Verse By Verse Through Luke

Chapter Twenty


Luke 20:1-2 “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, And spake unto him, saying, Tell us, by what authority doest thou these things? or who is he that gave thee this authority?”

  • Jesus was teaching daily in the temple and the chief priests and the scribes were not happy about that (Luke 19:45-48).
  • On one of those days [days He was teaching in the temple] the chief priests and the scribes questioned by what authority He taught (cf. Matthew 21:23 and Mark 11:27-28).
  • The scribes were not, as a whole, seen as righteous individuals (Matthew 5:20).
  • Jesus did not teach as the scribes taught (Matthew 7:21-29).
  • The scribes and chief priests were displeased when they saw Jesus being honored (Matthew 21:15) and they wanted to destroy Him (Mark 11:18).
  • We know that Jesus certainly had authority [power] (Matthew 28:18 and I Peter 3:18-22).
  • That authority [power] was given to Him by our Heavenly Father (Matthew 17:1-5, John 3:35, John 5:26-27, John 17:1-3, and Ephesians 1:15-23).

Luke 20:3-4 “And he answered and said unto them, I will also ask you one thing; and answer me: The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?”

  • Jesus answered their question by asking a question. Other times He would ask questions in return, but them went on to immediately teach (Matthew 15:1-14, Matthew 19:3-12, etc.).
  • It is a dilemma to be asked a question knowing the foolishness behind it (Proverbs 26:4-5).
  • There is the time to avoid questions (II Timothy 2:23 and Titus 3:9).
  • Jesus’ return questions draws a clear truth. Authority can only be from Heaven or of men. Jesus later uses this reality to establish His authority (John 8:23-59).
  • John was a messenger from God (Isaiah 40:1-11 and Malachi 3:1-6; cf. Matthew 11:7-10, Mark 1:1-3, Luke 3:1-6, and John 1:15-28).
  • His baptism was therefore clearly from Heaven (Luke 7:24-30).
  • It was a temporary baptism (Acts 19:1-7).

Luke 20:5 “And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then believed ye him not?”

  • They had to discuss how to answer Jesus (cf. Acts 4:1-18).
  • They understood truth coming from Heaven (Nehemiah 9:6-16).
  • If they acknowledge John, they could not reject Jesus (John 3:22-36).

Luke 20:6 “But and if we say, Of men; all the people will stone us: for they be persuaded that John was a prophet.”

  • Wait, they are in this other dilemma though. They feared the people which also kept them from killing Jesus at times (Matthew 21:45-46 and Matthew 26:1-5).
  • That same fear of the people kept the Apostles safe at times too (Acts 5:17-26).
  • Just think of how dishonest this is. That dishonesty keeps the lost from being converted (Luke 8:15 and Hebrews 3:12).
  • The people were right. John was a prophet (Luke 7:28).

Luke 20:7 “And they answered, that they could not tell whence it was.”

  • What a sad statement. Among this group of people are the chief priests. They should be a source of knowledge. Yet, as we see in the days of Malachi, they are not (Malachi 2:7-9).
  • They are rejecting God’s word, making it of none effect, as we see in an account where Jesus is teaching the Pharisees and the scribes (Mark 7:1-13).
  • This is the whole we will do what we want mentality (Jeremiah 44:16-17 and Romans 10:1-3).
  • Just think back to the attitude of the tribe of Ephraim (Hosea 8:11-14).

Luke 20:8 “And Jesus said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.”

  • To answer or not is often a dilemma (Proverbs 26:4-5).
  • Jesus knew this discussion was useless (cf. Luke 22:66-68).
  • Jesus, the Savior of the world, did not get into endless; useless discussions (Matthew 15:14).
  • We all have to know when to walk away from a pointless discussion / teaching moment (Matthew 7:6, Mark 6:10-11, Acts 13:50-51, Acts 17:32-33, Acts 19:8-9, and II Timothy 2:14-23).

Luke 20:9 “Then began he to speak to the people this parable; A certain man planted a vineyard, and let it forth to husbandmen, and went into a far country for a long time.”

  • “Then” is after Jesus did not answer their trap question (Luke 20:8).
  • For this Parable, also see: Matthew 21:33-46 and Mark 12:1-12
  • Also, remember what we covered in Luke 19:12-27.
  • Husbandmen are land workers; farmers (Strong’s # 1092).
  • Considering the verses that will follow, this is more about what had happened (under the Old Law) rather than talking about what is going to happen.
  • Israel of Old had the seed promise (Galatians 3:16).
  • However, they often did what (Deuteronomy 9:24, Deuteronomy 31:27, II Chronicles 30:8, Psalms 81:11, Isaiah 1:1-4, Jeremiah 23:2, Daniel 9:5, etc.)?

Luke 20:10-12 “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. And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out.”

  • God sent waves of prophets (II Kings 17:13-14, II Chronicles 24:18-19, II Chronicles 36:14-16, Nehemiah 9:30, Jeremiah 7:25-26, Jeremiah 25:4, Jeremiah 26:4-5, Jeremiah 35:15, Mark 1:1-8, Mark 6:17-18, etc.).
  • They had a consistent response to the prophets (Acts 7:51-53; cf. Luke 11:47-52).

Luke 20:13 “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.”

  • Understand that a parable is just a parable. God did not literally send Jesus expecting Him to be reverenced (Isaiah 53:1-3 and Luke 9:22).
  • God the Father refers to Jesus as His beloved Son (Matthew 3:16-17 and Mark 9:1-8).

Luke 20:14 “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.”

  • The husbandmen [land workers; farmers] saw the beloved Son and reasoned among themselves to kill Him (Luke 11:53-54, Luke 19:47-48, and Luke 22:1-2).
  • They wanted the inheritance for themselves (John 11:47-53).

Luke 20:15 “So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them?”

  • Remember, the leaders of the people persuaded the people to destroy Jesus and they jumped run in not caring about the consequences at all (Matthew 27:15-26).
  • They took Him outside the city and killed Him (Matthew 27:32-50; cf. Hebrews 13:12).

Luke 20:16 “He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others. And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.”

  • This, being a Parable, doesn’t mean God rejected all of Israel even though the Gentiles were given an inheritance (Romans 11:1-36; cf. Jeremiah 23:5-6, Matthew 1:21, and Acts 5:30-31).

Luke 20:17-18 “And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”

  • Psalms 118:22-24, Matthew 21:42-44, Acts 4:10-12, and I Peter 2:5-9

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.”

  • Again, we see the chief priests and scribes want to act against Jesus (Luke 19:47-48).
  • As Matthew & Mark record in parallel accounts, the fear of the people kept them from acting though they knew Jesus was speaking against them (Matthew 21:45-46 and Mark 12:12).
  • The ultimate plan will be to take Jesus by subtilty (Matthew 26:3-4).
  • They want to kill Jesus because His teaching was effective (Mark 11:18).

Luke 20:20 “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.”

  • Like as has long occurred regarding the wicked watching the righteous (Psalms 37:32 and Jeremiah 20:10), they watched Jesus as they had been doing on other occasions (Mark 3:2 and Luke 14:1).
  • They had been trying to catch Jesus in saying something for some time now (Luke 11:53-54).
  • These that had been sent feigned [pretended] to be just men (cf. Galatians 2:1-5 and Jude 1:4).
  • Those opposed to righteous set traps to snare the faithful (Psalms 10:4-11, Psalms 38:12, Psalms 56:5-6, Jeremiah 5:26-28, Jeremiah 11:19, and Mark 12:13).
  • So, it is wise to be cautious (Psalms 39:1-2, Proverbs 21:23, Amos 5:10-13, Colossians 4:5-6, and James 1:26).
  • The goal was to deliver Jesus to the governor. They will eventually accomplish that goal (John 18:28).

Luke 20:21-22 “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: Is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Caesar, or no?”

  • Remember, they are fakers (Luke 20:20).
  • They are attempting to use flattery with Jesus (Psalms 12:1-2, Psalms 28:3, and Proverbs 26:24-25) as a tactic to set a trap (Proverbs 29:5 and II Peter 2:1-3; II Peter 2:18).
  • Though they were using flattery, Jesus did teach rightly (John 18:20), did not respect persons (Matthew 18:10-14 and John 8:1-16), and taught the way of God truly (John 12:49 and John 14:10).
  • Jesus payed taxes not to offend (Matthew 17:24-27).

Luke 20:23-25 “But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.”

  • Jesus knew the thoughts of men, so they were no hiding their attempt to trap Him using flattery (cf. Matthew 12:25, Luke 5:22, and John 2:23-25).
  • Render unto Caesar the things which are his (Romans 13:5-7 and I Peter 2:13-17).

Luke 20:26 “And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.”

  • Again, the goal was to catch Jesus in His words (Luke 20:20).
  • As has been the goal in questioning Jesus (Mark 8:11).
  • We see here that they failed to “take hold” [seize; catch] His words (Proverbs 10:31-32).
  • They ultimately failed at their goal (Luke 20:39-40).
  • Their marveling is the same as saying they were made to wonder (cf. Luke 9:43). See: Strong’s # 2296

Luke 20:27-28 “Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.”

  • The Sadducees denied any resurrection (Acts 23:6-8).
  • This doctrine goes forward even impacting saints (I Corinthians 15:12).
  • The Law of Moses did teach a brother is to raise up seed unto his brother if the one should die without children (Deuteronomy 25:5-10).
  • This was also a law before Moses (Genesis 38:1-10).

Luke 20:29-33 “There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her to wife, and he died childless. And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.”

  • The premise of this question fails to realize that marriage applies to the flesh, not the spirit. Once one spouse dies, the living mate is free from that marriage (Romans 7:2 and I Corinthians 7:39).

Luke 20:34-36 “ And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”

  • cf. Mark 12:24-25 
  • The phrase, “The children of this world” can be used as a contrast to the children of light (cf. Luke 16:8). Clearly, this is not the case here.
  • The phrase here just is distinguishing those born of this world from the angels in Heaven. Such as Jesus distinguishing Himself (John 8:23).
  • Marriage is a carnal, earthly relationship (I Corinthians 7:1-5, Ephesians 5:31, and Hebrews 13:4).
  • Counted worthy to obtain… (Ephesians 4:1, I Thessalonians 2:12, and II Thessalonians 1:3-5).
  • To obtain the resurrection (Romans 6:3-6 and Philippians 3:7-14).
  • No marriage after the resurrection (Matthew 22:29-30).
  • No death after the resurrection (I Corinthians 15:53-54).
  • Equal unto the angels in being eternal, not in relationship (Hebrews 1:13-14).
  • Are the children of God (Romans 8:17-23 and I John 3:1-2).

Luke 20:37-38 “Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.”

  • Showed at the bush (Exodus 3:1-6 and Acts 7:29-32).
  • The statement is evidence that ceasing to exist on earth is not a ceasing to exist entirely (Luke 16:19-31, Luke 23:39-43, and Acts 2:27-31).
  • Faith in the resurrection is faith in not ceasing to exist (John 11:25-26).
  • Living UNTO God (II Corinthians 5:1-15 and Colossians 3:1-4).

Luke 20:39-40 “Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.”

  • We cannot read this as a compliment. In Mark’s account this Scribe asks Him one more question before the questions ended (cf. Mark 12:28-34).
  • This follow-up question was asked to tempt Jesus as Matthew’s account clarifies (Matthew 22:34-40).
  • Well-doing can silence the ignorance of foolish men (I Peter 2:11-15).

Luke 20:41-44 “And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son? And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies thy footstool. David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?”

  • cf. Matthew 22:41-46 and Mark 12:35-37
  • If one were talking solely about the bloodline, Jesus is the son of many men (Matthew 1:1-17 and Luke 3:23-38).
  • Jesus was often thought of as the Son of David (Matthew 9:27-31, Matthew 12:22-23, Matthew 15:21-28, Luke 18:35-43, etc.).
  • However, David himself said (Psalms 110:1). The point of David’s words (Acts 2:32-36).
  • The confirmation that Jesus did as prophesied (Hebrews 10:10-13).
  • Don’t mix up the physical with the true identity of Christ (Romans 1:3-4 and Romans 9:1-5).
  • Another Psalmist called Him God (Psalms 45:6-7; cf. Hebrews 1:8-13).
  • Handle the word of God aright (II Timothy 2:14-18). As we see in this lesson, one can use Scriptures and still get the whole point wrong (II Peter 3:15-18).
  • Be honest with the sacred text (II Corinthians 4:2).
  • Don’t be like the scribes (Matthew 5:20).
  • Jesus is/was MUCH more than the son of David (Acts 10:36).

Luke 20:45-47 “Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples, Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts; Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.”

  • Jesus teaching His disciples something in the presence of a multitude is not unique to this particular situation (Matthew 5:1ff., Matthew 23:1ff., Luke 12:1ff., etc.).
  • A rebuke of sinners does not need to be in private (I Timothy 5:19-20).
  • Beware of the scribes (Matthew 5:20, Matthew 7:24-29, Matthew 16:21, Matthew 20:18, Matthew 23:13-36, Mark 15:1, Luke 6:7, Luke 11:53-54, John 8:1-11, and Acts 4:1-22).
  • cf. Mark 12:38-40
  • The outward appearance of “faithfulness” doesn’t mean much at all (Isaiah 29:13, Isaiah 58:1-59:15, Ezekiel 33:30-33, Matthew 7:15, and Titus 1:16).

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24


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