Bible Study series: Luke 20:20-26. This section of Scripture never fails. I always marvel at it. Every. Time.
Friendly greetings and a warm welcome to this Bible study! I write to learn, so let’s learn together.
I also translate to learn. The translations are mine, unless otherwise noted. If you would like to see many others, please click here:
In the next link to the original chapter, I comment more and offer the Greek text. At the bottom you will find a “Summary and Conclusion” section geared toward discipleship. Check it out!
In this post, links are provided for further study.
Let’s begin.
Scripture: Luke 20:20-26
20 Lying in wait, they sent spies pretending to be fair-minded, so that they could catch him by his statement and thus hand him over to the rule and jurisdiction of the governor. 21 They inquired of him, saying, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly and show no favoritism, but you truly teach the way of God. 22 Is it lawful to give tribute tax to Caesar or not?” 23 He detected their craftiness and said to them. 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Therefore give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 26 Then they were unable to catch him in his word in front of the people, and marveling at his answer, they fell silent. (Luke 20:20-26)
Comments:
20:
“they”: this carries over from the beginning of the chapter. They were the chief priests, the teachers of the law, and elders. Or the Jerusalem establishment, including top-level Pharisees.
“lying in wait”: It can mean, depending on the context: “watch closely, observe carefully … watch (maliciously), lie in wait, watch one’s opportunity; watch, guard.” Clearly watching maliciously and lying in wait is intended here.
“pretending”: it’s where we get our word hypocrisy.
“Fair-minded”: it could be translated as “just” or righteous.”
8 Righteousness of the Kingdom
“statement”: it could be translated as “word,” but statement works too.
The governor is Pilate, and the historian Josephus says he was brutal.
21:
All of these words were flattery and hypocritical, but they were true in an objective sense. It’s a bad idea to accept flattering words, even if true. Just stand there and smile, as you wait for the hypocrisy to come out.
“Show favoritism” could be translated literally as “take their faces” as in welcoming their appearance. Remember God’s word to Samuel, as he was called to anoint Israel’s second king?
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7, NIV)
When you teach, don’t show favoritism. Recall the words in James’s epistle:
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. (Jas. 2:1-9, NIV)
That passage is about seating someone in church, but it can extend to our showing favoritism to rich donors or teaching that is geared to keep things extra-friendly and not offending anyone. Jesus was not afraid to offend people, when called on, but not flippantly or frivolously. Recall Jesus’s pronouncements of woes on the religious leaders (Luke 11:37-54). He is about to denounce the teachers of the law in vv. 45-47. His strategy was to tell the truth to oppressors. Be careful not to denounce your brothers and sisters with whom you happen to disagree, when you have extra-restrictive theology and they have a larger theology.
22:
And here’s the question about paying the tribute or tax to Caesar. If he said something like, “I oppose Caesar with all my heart! I tell everyone listening, ‘Thus saith the Lord! Don’t pay your taxes! Let’s start a revolt right now!’” then his enemies would have reported this defiant reply to the governor, who would have come out and arrested him at the wrong time, before the connection to Passover. He was going to be the Passover lamb who would die for the sin of the whole world (1 Cor. 5:6; John 1:29). The flow of events would have been out of line. He had a higher and different mission, from God. If he had said that they should pay the tax to Caesar, then they could have accused him of being a Roman sympathizer and lose his credibility with the populace.
Instead, his answer is going to be brilliant and revealing.
23-24:
He used discernment to detect their craftiness. When your opponents try to trap you, pray. Don’t give in to it.
“craftiness”: it is the noun panourgia (pronounced pan-oor-gee-ah, and the “g” is hard as in “get”). It could be translated literally as “all work,” as in doing anything to win or trap you. Your opponent has no moral center and will bend or break the rules to win or trap you.
Recall that Jesus lived in an honor-and-shame society. When someone wins, the other guy loses or is shamed. People wrongly believe that Jesus was meek and mild out in public, as if he would just stand there and say nothing, but let his opponents steamroll right over him, as he sneaked off in defeat. These interpreters must be getting their bad ideas from a misreading of his trial, which is about to happen. Even in that case he replied. In his public ministry, he also answered back their questions and devious strategies. He shamed them in public. No, don’t do this to shy people who mean you no harm, but stand up to the bullies. There is nothing wrong if you win the debate, and they slink away and not bother you again.
25:
Caesar’s image and inscription are on the coin, which, representing the entire worldly economy, belongs to him or his administration as represented by him. Jesus’s kingdom does not belong to or is tied down by this kingdom. His kingdom rises above it. Instead, his answer is going to be brilliant and revealing. Even his opponents were amazed.
Caesar’s image and inscription are on the coin, which, representing the entire worldly economy, belongs to him or his administration as represented by him. Jesus’s kingdom does not belong to or is tied down by this kingdom. His kingdom rises above it. However, let’s not overlook the truth that ultimately all kingdoms are overseen by God. In his sovereignty, he is the Lord of the world, not Caesar, though all government officials nowadays may believe that they are.
Key online and TV Bible teachers have said that the unstated implication is the humans have God image embedded in them (Gen. 1:26-27). People have the image of God restored to them by entering the kingdom of God and following him. They find their true identity in him, not in seeking their own way and their own image. It is best to let God make his image in them.
One prominent NT scholar said on youtube that this passage does not separate off Caesar’s kingdom from God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom overarches and influences Caesar’s kingdom. That’s partly true, for God’s kingdom should influence kingdoms of the world. However, God’s kingdom is eternal, while the earth-bound kingdoms are all doomed to pass away. So this passage does separate off God’s kingdom from Caesar’s. But see my comments just above, for a slightly contrary view. God in his sovereignty does rule over everything–but at the same time he offers people free will to go their own way.
Jesus’s answer was brilliant. This was a word of wisdom, delivered by the Spirit of God from the Father (see 1 Cor. 12:10).
1. Gifts of Spirit: Word of Wisdom
Some say all of Jesus’s miracles and wisdom were brought out by the Spirit; others say most or all were done by his divine nature, which he took with him when he left heaven. The dominant picture of Jesus is that he worked by the Spirit; the Spirit worked through him by the Father’s will (Acts 10:38). He was the “Anointed One.”
He does only what he sees his Father doing (John 5:19). He lives because of the Father (John 6:57). He stands with the Father (John 8:16). The Father knows him, and he knows the Father who sent him (John 8:16). He speaks only what the Father taught him (John 8:28). The Father knows him, and he knows the Father (John 10:15). The Father loves him because he lays down his life (John 10:17). He and his Father are one. He does what he sees the Father does (John 10:37). “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). What Jesus says is just what the Father told him to say (John 12:49-50, John 12:57).
Perhaps the most important verse about miracles and surrender: “I have shown you many miracles from the Father” (John 10:32).
Jesus never lost his divine attributes, nor did he set or lay them aside. Rather, he kept them, but surrendered and submitted them to the Father. So the Spirit anointed him to do miracles, but even the Spirit surrendered and obeyed the Father. Jesus surrendered to and obeyed the Father, who hid his Son’s divine attributed behind Jesus’s humanity. So through the Son Jesus, the Triunity worked the miracle.
4. Two Natures in One Person: Tough Questions
Now let’s move on from systematic theology.
Jesus preached neither revolution or revolt against Rome, nor did he preach accommodation. He rose above it. “He stated a principle, not an accommodation or a compromise. This principle appears in the classic passage on Christian social ethics (Ro 13:1-7). Not only is giving what the government requires not antithetical to religious duty—such giving is a part of religious duty” (Liefeld and Pao, comment on vv. 24-25).
26:
“They were unable”: this means it was not possible or they did not have the ability or capacity to catch him. They tripped on their own “extra-clever” foolishness.
“in front of the people”: As noted, in public Jesus would not allow people, particularly opponents, to shame him. Just the opposite. He shamed them in the sense of their going through dishonor. They fell silent. They lost. He won. The crowds witnessed their shame and his victory. That is the honor and shame society.
For many years now there has been a teaching going around the Body of Christ that says when Christians are challenged, they are supposed to slink away or not reply. This teaching may come from the time of Jesus’s trial when it is said he was as silent as a sheep (Acts 8:32). No. He spoke up then, as well (Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:32; Luke 23:71; John 18:19-23; 32-38; 19:11). Therefore, “silence” means submission to the will of God without resisting or fighting back. But here he is about to reply to the test and pass it. Get into a discussion and debate with your challengers. Stand toe to toe with them.
Further, during his ministry, he did not cower or surrender. He fought back. His growing movement and lives were at stake. If he let his opponents get away with their criticism, his silence could have been misinterpreted as weakness, so he would not have been worthy to be followed. The listeners would have gone home, and rightly. “He’s not sure of his own message? He lets the religious leaders walk all over him? He’s not the Messiah!” Often silence can be misinterpreted as agreement. And if the sparring match is over eternal truths (as distinct from nonessential issues), don’t give in to your erroneous and broken opponents.
No, don’t be rude or contemptuous or defiant or stubborn, especially when you don’t know very much of Scripture or basic doctrine or particularly to your pastor who has a good heart and knows the Word. But if the Scripture is really, really clear, be firm and resolute about your interpretation of such issues as healing is for today or Christ is the Lord, or sin should not be accepted in the church, despite the culture’s pressure to compromise (e.g. about same-sex marriages).
In any case, Jesus brilliantly separated off the Roman empire from the kingdom of God.
However, his accusers at his trial or arraignment before Pilate accuse him of these crimes:
1 “Then the whole group of them got up and led him to Pilate. 2 They began to accuse him, saying, ‘We have found this man to be misleading our nation and forbidding them from giving tribute to Caesar and saying of himself that Christ is king’” (Luke 23:1-2).
So the accusations were false.
GrowApp for Luke 20:20-26
A.. Read Gen. 1:26-27. You have God’s image in you. With this image, how do you belong to God, like a coin with Caesar’s image and inscription belongs to Caesar?
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1. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Introduction to Series
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND MORE
To see the bibliography, please click on this link and scroll down to the bottom. You will also find a “Summary and Conclusion” for discipleship.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 