Wednesday evening meeting notes: Luke ,20

 

     I come from a strict fundamentalist upbringing and at the time I wondered how much of the strictness of the faith was of God and how much was of man.. One of the greatest gifts that I was given, however, was the importance of seeking the truth without twisting it to fit a preconceived notion or ideal that I want to embrace… I hope however, that I will not fall into the trap of declaring “my word” “God’s word” as is so often done by popes, cardinals, ministers and pastors alike. Any position in which souls look to another as a teacher could allow us to fall into this pit.. But I do not want , at the same time, to strain at a gnat and swallow a camel…This only means to resist, criticize, or bemoan something minor or inconsequential while ignoring or overlooking something much more serious or important. The expression originated in Matthew 23:24…..

As we pray and study we are enlightened according to God’s timing. When this happens we are faced with the decision, to ignore our new found revelation or proceed to tweak our lives accordingly.. Sometimes this decision is difficult ..sometimes it just becomes a natural progression of our lives but each bit of enlightenment is a gift from God. We should not insult our Lord by refusing his gifts to us..

So tonight I want to briefly mention what the Bible Say About Titles In the Church, Like “Reverend”, Pastor or “Bishop” , “Cardinal” or “Pope”?

Refering to Matthew 23:8–12 it says…..

8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

I have much to say about this statement from Christ. But for me tonight it is enough to consider the spirit of his commands..

Rather than gaining honour through titles and position, New Testament believers received honour primarily for their service and work…. (Acts 15:26: Rom. 16:1, 2, 4, 12; 1 Cor. 16:15, 16, 18; 2 Cor. 8:18; Phil. 2:29, 30; Col. 1:7, 4:12, 13; 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 3:1).

The early Christians referred to each other by personal names (Timothy, Paul, Titus), the terms “brother” or “sister,” or by describing an individual’s spiritual character or work: “Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5); “Barnabas, a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24); “Philip the evangelist” (Acts 21:8); “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 16:3)..

After considering this and actually much more I just want to say that..

I have been honoured by this bible study group bestowing the title of Pastor on me and when I see it written I look at it fondly because I know that it is an expression of your affection.. But I also understand that Christ didn’t want people to set themselves apart as special or more powerful in the church.. And for that reason I view us all as “Brothers” and “Sisters” in Christ… As for me I am Brother Gil… When I see our gathering taking shape, growing and maturing I am proud to be a part of it and proud to be Brother Gil, your brother in Christ…







We find ourselves tonight in Luke, chapter 20, and see that it has many similarities to afore mentioned stories in Mathew and Mark,

This setting is in the temple courts.

Something else is interesting; tonight is a Wednesday, and coincidentally, I believe that in the chronology of events, events in this chapter also happened on a Wednesday, 2000 years ago.

The stage is set in Luke chapter 20 just two days before Jesus would be crucified. He knew that this was to be, yet he pushed forward to fulfil his holy mission. A mission and process that we study and are awed by even to this day..

Luke saw Jesus in the temple courts overturning tables of buyers and sellers, of those who were selling animals and exchanging money for the temple shekel for the public worship.

And he drove them out.

Refer to the end of Luke Chapter 19 verses 45-47

“And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.”

47 “And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 and could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.” This is yet another example of the Scribes being ruled by the crowd. Public acceptance and adoration was the food of the Scribes and as such Jesus’ popularity was particularly threatening…

This was not the first time that Jesus had cleared the temple of merchants who preyed on the people coming to worship..

Refer to Mathew 21: 12…..

”And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves…..Incidentally, Doves were used as a burnt offering and many times were consumed in a form of communion…But This was at the beginning of his ministry three and a half years prior to what we are experiencing now in Luke 20…

Jesus now does it also, at the end of his ministry.

Now one would think, being priests, scribes, and scholars, Jesus doing this at the beginning and at the end of his ministry should've tipped them off about the significance of it, because there is a prophecy in the Old Testament book of Malachi, chapter 3.

It says, "And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple, even the Messenger of the covenant . . . and he will sit as a refiner and a purifier." Another step in the fulfilment of the old testament… 2 days forward, on the cross Christ will have fulfilled all and saved us all…

So, twice in his ministry, like bookends to his ministry, Jesus drove out, from the temple of God, in a public setting, those who are buying and selling in the temple, in God’s house.

And here's why:

Many of the people who came to the temple had travelled a long distance.

And because they travelled long distances, they didn't bring an animal with them to the worship, as was the tradition.

And so those business people in the temple thought, "We have an profitable solution for that.

Since you didn't bring an animal, we have animals we will sell to you." And so it went that at every opportunity to make money on the backs of honest people as they came to worship in the Temple.

Other people however, though they travelled long distances, did bring their own animals.

The problem is there were inspectors in the temple who looked over the animals and said,

"I'm sorry, there's a blemish. It's not suitable for worship. But they would tell you that they had a solution for that. "We'll sell you one of these other animals at an exorbitant rate and l take your animal as well.

What you wouldn’t know, as a traveller, is that later on, they would approve your animal and sell it to someone else..

Money changers were huge offenders because all money to be used in the temple needed to be of the current Temple coinage.. And the exchange rate that they charged was off the charts…

So Jesus arrives and drives them out and everybody is up in an uproar at this point, as you may well imagine.

Now, verse 1, "It happened on one of those days, as he taught the people in the temple and preached the gospel, that the chief priests and the scribes, together with the elders, confronted him and spoke to him, saying, 'Tell us, by what authority do you do these things?

"Now what "things" are they speaking of?

It was all of the things has been doing: Well in addition to clearing the temple of businessmen , his teaching, his preaching, his healing, his cleansing of the temple ,and his triumphant entry into Jerusalem just a couple days before..

All of those things that brought attention to him and adulation from the crowd has unnerved the political and religious elite, and now they confront him: by " 'What authority are you doing these things ?

"But he answered and said to them, 'I will ask you one thing, answer me:

The baptism of John---was it from heaven or from men?'

And they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'Well, if we say, "From heaven," then he's going to say, "Why then did you not believe him?"

But if we say, "From men," all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet.'

" Now that's the answer they wanted to give to Jesus. That's what they really believed. That was, to them, the right answer: "The baptism of John, that was from men; it wasn't from God." They denounced John as being a true prophet.

But all the people that were in the temple that day and that followed Jesus believed John was a true prophet.

So notice this response…., "And so they answered that they did not know where it was from.”

"Jesus said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.'

"Now Jesus was not being funny.

He was not being evasive.

He was being very, very wise and he was being very, very much like a rabbi as a Rabbi would often ask a question to deepen your thought process…

John’s baptism was not ritualistic but was a baptism that demanded repentance and change…..Thats why the scribes and Pharisees would not accept John.. Remember “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” 3 This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight .

It was a rejection of what they held most dear.. money, power, recognition rather than servitude and humility… It was the antithesis of their thinking process and their value system… Nor could they except Jesus for these same reasons but there was a political component with Jesus , because of the numbers of followers that he had everywhere he went… Gentiles and Jews alike ..This alone shook their very existence and threatened their status in the temple….

So they asked by what authority do you do these things? They wanted Jesus to deny the established authority in Jerusalem so that they could arrest him.. Their communication with Jesus in every situation was a predictable trap and this was no exception..

Then he turned his attention to the people and it says…..Beginning with verse 9….

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. 10 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. 11 And again he sent another servant: and they beat him also, and entreated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. 12 And again he sent a third: and they wounded him also, and cast him out. 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. 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. 15 So they cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do unto them? 16 He shall come and destroy these husbandmen, and shall give the vineyard to others.

And when they heard it, they said, God forbid. 17 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? 18 Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.



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. 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. 21 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: 22 is it lawful for us to give tribute unto Cæsar, or no? 23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? 24 Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Cæsar’s. 25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which be Cæsar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s. 26 And they could not take hold of his words before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.

Ok….This truely is a wonderful story..

Now……. it's not difficult to interpret the meaning of this parable.

And they understood exactly what Jesus was getting at.

In fact, " it says. "they perceived that Jesus spoke this parable against them."

They understood that a vineyard is often used in the Old Testament as a symbol of the nation of Israel: Isaiah, chapter 5; Jeremiah, chapter 2.

In those passages Israel is the vineyard of God, and a story, a similar story is told.

The landowner is God.

The vinedressers are the tenants, they're the rulers of Israel at that time in whose hands the nation is entrusted. There's a passage in Isaiah, chapter 5, and this would have rung a bell in their minds.

As Jesus told the story, they would have thought of this. Every scribe in that crowd, every Pharisee among that group would have known Isaiah, chapter 5.

It goes something like this: "Now let me sing to my Well-beloved a song of my Beloved concerning

[or regarding] his vineyard: For my Well-beloved had a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.

He dug it, he cast out its stones, he built a wall and a hedge about it. He put a watchtower in it, and he dug a winepress." That's all Isaiah, chapter 5.

And it says he expected that that vineyard would bring forth good grapes, but instead it brought forth wild grapes, bad fruit. And then the Lord says, "Hear, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, what shall I do with my vineyard?"

And he says, "I'll tell you what I'll do: I'll tear down its wall.

I'll burn it with fire.

I will lay it waste."

And then also in Isaiah, chapter 5, it says, "For the vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel."

Now we can see this parable as a glimpse into the future.

Because That very thing happened to Israel in 70 AD.

The Romans who occupied the land burned the temple, occupied the city. Judaism wasn't practiced like it has been practiced. Many were killed; others were taken captive.

But the story is also depicting a patient and merciful landlord ( who is God) who sent servant after servant until finally he sent his son…

The story is the history of the nation of Israel.

There were many prophets or servants sent to Israel and what did they do?

Did they say We have another prophet of God.? Praise the Lord ..Let's treat him with respect.? Love him, protect him and revere him ???

They didn't do it with Isaiah the prophet, the one who gave the original prophecy.

According to tradition he was sawn in two.

Can you imagine how horrible that would be? They sawed him in two.

That's even mentioned, I believe, and alluded to in Hebrews, chapter 11….

With Jeremiah the prophet who spoke in the name of the Lord.

They put him in a mud pit, the miry clay, and later on they stoned him to death.

The prophet Elijah had to run for his life because of death threats, also the prophet Amos.

The prophet Zechariah was murdered in the very temple courts themselves, according to Second Chronicles, chapter 24.

Prophet after prophet after prophet was not accepted, but was rejected by that nation.

Then God sent his Son, and they said, "Let's kill him."

Jesus encapsulated all of this in one simple story….

Then he looked at them and he said, 'what then is this that is written: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone"? Whoever falls on that stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.' The promise of destruction.. But what is with the switch from the vineyard to the cornerstone? What’s the connection?

Suddenly , not vines and wine and fruit and farmers, but now, abruptly, its a building made out of stones.

What is he doing?

Well, he's quoting a psalm that they, the people, the religious leaders believe to be a messianic Psalm; and that was Psalm 18, and he quotes from it.

The quote is this: "The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone."

Now the reason Jesus quotes the psalm they knew to be messianic is he is equating something that is rejected. The rejected stone in Psalm 18 and the rejected son in the parable Jesus just gave are exactly the same. They're one in the same.

A cornerstone is the most important part of a building.

Every other stone is laid on top of the cornerstone. It's the alignment stone.

It's the mass of stone that has to be cut so precisely and laid perfectly, because if not, every other stone that takes it is cue and its lines off of that stone is going to make for a very, very unreliable and crooked building. By the way, Peter himself will quote that psalm and make reference to this when he preaches in several more weeks after this event in this same temple courts.

Let me refresh your memory with that story.

Peter and John are in the temple, and they go up to the temple at the time of prayer. And they see a man who is paralyzed. He's lame and he's begging for money. And Peter says---remember the famous words?

"Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give to thee: In the name of Jesus……

Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk."

And the man was healed right there in the temple courts, And so the leaders, like here with Jesus, react to Peter. And they say, " What authority do you have to do this?

What name do you come to us with? What is the name you are using?"

It's a question of authority.

And Peter says this: "If we are being judged this day for a good deed done to a helpless man, then be it known unto you, and to all of the house of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ, whom you crucified, but whom God raised from the dead, does this man stand before you whole.

"He was the 'stone rejected by you builders, and has become the chief cornerstone.'

For there is salvation in no other name than the name of Jesus."

This is so powerful I want to stop right here and let you all digest this or internalise it…

I am so thankful that our Lord has never given up on me and sent servant after servant to take my hand and guide me in the right direction. I am grateful for his unending patience and I know that it is the same with all of us, as his children… He sees our worth when we loose sight of it ourselves and gives us a purpose if we only just open our hearts to him. Jesus our cornerstone is the perfect beginning to building a strong and durable life in this world and the next.

We are thankful this evening for your word and we ask that our understanding be deepened with each passing week. Bless this bible study to your use . Guide each and every one of us with your spirit, your light and your hand upon us.

We ask these things in Jesus name..

Amen