Day 36 - Tuesday, Conflict and Contrast

On Tuesday, Jesus had several encounters with religious leaders…Scribes, Pharisees, members of the Sadducees…and none of them turned out well.  It was an encounter near the Temple, later in the day that changed the tone to one of contrast with a humble faith.

The day began with a parable that spoke of what the Jewish leaders were doing to the nation.  Then in a series of encounters, that Luke records, we see Jesus facing His accusers and with wisdom  he deals with their attempts to embarrass him in public and exposes the nature of “religion” over faith.

Luke 20:9-47 ⁹  And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.
¹⁰  When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
¹¹  And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
¹²  And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out.
¹³  Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’
¹⁴  But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’
¹⁵  And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
¹⁶  He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”
¹⁷  But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
¹⁸  Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
¹⁹  The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

The plot thickens as Jesus tells a parable – a story – that illustrates what is about to happen to their religion.  The scribes, Pharisees, religious elders and Chief Priests controlled the machinery of the Temple and the Jewish religion.  Yet it was not a Faith, but an institution where the bottom line always ruled.  They cared about Money and Power and used their positions to control the rest of the nation – not for God’s sake, but for their own.

Religion is never a solution because it’s always about rules and regulations where one human being serves to dictate the norms to another human – all in the guise of “this is God’s will”. 

Religion is a substitute to relationship.  It is human pride saying – as Adam and Eve were tempted to say – “If you do this, you’ll be like God.”  This pride will always fail.

What Jesus offered his followers was a living relationship with God, and by virtue of following Him, knowledge of the Way, the Truth and the Life.  A relationship with God that is personal and corporately shared in fellowship will always trump the person going through the religious motions.

Religion is focused on rules, duties to be acceptable, and on being right…not humble.

²⁰  So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. ²¹  So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God.
²²  Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”
²³  But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them,
²⁴  “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”
²⁵  He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
²⁶  And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.

The religious leaders, the elders approached him seeking to get Him to have to choose between their religious authority and the Roman religion of Caesar as god.  That failed because Jesus wisely responded that paying what is due the state is not a choice for the Caesar to be god…in fact, He makes it clear, Caesar is not God.  It merely represents paying that which belongs to Caesar, and God’s things are to God.

There were a couple of more encounters worth reading in this section..each time Jesus responds with wisdom that takes their attempts of usurping His teaching with their own brand of religious power.  Finally, it is Jesus who speaks up and makes a statement:

⁴⁵  And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples,
⁴⁶  “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,
⁴⁷  who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Beware of religion – out there, and in our selves.  It is dangerous because it makes a pretense without the reality, and it is sure to fail – even be condemned.

Now, at some time during this day, something happens that is a direct contrast to the false spiritual leaders He encountered.  While in the Temple, our Lord sees a widow offer two small coins and declares her gift to be greater than those of the others.

Luke 21:1-4 ¹  Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, ²  and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
³  And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.
⁴  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

The difference between religious pride and humility of faith stand in stark contrast.  The religious pride of the elders, Sadducees, Scribes and Priestly leaders is one that leads them to challenge Jesus at every turn. 

They don’t want to follow him; they want to dictate the demands of religion in order to control the people.

They are not coming to him to learn, or seek truth; rather they are coming to trip Him up, and seek to overturn the authority He has with their own.

The widow by contrast doesn’t want power, nor recognition.  She enters humbly to worship the living God.  She does not have a lot, but what she does have she gives freely to honor and worship God.

It’s worth our while to stop and realize Jesus was impressed; and if Jesus is impressed, so should we.

When the day is over, He returns at night to Bethany. 

Peace