Luke

By Joyce Webb 2021

Chapter 20 Verses 19-38

Verse 19 (Jesus has just told a “parable”-(story) to the chief priests and scribes about a man who goes away—and leaves his vineyard to be taken care of by an overseer.

When the grapes were ripe, the man sent a servant to get some of the harvest, but the overseer killed him.

The man sent another servant—but he was killed also.

The man sent his son—thinking they would respect his son—but he was killed also.

This story was a picture of what happened to the Jewish people.

God called Abraham and his family to follow God and learn the ways of God. They were to teach others.

As the years went by, God sent prophets/preachers to the people to tell them how to live to please God. The people did not always want to hear what they said. Many of the prophet/preachers were beaten, put in jail, and sometimes killed.

Finally, God sent his Son, Jesus, to the Jewish people. They killed him, too.)

At the time that Jesus is telling this story, —the Jewish leaders are trying to find a way to kill Jesus.

In Verse 19, The Jewish leaders heard this story, and they understand that the story is about them trying to kill Jesus.

Verse 20 The leaders send out spies —-acting like part of the crowd—the spies were to listen to Jesus to try to find something he said that they could bring against him.

Verse 21 One of the spies asked Jesus a question—trying to get him to say something that they could blame him.

The spy speaks to Jesus. He calls him Master. First, he says nice things about Jesus. Then he says: Is it lawful or right for us (Jews) to give tribute-tax to Caesar (the Roman ruler in Rome)?

Jesus understood that the man was trying to make him say something wrong. So, Jesus said, Why are you tempting me?

Jesus said–Show me a penny. Who is the image on this coin?

They said, Caesar.

Verse 25 Jesus said to them—Give Caesar the things that belong to him, and give to God the things that belong to God.

Verse 26 The spies could not find anything wrong with the answer. They were surprised at how wise and clever Jesus was in giving that kind of answer.

The Jewish people were being ruled by the Romans. The Romans made them pay taxes. The Jewish people hated it. They hated that the Romans ruled over them. They hated that they had to pay taxes to Rome.

But that was the way things were. Rome was in charge. If you did not pay your taxes —-Roman “police” would come after you.

Many of the Jews were angry every time they had to pay these taxes.

Jesus knew that there was no changing the fact that Rome ruled.

So, they had to pay the tax. Why get in trouble speaking against it?

If Jesus had said, Do not pay the tax—-the Roman “police” would be after him.

Taxes are used to make roads, bridges, and other things for the people. So the taxes also help the people.

Jesus wisely said, Give Caesar his money (coin) back to him as he demands.

But give to God—offerings, and tithe money—that God has said to give.

The men who were spies—could not find fault with Jesus’ answer.

Verse 27 Next came a man who was part of the Jewish group called the Sadducees. They did not believe that there would be a resurrection of the dead. They believed once you died, that was the end.

So they asked Jesus a question. The question was about a rule from the Old Testament about when a man died and his wife and he did not have any children.

In the Jewish ways, a man’s land went to his son or daughter, after he died. That land was to stay in his family forever, generation after generation.

If a man had no children, then his “name” dropped out of existence and memory—and that was thought of as an awful thing.

So, the Jewish rule was, if a man had no children, then his brother was to marry his widow, and have a child with her. The widow kept the child and the child became hers with her first husband’s name, and that child would inherit the first husband’s family land.

So the Sadducee man made up this story/ question—that this happened to a family. The brother of the man was to have a child with the widow, but he died before there was a child born.

There were 7 brothers, each one kept dying before they had a child with the widow.

So, the man asked—In heaven, whose wife is she? Since all 7 men had her as a wife.

The man thought this was a really tricky question.

Verse 34 Jesus answered it quickly. There is no “marriage” in heaven. No one is a “wife” or “husband”.

Verse 34 Jesus said, Here in this world on earth, people marry.

(The reason for marriage is to have children and raise them so there continues to be people on the earth.)

(That is not needed in heaven.)

Verse 36 Jesus said They are equal unto the angels and are the children of God, and are children of the resurrection.

Jesus did not say that people become angels when they die.

Some people say that they do. You hear people talk about “getting wings” because they have died and gone to heaven.

Angels are a separate creation from men. People never become angels.

When Jesus said we become “equal” he meant—we are all God’s children. We are eternal.

Angels do not marry. In heaven, –people will not marry— or be “married” in heaven.

People often talk about dying and going to heaven to be with their wife or husband.

When they get to heaven, they will recognize that person as having been their wife or husband, but that relationship has ended. That was an earthly relationship. That relationship will not continue in heaven. Our relationships with others will be completely different than what was on earth.

Verse 37, 38 Jesus continued to show the Sadducee that resurrection of the dead was real. Jesus told how Moses called the Lord as “the God of Abraham , Isaac and Jacob“. Jesus said, He is not the God of the dead, he is the God of the living.

If God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob —then they must be living—because He is still their God.

They were living in heaven —or at that time “Abraham’s bosom” or “paradise”.

Before Jesus died on the cross and came alive from the dead–people who were righteous and had died—went to a waiting place called “paradise” or some called it “Abraham’s bosom” (bosom meaning chest, heart—in the arms of –near the heart)

After Jesus died on the cross and paid the punishment for sin. After he came alive after death and broke the power of death—then those people in paradise were taken into heaven.

Now, when people who have been forgiven of their sin, —when they die—their spirits go directly into heaven.

It seems we have a spiritual body—-for a time.

Later, our earthly bodies will be resurrected and changed into a body that will live forever.

The Bible does not completely explain all of that in detail.

We get the understanding of this–from several verses– from several books of the Bible.