Luke 20, a visual study from The Lampstand Project.
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.
By whose authority? The parable of the wicked tenants. Taxes and Caesar. The resurrection question. David’s Son and Lord. Woe to the scribes. The widow’s offering.
Three movements. Authority and vineyard, three traps, the widow.
Luke 20 is the great controversy chapter in the temple. The religious leaders challenge Jesus on authority. He counters with a parable that indicts them directly. They send spies to trap him on taxes. The Sadducees try to trap him on resurrection. He silences them all. Then he turns the tables: whose son is the Christ? And he ends with the widow, who puts in everything she has.
A chapter in 3 movements.
Tap any numbered marker to read its part
“Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
By whose authority? The wicked tenants. The cornerstone.
The chief priests and scribes with the elders confront him: tell us by what authority you do these things. He asks them: was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? They discuss: if we say from heaven, he will say why didn’t you believe him. If from man, the people will stone us. They answer: we do not know. Jesus: neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
He tells the parable of the wicked tenants. A man plants a vineyard and lets it out to tenants. When the season comes he sends a servant for fruit. They beat him. He sends another. And another. Then his beloved son. The tenants: let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours. He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. The scribes and chief priests seek to arrest him at that very hour, perceiving he told this parable against them.
“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.”
“Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
The tax question. Resurrection. Whose son is the Christ?
They send spies who pretend to be sincere, in order to catch him so as to hand him over to the authority of the governor. They ask: is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? He sees their craftiness and says: show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have? Caesar’s. Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s. They cannot catch him in the presence of the people.
Sadducees, who deny there is a resurrection, ask about a woman married to seven brothers. In the resurrection, whose wife is she? Jesus: in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage. God is not God of the dead but of the living — all live to him. How can scribes say the Christ is David’s son? David himself says in Psalm 110: the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand. David calls him Lord, so how is he his son? Then: beware of the scribes who devour widows’ houses.
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.”
“This poor widow has put in more than all of them.”
The widow’s offering. Everything she had.
Jesus looks up and sees the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and sees a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He says: truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.
The widow’s offering is placed immediately after the warning about scribes who devour widows’ houses. The contrast is total. Those who appear most religious are consuming the most vulnerable. The one who appears to give least is giving everything. This is the judgment that runs through the entire Passion Week: what looks like wealth is poverty, and what looks like poverty is the kingdom of God.
“He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
The question about taxes is a trap designed to force Jesus to either alienate the crowd or give the authorities grounds to arrest him. His answer does not resolve the tension between the two realms but holds them together: give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God. The question underneath is: what bears God’s image? The one made in the image of God owes himself entirely to God.
The chapter of questions in the temple.
The chief priests and scribes confront him: tell us by what authority you do these things. He asks them about John’s baptism. They cannot answer without risk. Neither will I tell you. He tells the parable of the wicked tenants: the vineyard owner sends servants who are beaten, then sends his son who is killed. The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. They perceive the parable is told against them.
Spies are sent to catch him: is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar? He sees through their craftiness. Show me a denarius — whose image is on it? Caesar’s. Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. They cannot trap him. Sadducees ask a trick question about resurrection. Jesus answers: God is not God of the dead but of the living. He asks: how can the Christ be David’s son if David calls him Lord? Then beware of the scribes. And a widow puts in two small coins — all she had.
“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.”Luke 20:17 ESV
All scripture quoted from the English Standard Version (ESV). A study from The Lampstand Project.