ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Luke 20

Luke 20:1–8 as Jesus was teaching. See 19:47. Do these things describes Jesus’ cleansing of the temple, but also his healing and teaching in the temple. He is neither an official priestly authority nor a scribal authority. Was the baptism (that is, the ministry) of John . . . from heaven (that is, “from God”; 15:7, 18, 21) or from man (that is, did it have a merely human origin; see note on Matt. 21:25–27)? The opponents have no basis on which to assess Jesus’ ministry.

Luke 20:9–18 This parable, while spoken to the people (vv. 1, 9), is directed to Jesus’ opponents (19:47; 20:1; 19). It is intended as an analogy to show that God (the “owner,” v. 13) is taking away the kingdom from Israel (see note on Mark 12:1–12).

Luke 20:10–12 he sent. The man sent three servants, probably representing the OT prophets, to check on the tenants.

Luke 20:13 My beloved son recalls the words spoken by God the Father to Jesus at his baptism (3:22; compare Matt. 3:17).

Luke 20:14–15a “Let us kill him.” See 19:47. they . . . killed him. A clear allusion to Jesus’ approaching death.

Luke 20:15b The owner (literally, “lord”) represents God.

Luke 20:16 God will destroy those tenants. In a preliminary sense this happened during the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. In a fuller sense it refers to the final judgment. Surely not! The hearers have some sense that the parable applies to the people of Israel.

Luke 20:17 The stone . . . rejected has become the cornerstone (quoted from Ps. 118:22; see note on Mark 12:10). The rejected Son will become the Head of the church, the people of God.

Luke 20:18 Everyone who falls (compare Isa. 8:14–15; 1 Pet. 2:8) means everyone who rejects Jesus as the Messiah. When it falls on anyone refers to Christ coming back in judgment.

Luke 20:20 governor. Pontius Pilate.

Luke 20:22 Is it lawful? Some Jews believed that paying any tax to pagan rulers contradicted God’s lordship over his people.

Luke 20:25 render to Caesar. See note on Matt. 22:21. The denarius has Caesar’s image and represents the tribute they should give to him. Jesus adds a more important command: people should give to God that which bears his image and likeness, namely, themselves (see note on Rom. 12:1).

Luke 20:27 Sadducees. See notes on Matt. 3:7; 22:23. They were a priestly group. One view is that they claimed descent from Zadok, the high priest under David (1 Kings 1:26). who deny . . . a resurrection. This is the main issue in the following discussion.

Luke 20:28–31 Moses wrote. The Sadducees’ puzzle is based on the OT command that if a man dies leaving no children, his brother is to marry the widow and take care of her (see note on Matt. 22:24). all seven left no children and died. The example is carefully worked out so that no brother has a special claim to the woman.

Luke 20:33 In the resurrection . . . whose wife? Since neither Jesus nor the Pharisees could reply that she would equally be the wife of all seven, the Sadducees believed this illustration disproved the resurrection.

Luke 20:34–35 The coming age is different from this age in many ways. neither marry nor are given in marriage. See note on Matt. 22:29–30.

Luke 20:36 equal to angels. Angels are immortal. sons of God . . . sons of the resurrection. The believer’s relationship as a child of God becomes fully realized at the resurrection after Christ’s return (see Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:53–54).

Luke 20:37–38 When the Lord calls himself the God of Abraham and . . . of Jacob after their death, this indicates that he is still their God. Since he is not God of the dead, but of the living, then there must be a resurrection. See notes on Matt. 22:31–32; Mark 12:26–27.

Luke 20:41–44 How can they say that the Christ is David’s son? Jesus answers his own question. Scripture teaches that Jesus is more than David’s son. Jesus quotes Ps. 110:1: David . . . says . . . “The Lord (the God of Israel) said to my Lord” (the Messiah). See note on Mark 12:35–37. “Sit at my right hand.” The Lord (Messiah) is given the place of honor. Since David calls the Messiah his Lord, how is he his son? That is, how can Jesus be only David’s son? The Messiah is, in fact, greater than his father David, and thus David calls him Lord (see note on Matt. 22:41–46).

Luke 20:45–47 Beware of the scribes. See 11:45–53; 12:1. They walk . . . in long (attention-grabbing) robes (see note on Matt. 23:5). They love greetings and places of honor (see Luke 11:43; 14:7–8; see note on Matt. 23:7). While doing this, they devour widows’ houses (probably while managing their property) and for a pretense make long prayers (see Matt. 6:5–6). As a consequence, they will receive the greater condemnation (compare Matt. 23:13–36; Luke 11:37–52).