Luke Part 3 Week 12

Day 1 

RECEIVE 

Luke 20:14-15 

¹⁴ “But when the tenant farmers saw his son, they said to each other, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ ¹⁵ So they dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him. What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” Jesus asked. 

The owner had planted a vineyard and leased it to tenant farmers. Servants who had been sent to get their master’s share of the crop had been severely mistreated and driven away. Then the owner thought he would send his cherished son to get his share of the crop. The tenant farmers not only mistreated him, they “dragged him out of the vineyard and murdered him.” Notice Jesus’ question, “What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do to them?” 

REFLECT 

Had you been in the crowd of listeners that day, what would you have thought was the answer to Jesus’ question? 

RESPOND 

When witnessing to others about Jesus, it is good to ask them a question, such as, “Have you believed in Jesus for salvation?” Then you need to discipline yourself to stop talking and give others opportunity to think and answer. Silence can seem uncomfortable to you, but it is needed.  

Day 2 

RECEIVE 

Luke 20:16-17 

¹⁶ “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” “How terrible that such a thing should ever happen,” his listeners protested. ¹⁷ Jesus looked at them and said, “Then what does this Scripture mean? ‘The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.’” 

Jesus then answered His own question. The owner would kill those who had killed his son. The crowd thought it was terrible for the owner to do that. In answering His critics, Jesus cited Psalm 118:22, of which they should have been aware. Judgment would be executed on those who killed his special son.  

REFLECT 

Although every detail need not be stressed in this story Jesus told, it is clear He was referring to Himself.  

RESPOND 

Visit with a friend about Jesus sometimes being referred to as God’s “only begotten Son.” Some think that indicates God was married and had a son. That was not what that expression means. Isaac is said in some Bible translations to be Abraham’s “only begotten son” (Hebrews 11:17). Isaac was not Abraham’s only son; in fact, he was not even Abraham’s oldest son. He was Abraham’s special son.  

Day 3 

RECEIVE 

Luke 20:18-19 

¹⁸ “Everyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on.” ¹⁹ The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people’s reaction. 

Although it may not have been clear to the crowd to whom Jesus was referring in the story, the religious leaders knew it referred to them. They understood themselves to be the “wicked farmers” in the story. They wanted to have Jesus arrested, but public sentiment kept them from doing it.  

REFLECT 

This reveals again that many in the masses believed in Jesus and this kept the unbelieving religious leaders from carrying out what they wanted to do with Jesus.  

RESPOND 

During the present time, the Holy Spirit working through believers is restricting evil. When the body of Christ is taken to glory to be with Jesus, this resistance will be removed (see 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8). This is because the indwelling Holy Spirit, the restrainer, Who resides in believers will be removed and His special residence changed from earth to heaven as it was in the Old Testament.  

Day 4 

RECEIVE 

Luke 20:20-22 

²⁰ Watching for their opportunity, the leaders sent spies pretending to be honest men. They tried to get Jesus to say something that could be reported to the Roman governor so he would arrest Jesus. ²¹ “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. ²² Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 

The unbelieving religious leaders wanted to arrest Jesus and feared the crowd so they tried something else. They sent spies to act like honest men to ask Jesus a question. Their hopes were that they would be able to trap Him. As a Jew, they thought Jesus would be opposed to paying taxes to Caesar. With their question they surely thought they had trapped Jesus. 

REFLECT 

Have you had a question asked you that it was apparent someone was trying to trap you into saying something you would not otherwise say? One might be, “Are there hypocrites in your church?” 

RESPOND 

The Christian’s responsibility to the government is stated in Romans 13:1-7. This was written by the apostle Paul some years after Jesus was asked the question by the spies. The answer Jesus gave, however, serves as guidelines for believers.  

Day 5 

RECEIVE 

Luke 20:23-26 

²³ He saw through their trickery and said, ²⁴ “Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. ²⁵ “Well then,” he said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” ²⁶ So they failed to trap him by what he said in front of the people. Instead, they were amazed by his answer, and they became silent. 

Jesus stumped the spies with His answer that included an object lesson with a coin. They had failed to trap Him as they had hoped and had nothing else to say. Believers in Jesus have a responsibility to their heavenly citizenship and also to their earthly citizenship.  

REFLECT 

Does this passage help you to think about your responsibility to your government and also to Jesus and His rule in your heart? 

RESPOND 

With a friend read about the apostle Paul and what he said about citizenship. In Acts 16:35-40 he made an issue about his Roman citizenship after he and Silas were beaten and jailed in Philippi. In Philippians 3:17-21 he emphasized to believers their citizenship is in heaven. Surely that caused his readers to remember the incident in Philippi.