears his divine image. 20:1-8: By What Authority? While preaching in the temple, chief priests, scribes, and elders demand: "Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who gave you this authority." Jesus replies with a counter-question: "Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?" They deliberate: if we say from heaven, he will ask why we did not believe him; if we say from man, all the people will stone us, for they are convinced John was a prophet. So they answer that they do not know. Jesus says: "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." 20:9-19: The Parable of the Wicked Tenants Jesus tells the crowd of a man who planted a vineyard, leased it to vinedressers, and went away for a long time. At harvest, he sent three successive servants, all of whom were beaten, insulted, and sent away empty-handed. The owner says: "What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him." But the vinedressers conspire: "This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours." They cast him out of the vineyard and kill him. The owner will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others. Hearing this, they say: "Surely not!" Jesus looks at them and quotes Psalm 118:22: "The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." 20:20-26: Taxes to Caesar: Image of Caesar, Image of God Spies pretend to be sincere, asking: "Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" If he says yes, he loses the nationalist crowd; if no, they arrest him for sedition. Perceiving their craftiness, Jesus asks for a denarius: "Whose likeness and inscription does it have?" They reply: "Caesar's." He delivers his immortal verdict: "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." They are silenced in astonishment. 20:27-40: The Sadducees and the God of the Living Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, pose a convoluted test based on levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5): seven brothers successively married one woman and died childless; in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? Jesus answers: in this age people marry, but those considered worthy to attain that age and the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they are like angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. Citing Moses at the burning bush, Jesus points out that God is called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: "Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him." Even the scribes commend him: "Teacher, you have spoken well." 20:41-47: David's Son and Lord, and Warning Against Scribes Jesus asks how the scribes can claim the Christ is David's son when David himself in Psalm 110:1 calls him Lord: "The Lord said to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'" If David calls him Lord, how is he his son? He then warns his disciples against the scribes who like to walk in long robes, love greetings in marketplaces, best seats in synagogues, and places of honor at feasts, while devouring widows' houses and making long prayers for a pretense. They will receive the greater condemnation. The Cornerstone (Kephalē Gōnias) The rejected stone of Psalm 118:22, identifying Jesus as the primary foundation stone of God's new eschatological temple. Render to Caesar and to God Jesus' radical distinction: coins bearing Caesar's likeness belong to imperial administration, but human beings bearing God's image belong entirely to God. God of the Living The theological truth that God's covenant promises transcend biological death, guaranteeing the bodily resurrection of the righteous. Honor legitimate civic duties and taxation, while fiercely reserving your ultimate moral allegiance and worship for God alone. Trust in the reality of the resurrection: death does not have the final word; God remains the faithful God of the living. Beware of religious pretense: evaluate whether your faith seeks public recognition and applause while exploiting or neglecting the vulnerable. Why did Jesus ask about John's baptism when questioned about his own authority? How does Jesus' answer regarding the coin challenge both total Roman secularism and militant theocratic rebellion? How does Jesus prove the resurrection using Moses and the burning bush rather than later apocalyptic texts? Explain the Sadducean theological view: they accepted only the Pentateuch (the five books of Moses) as authoritative, which is why Jesus argued the resurrection from Exodus 3. Contrast the denarius stamped with Tiberius Caesar's head (claiming divine sonship) with Genesis 1:26-27 (humans created in the image of God). Help the group connect the warning about scribes "devouring widows' houses" with the widow who appears immediately in 21:1-4. Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke, chapter 20. Darrell L. Bock, Luke 9:51 to 24:53, section on temple controversies. N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress Press). Examine what "coins" or worldly loyalties have been competing with God in your life. Take ten minutes in silent prayer to consciously surrender your career, finances, and identity into the hands of the God whose image you bear. Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, you are not the God of the dead, but of the living. We belong to you, for we bear your holy image. Deliver us from the hypocrisy of seeking human praise, keep our hearts pure from the greed that exploits the weak, and anchor our souls in the joyful certainty of the resurrection. Amen. Authority, Caesar, and the God of the Living in Luke 20 Write 700 to 900 words analyzing Jesus' confrontation with Jerusalem religious authorities in Luke 20. Examine the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, the question of Roman taxation, and the debate over the resurrection in the temple courts of [Jerusalem](/bible/explorer/place/jerusalem). Analyze how Jesus counters the challenge to his authority by pointing to the baptism of [John the Baptist](/bible/explorer/person/john-baptist). Evaluate the Parable of the Wicked Tenants as an allegorical indictment of the temple aristocracy and the cornerstone of Psalm 118. Examine the theological nuance of Jesus' response regarding Caesar's coin in light of the image of God in humanity. Analyze Jesus' refutation of the Sadducees regarding the resurrection, using Exodus 3 to demonstrate that God is the God of the living. Exhibits deep textual mastery of Luke 20, understanding of Second Temple sectarian disputes (Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians), and thoughtful pastoral application. What Old Testament passage does Jesus quote concerning the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone in Luke 20:17? Psalm 118:22. Whose inscription and likeness was on the denarius shown to Jesus in Luke 20:24? Caesar's (Tiberius Caesar). What Old Testament passage did Jesus cite to prove the resurrection to the Sadducees in Luke 20:37? Moses at the burning bush in Exodus 3:6 ("the Lord, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob"). Read Luke 20:1 to 47 in two modern translations. Read Exodus 3:1 to 15 and Psalm 118:19 to 29. The Sadducean Canon and the Resurrection Because the Sadducees rejected the Prophets and Writings, recognizing only the Torah (Pentateuch) as binding scripture, Jesus refutes their denial of resurrection not from Daniel 12, but directly from Moses in Exodus 3:6, arguing that God's ongoing covenant name implies the living existence of the patriarchs. Imperial Coinage and Idolatry The silver denarius of Tiberius Caesar carried the inscription Ti Caesar Divi Aug F Augustus ("Tiberius Caesar, Son of the Divine Augustus") on one side and Pontif Maxim ("High Priest") on the reverse. For devout Jews, carrying this coin inside the temple courts was itself religiously provocative. The phrase "devour widows' houses" (katesthiousin tas oikias tōn chērōn) likely refers to scribes acting as trustees of estates and charging exorbitant management fees. Levirate marriage (from Latin levir, brother-in-law) was mandated in Deuteronomy 25:5-10 to perpetuate a deceased brother's family name and property inheritance. N. T. Wright, The Resurrection of the Son of God (Fortress Press). Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (NICNT).