College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Luke 20:41-47
Butler's Comments
SECTION 5
Rationale of Christ's Glory (Luke 20:41-47)
41 But he said to them, How can they say that the Christ is David's son? 42For David himself says in the Book of Psalms,
-The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand, 43till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.-' 44David thus calls him Lord; so how is he his son?
45 And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples, 46Beware of the scribes, who like to go about in long robes, and love salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, 47who devour widows-' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.
Luke 20:41-44 Lord: Immediately after hearing Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, a lawyer (also a Pharisee) came to Jesus with a sincere desire to know the greatest commandment in the law. Matthew and Mark record Jesus-' answer (Matthew 22:34-40; Mark 12:28-34), but Luke omits it and goes on to record the question Jesus put to the Pharisees concerning the identity of the Messiah.
This quotation and question of Jesus from Psalms 110:1-7 is probably His clearest claim to deity recorded by the synoptic gospels. John's gospel, of course, records quite a number of Jesus-' clear claims to deity, but the Synoptists are more interested in documenting His claims to be the Messiah.
Jesus knew that He would soon be arrested and charged with blasphemy because at the beginning of His second year of public ministry the Jews became aware He was making Himself equal with God (cf. John 5:18). Now, with the end of His life on earth very near, it was imperative that He prove to the Jews from their own Scriptures that if He was the Messiahand the multitudes here at the Passover-time were unquestionably shouting that He wasHe was also Lord God. His claims to be Messiah, however opaque or transparent at different times, was not what enraged the Jewish rulers. They did not, of course, concede to His messiahship since He did not fit their materialistic preconceptions about the Christ. But they never threatened Him about thatfor to have done so would have agitated the multitudes against them. What the Pharisees and scribes continually threatened Him for was His claims to deity. Jewish theologians, for the most part, were never able to understand that the Messiah was to be God Incarnate, and they still do not believe it (see comments on previous text). All Jews are able to answer the first question (as Matthew 22:41-42) Jesus asked, What do you think of the Christ? Whose son is he? They would all answer, The son of David! But they cannot, or will not, answer the second question Jesus asked, How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit (Matthew 22:43), calls him Lord.. or as Luke recorded it, For David himself says, in the book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet. David thus calls him Lord; so now is he his son? In other words, How can the Messiah be both the son of David and Lord of David?
The thrust of Jesus-' second question was to demonstrate (from David's writings) that the Messiah was to be more than David's sonindeed the Messiah was to be David's Lord God. The statement of David in Psalms 110:1 can be understood in no other way. There David represents Jehovah speaking to David's Lord (Heb. Adonai), who is also David's Son, enthroning Him at Jehovah's right hand (co-equal). Jesus is pleading with the Pharisees and scribes to open their hearts to their own Scriptures and believe what God had centuries before promised. Any one of them could have grasped the revelation of God about the Incarnation from their own prophets, had they really wanted to, for some prophecies, at least, were plain enough, (Isaiah 7:14; Isaiah 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; Malachi 3:1-3).
This was the most pertinent question, then, or ever. It went to the very heart of the animosity those Jewish rulers had for Jesus. Had they acknowledged the Messiah to be God they would not have been bothered by politics, immortality or keeping God's commandments. It is still the most pertinent question. Men must make up their minds today as to the identity of Jesus of Nazareth. Essentially, the question Jesus asked here is the same question He knew He had to have settled in the minds of the apostles when He asked at Caesarea Philippi, Who do you say that I am? (cf. Luke 9:20). The book of Hebrews in the New Testament, written by the apostle Paul, a former Pharisee, gives a thrilling exposition of Psalms 110:1-7 (cf. Hebrews 5:6; Hebrews 7:17; Hebrews 7:20-22) teaching from it both the humanity and deity of Jesus and His eternal priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek. One would expect Jewish priests and scribes to have seen this from their own scriptures, but it was not their desire to do so (see special study, this volume, The Messianic Hope, pages 461-466, and notes from Isaiah, Vol. III, by Paul T. Butler, College Press, pgs. 277-280 and pgs. 415-418).
It is significant that in Jesus-' question about the identity of the Messiah, He added an answer to each of the previous questions asked of Him. To the Sadducees, who did not accept any of the Old Testament except the Pentateuch, Jesus said (as Matthew records, Matthew 22:43) that David wrote Psalms 110:1-7 by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. To the Pharisees who rejected the concept that the Messiah could be God Incarnate Jesus said Psalms 110:1-7 predicts the Messiah will be David's Lord (God in the flesh). For the multitudes it is not only a revelation of His deity, but also a warning to those who are plotting to crucify Him of the terribleness of the deed.
Luke 20:45-47 Legislator: Luke now summarizes Jesus-' great denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees which Matthew records in much detail (cf. Matthew 23:1-39). The details concerning Jewish scribes and Pharisees would not be of much interest to Luke's Gentile readers, and since Matthew had treated the subject thoroughly and Luke himself had documented an earlier denunciation of the scribes by Jesus (Luke 11:37-54), he simply summarizes here.
Jesus-' condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees means He claims the right to judge men's motives and actions. His rationale for deity comes from scripture (Psalms 110:1 ff.) and from His very evident power to actually discern the thoughts and intents of men's hearts as He does here.
Beware, He commands, to the crowds, His disciples, and even to the Pharisees themselves, of the scribes.. Before the nation could be won to Jesus-' spiritual kingdom, the false teachers and their worldliness and hypocrisy had to be exposed for what it was. He challenged His disciples and the multitudes to disown the whole false system the Pharisees had imposed on the nation. These religious leaders loved the wrong thing. The motive for everything they did was self-centered. Pride and power were the motives for their actions, They loved to go about in long robes, to be saluted in the market places as Rabbi, Master, and the chief seats of honor in the synagogues and at feasts. Pride and lust for power always produces unmercifulness and greed. They devoured widows-' houses, all the while making a pretense to be very religious by reciting long prayers. Josephus records that the Pharisees had especial influence over wealthy women accepting hospitality and rich presents from them, devouring their riches for their own political purposes. The wife of Pheroras, brother of Herod the Great, paid the fines of thousands of Pharisees who had been fined for refusing to swear loyalty to Caesar. The Talmud gives evidence of the plundering of widows. The Pharisees and scribes claimed a very exact knowledge of the law and a perfect observance of it. They pretended to stand for justice toward the poor, friendship for the distressed and were willing to aid those who were in financial straits. They could therefore induce widows and poor people to commit the management of their property to them as guardians and executors, and then took advantage of them and defrauded them. The Talmud records the warning given by Alexander Jannaeus (Maccabean ruler) to his wife on his death-bed against trusting any advice of the Pharisees.
These are the last recorded words Jesus ever spoke to the Pharisees and scribes (except at His trial), and they were words of judgment and condemnation. And even these words are spoken with a broken heart, hoping at the last moment to drive them to repentance. He can do no more. If they now refuse both their own scriptures and His demonstrations of deity, judgment must come and they will receive the greater condemnation for they have been granted the greater privilege and have spurned it! Truly, they filled up the measure of their fathers (Matthew 23:32) and Jesus was forced by their obstinacy to forsake them and leave them with their house desolate (Matthew 23:37-39).
So ended the public prosecution of Jesus. The Pharisees and Sadducees never attempted to publicly discredit Jesus again. He answered all their questions with divine wisdom and, what they thought would ruin His reputation, began to work toward their own ruin. It was a tragi-comedy of trifles. The Pharisees and Sadducees and Herodians pretended to raise the fundamental issues of life. Jesus revealed that the fundamental issue of human life is to identify and surrender to the God who became Incarnate in the Son of David. Everything else in man's life is peripheral. To put anything before this is trafficking in trifles.
STUDY STIMULATORS:
1.
Would referral to John's baptism still be, a good answer to anyone (especially religious leaders) today who would challenge Jesus-' identity and authority?
2.
Is the parable of wicked husbandmen who refused to give the Owner his due only applicable to the Jewish nationor could it be applied to anyone now? Who?
3.
If Jesus expected the Jews of His day to have read and understood the Old Testament prophecies referring to the Messiah and to have seen their fulfillment in Him, what does He expect of Jews today? What about Gentiles?
4.
Why is the key-stone of man's relationship to God a Person, Jesus, instead of a religious system, or plan of salvation?
5.
How did Jesus react to the flattery of the Pharisees and Herodians? What should the Christian do about flattery?
6.
How should a Christian look upon paying taxes to his government?
7.
Would it be wrong for a Christian to serve in the armed forces of his country? Just what should be rendered to Caesar by the believer?
8.
Where should the Christian stand on civil disobedience?
9.
What is the basis upon which most unbelievers reject the idea of life after death?
10.
What is the only viable evidence that there is life after death? Why?
11.
If there is no marriage in heaven, how can there be any enjoyment?
12.
Why should the Jews of Jesus-' day have understood that the Messiah was to be God in the flesh? Why didn-'t they? Is that a problem for people today? How is it to be answered?
Special Study
THE MESSIANIC HOPE
by Paul T. Butler
The Old Testament made many glorious promises in connection with the Messianic hope. Isaiah, Chapter s 40-66; Daniel 9:24-27; Micah 4:1-13; Micah 5:1-15; Micah 6:1-16; Micah 7:1-20; Zechariah 9:1-17; Zechariah 10:1-12; Zechariah 11:1-17; Zechariah 12:1-14; Zechariah 13:1-9; Zechariah 14:1-21.
When the Jews returned from their captivities (cir. 536-444 B.C.) it was with this hope in their hearts. They believed Jehovah would rule the land directly through a son of David, he would enforce the Law and promote the ritual religion. Some looked for Zerubbabel to fulfill this.
Time after time their fulfillment of this hope was frustrated by some foreign (Ptolemies and Seleucids and Romans) or some home-grown (Hasmonean and Herodian) oppression.
As the physical, earthly accomplishment of this hope became less evident (i.e., accomplishment through natural events), the anticipation increased that Jehovah would intervene in a great crisis of the cosmos (see John 12:31 where Jesus uses that very phrase in Greek in connection with His death on the cross) and effect a deliverance of all the righteous Jews (not Hellenistic Jews) and God would suddenly, secretly almost, institute the messianic age.
This hope had never been so much alive, so vivid, nor its fulfillment so urgently awaited, as it was in the first centuries B.C. and A.D.a time of sadness and deep, tormenting, national humiliation.
There was a body of literature that arose between the Old Testament and New Testament that expressed the Jewish ideas of the expected messianic age called the Jewish Apocrypha (apocalyptic in nature). The Sybilline Oracles, Book III (150 B.C.); the Book of Enoch (164 B.C.); The Psalms of Solomon (48 B.C.) are the most graphic. The Mishna, Talmud and Targums (rabbinic writings written after Christ but expressing traditions in oral form before Christ) are also valuable for determining the messianic ideas of first century people. They testify generally that the Messiah will:
a.
Attain for the people a literalized fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament prophets (physical prosperity; physical conquest of enemies; physical restoration of Judaism).
b.
Defeat Jewish enemies and force them to serve the Jews.
c.
Restore all Jews to their land forever.
d.
Institute an era of Mosaic purity (as interpreted, of course, by the rabbis).
Josephus speaks of a number of men before and after Jesus who pretended to be the Messiah, obtained followers, fought Jewish enemies, and usually ended up slain in battle or executed. Josephus says there was an ambiguous prophecy (probably referring to Daniel 9:24-27) in the Holy Scriptures which told the Jews that in those times a man of their nation would become the master of the world Wars, 6:312.
Some believed in Jesus-' day in a personal Messiah. This belief took four forms:
1. An Angel:
As earthly powers continued to oppress the Jews with more intensity it was inevitable that the concept of the Messiah should become more and more transcendent. Many despaired of human deliverance and turned to hope in an angelic being coming from heaven with cosmic, supernatural power. See the Similitudes of Enoch (I Enoch, 164 B.C.) where the Son of Man is presented as a heavenly being with no prior human existence. his face has the appearance of a man and yet it is full of graciousness like one of the holy angels. (46:1ff.).
Remember the devil's attempt to get Jesus to show off some supernatural, angelic power. if he was the Son of God.. Matthew 4:5-6.
2. A Prophet:
Some interpreted Malachi 3:1 ff; Malachi 4:5 as referring to the Messiah himself rather than the forerunnerthus he would be a prophet like Elijah. Many of the disciples of John the Baptist refused to abandon their belief in him as the true Messiah and perpetuated into the 2nd century A.D. a sect which held up John the Baptist messiahship in opposition to Jesus (The Mandaens; see Ency. Britt. Vol. 4 and 10).
The Samaritans were expecting a prophetic messiah, John 4:19-26. Many of the Jews thought this also, John 7:40; Matthew 16:14; John 1:21; 1Ma. 4:46; etc. John 6:14.
3. A Priest:
In later interbiblical history there appears the idea of a messianic priest. When the offices of High Priest and prince of Israel were combined in Simon the Maccabean, impetus was given to the development of such hope. But as the High Priesthood became more and more secularized and corrupted, this view seems to have found less and less acceptance. See the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (110 B.C.).
4. A King:
By far the most popular view was a Messiah-warrior-king. He would appear as a political champion. Jews from all over the world would rally to his side, sweep the pagans from Palestine, subdue the world, plunder its riches, kill all idolaters and make proselytes and servants of the rest.
See this view in all the earliest Jewish apocryphal writings, and, Matthew 21:9; Matthew 21:15 (cf. Zechariah 9:9-10); Matthew 22:42; Mark 13:35; Luke 20:41; John 6:15; 1Ma. 2:57; Psalms of Solomon 17:5; 17:23, etc.
Even this popular view expected the Messiah's origin to be shrouded in mystery (John 7:21 ff.) and His mission to be one of cosmic supernaturalisms, Matthew 12:38; John 7:31.
Remember the temptation of the devil to make Jesus an earthly king.
There were many who arose pretending to be the Messiah. Theudas had 400 followers but he was slain (Acts 5:36; Josephus, Antiq. 20:97ff.). Judas the Galilean was also slain (Acts 5:37; Josephus, Antiq. 18:23). An Egyptian gained about 30,000 followers, (Josephus, Wars 2:261ff. and Acts 21:37-38). Menachem bar-Judah and Simeon bar-Giora (Wars, 2:17:8; Wars, 4:9:7 respectively), and many others after Jesus were hoped-for messiahs.
There was great expectancy in the first century A.D., but there was also great confusion and misunderstanding concerning the Messiah and His kingdom. Jesus-' most frustrating ministry was to try to convert, literally change, the confusion, materialism and patriotic provincialism of the messianic people into what it was really intended to be by God as predicted in the Old Testament prophets.
WHAT DID THE PEOPLE OF JESUS-' DAY THINK OF THE MESSIAH? (Our best sources are the Gospel records themselves.)
1.
He would be born in Bethlehemthe scholars knew this much.
2.
Some were looking for the consolation and redemption of Israel and Jerusalem.
3.
Many thought John the Baptist might be the Messiah.
4.
Jesus-' temptations indicate the popular messianic concept.
5.
Jewish leaders knew a connection between Elijah and Messiah and thought John the Baptist might be one or the other.
6.
Nathanael did not believe the Messiah would come from Nazareth.
7.
Samaritans believed when Messiah came he would settle religious disputes.
8.
Jews of Galilee did not accept Messianic prophecies of Isaiah 61:1-11 being made available to Gentiles.
9.
Apparently the Jews did not think their Messiah would be God incarnate and able to forgive men's sins.
10.
Apparently Jewish rabbis did not think their Messiah would associate with publicans and sinners.
11.
Messiah is called The Expected One (as in Similitudes of Enoch) by John the Baptist who apparently expected Him to be more militant than Jesus was.
12.
Jewish rulers insisted Jesus must show a sign to prove his messiahship.
13.
People could not imagine Jesus as the Messiah because they knew his origins.
14.
Messiah would be The Prophet and he must be crowned King.
15.
Jesus perceived the people wanted a bread-and-fish Messiahone who would do a work to prove he was the Messiah.
16.
Jesus-' disciples thought of the Messiah as The Holy One of God.
17.
Disciples show that the people thought the Messiah would be Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets, perhaps. Peter would not believe the Messiah was to die Matthew 16:21-23; Mark 8:31-33.
18.
Elijah's coming must precede that of the Son of Mana literal Elijah, perhaps.
19.
Disciples thought of messianic kingdom in terms of power struggles.
20.
Jesus-' brothers expected him to prove his messiahship in Jerusalem in some public, spectacular, carnal demonstration of power.
21.
Disciples expect Messiah to punish those who reject him by fire from heaven.
22.
No one is supposed to know where the Messiah comes fromhe is to appear suddenlybut he would perform enough signs for everyone to know himnot just the rulers.
23.
Messiah was not expected to go among the Jewish dispersion.
24.
Confusion about Messiah. Some thought he would be The Prophet from Galilee, others believed from Bethlehem.
25.
Jewish scholars did not expect the Messiah to be an eternal personage.
26.
Messiah must show a sign from heaven.
27.
Jews could not read the signs that their Messiah was to come in judgment upon their nation.
28.
Messiah must keep Sabbath according to their traditions,
29.
Jews were looking for a time of eating of banquets in the messianic kingdom as repayment for their troubles (cf. Isaiah 25:6 ff.).
30.
Mother of the sons of Zebedee understood the messianic: kingdom to be one of position and power.
31.
Some believed the Messiah was to remain forever and not die.
32.
Apparently the Jews did not conceive of the Son of David as also David's Lord!
33.
Apparently the people did not think of the coming of the Messiah as a judgment upon Jerusalem and the nation. They did think of his coming as the end of the world and Jesus had to correct this view.
34.
; Peter thought of messianic kingdom as needing to be defended with swords.
35.
Apparently the High Priest did not conceive of the Messiah or anyone else calling himself God.
36.
Pilate understood Jesus to be an idealistnot an earthly king. Joseph of Arimathea was looking for the kingdom of God.
37.
38.
Disciples despondent when Jesus did not redeem Israel according to their own hopes. Jesus, however, expected them to have a spiritual view of the Old Testament messianic promises and rebuked them for not having it.
39.
Acts 1:6 :
Even after the resurrection the disciples had a somewhat earthly view of the kingdom of God.
40.
The Jews would not accept any claimant to the messianic throne who would change the customs which Moses delivered.
The humanistic, materialistic traditions of the Pharisees and Sadducees and others (Essenes, et al), kept the common people confused about the Messiah and his kingdom. Jesus actually did not convert a single person fully to His teaching of the Messiah and the kingdom. It was only after His death and resurrection and the Day of Pentecost that some of the Jews began to see it correctly (including His disciples). And even then, it took some years before most of the Jews accepted the idea that the messianic kingdom was to be available to the Gentiles on the same basis as to Jews.
But the four gospel accounts testify to this:
JESUS OF NAZARETH, SON OF MARY ACCORDING TO THE FLESH, IS INDEED THE ANOINTED (MESSIAH) OF JEHOVAHTHE PROPHET, PRIEST AND KING PREDICTED BY THE OLD TESTAMENT. AND HE IS THE MESSIAH OF ALL THE NATIONS!
For a résumé of modern Jewish messianic theology, see Isaiah, Vol. III, by Paul T. Butler, pub. College Press, Joplin, Mo., pgs. 277-280 and 415-418.