Authority   Luke 20:1-18

This post concerns the authority of Jesus to cleanse and teach in the temple.

Authority as a post discusses how Jesus dealt with the religious leaders when asked about cleansing and teaching.

After earlier cleaning the temple, Jesus continued to teach, Luke 20:1-2. “One day… teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came… “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who… gave you this authority.”

Jesus answered by asking them a question, Luke 20:4. “…was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”

John had said that Jesus was the Son of God. If they believed John, they would have accepted Jesus and understood His authority. Now they were afraid to explicitly state that John’s baptism was from man, because they were afraid the people would stone them. They did not want to say John was from God because they had rejected what he said about Jesus. So, they said they did not know.

Due to this answer, Jesus also would not answer these men who had already decided in their hearts to reject Him.

So, Jesus immediately told the crowd a story that illustrated His authority and rejection by these religious leaders, Luke 20:9. “And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country…”

The man repeatedly sent servants for his share of the crop. The tenants abused the servants and gave them nothing. He then sent his beloved son. They killed him thinking they would then get the vineyard. Instead, the owner came and destroyed them and gave the vineyard to others.

The audience sensed that the parable applied to the Old Testament prophets and the current religious leaders and said, “Surely not!” Jesus quoted Ps. 118:22 about builders rejecting a stone that became the chief cornerstone to show that His rejection by the religious leaders was prophesied.

So, what did we learn?

1.The religious leaders did not believe John and now rejected Jesus also.

  1. In the future, they will be destroyed and the kingdom given to others.

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