Luke 20 - The Heart Corrupted by Power

Question:

1. According to what Jesus says, do we calculate our tithe based on our gross income or what is left after tax is paid to the government?

   1. We are only expected to tithe on our income, so it is after tax is paid.

   2. Christians aren’t expected to tithe because they are not Jewish.

   3. God’s portion of our income is 10% of everything we make.

The twentieth chapter of Luke reveals the corruption in the hearts of the religious leaders. It begins with Jesus preaching the gospel: the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and can now be obtained. The Pharisees and church elders, the Sanhedrin, didn’t like this news. They demanded to know who gave Jesus the authority to declare such things.

Jesus could have declared that He is the Son of God and King of Israel, but He didn’t. He only did what God told Him to do. Jesus’s evasion of their question was masterful!

He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from Heaven or from man?” (Luke 20:3-4 ESV)

Even though the religious leaders rejected John’s teachings, they were afraid to do so publicly. If they denied that John was from God, they would be stoned by the people who considered John to be a prophet. Because of this, they refused to give Jesus an answer. He was therefore able to deny them an answer about where His authority came from.

The leaders’ hearts were so corrupt that they didn’t believe John. Without repentant hearts, they would not recognize Jesus, no matter what He said or did. If the Lord declared who He was, it would be putting pearls before swine; it would have been trampled and come to nothing.

Jesus proceeds to a parable about an owner of a vineyard. The tenants working the vineyard refuse to give the owner part of the produce when the season comes. The owner sends hired servants to collect what he is due three times, and they are beaten and cast out. God is the owner, and the vineyard is Israel, run by spiritual leaders. Prophets are the servants sent to direct His people back to His ways. Many were beaten and killed as John the Baptist was.

Next, the owner sends his only son, hoping they will respect him and do what is right, just as God sent His Son to Israel in the hopes that they would turn from their evil ways. The Lord reveals what the Pharisees were intending to do:

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.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” (Luke 20:14-16 ESV)

The parable is about workers who refuse to obey the rightful owner and even kill the owner’s son. This is exactly what the religious leaders were doing: they didn’t want the Messiah to come and rule over them. The response of the religious leaders shows that they know this parable is about them, and they were aghast at the thought that God would destroy them. Did they take this parable to heart and change their ways? Nope, they redoubled their efforts to find a way to kill Jesus.

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. So they asked Him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”

But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar's.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” (Luke 20:20-25 ESV)

Tribute can mean the tax that had to be paid to the Roman Empire, but it could also imply giving an offering or honor to someone. Caesar was worshiped as a god. Honoring a god with a tribute would have been punishable by death. Jesus neatly avoided giving a direct answer to that question and provided valuable information.

ANSWER: A

Taxes are not our money; they belong to the government. If you use the government’s money and refuse to pay taxes, it is wrong, even if that government is all kinds of messed up! Many people apply this statement to tithing, which is God’s portion of our income. If tax belongs to the government, then we tithe on our income after tax is taken out.

The next spies to approach Jesus were Sadducees, who didn’t believe in an afterlife. Their question was about a woman who married seven different brothers for according to the Jewish custom, if a wife had no children and her husband died, his brothers had to provide a child for her. They wanted to know whose wife she would be in Heaven, for she had been married to all seven brothers. Let’s look at the amazing information Jesus gives in His reply:

And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. (Luke 20:34-36 ESV)

As it is in many places in the Bible, the Greek word translated as ‘sons’ in this scripture is huios (whee-has), which means offspring or children. This is for all mankind, not just men. Having kids is a way for humanity to carry on through the ages. Eternal beings, like angels, cannot procreate. When we get to Heaven, we will no longer be able to have children. For this reason, there is no reason to marry. Jesus continues, reassuring those listening that there is a resurrection:

But that the dead are raised [from death]—even Moses made known and showed in the passage concerning the [burning] bush, where he calls the Lord, The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all men are alive [whether in the body or out of it] and they are alive [not dead] unto Him [in definite relationship to Him]. (Luke 20:37-38 AMPC)

Our spirits and our souls are eternal like God. Whether our bodies are alive or dead makes no difference to our Father in Heaven. To Him, we are always alive! Jesus’s answer left no room for argument, so the Sadducees let Him be, but Jesus was not done with them. It was the Lord’s turn to question their knowledge of God’s ways.

But He said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David's son? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”’ David thus calls Him Lord, so how is He his son?” (Luke 20:41-44 ESV)

According to the first chapter of John, Jesus was with God and created the Heavens and the Earth. The Lord has been around since then, and obviously spoke to David. The Sadducees couldn’t answer this question, showing their lack of knowledge about God.

Luke concludes this chapter with a warning from Jesus about those who profess to have knowledge, use it for power, and are corrupted by it:

And in the hearing of all the people He said to His disciples, “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, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.” (Luke 20:45-47 ESV)

Religious leaders who are focused on fame and power, on receiving money, that is, consuming widows’ houses, who love to be honored and hate correction, will receive ‘greater condemnation.’

Condemnation is the Greek word krima (kree'-mah), which has a legal connotation of judgment, damnation, and a high penalty. Hearts corrupted by power, lifted up by pride, focused on monetary gains that are against God’s ways, will have a lot to answer for. The religious leaders were determined to remain in power, didn’t want to be corrected and were unrepentant. This corruption in our hearts will keep us from truly receiving Jesus. We need to heed the Lord's warning. Have you followed leaders who have acted in these ways? It is good to stay far from them!

For more information about what corrupts the hearts of leaders, see the Removing Attacks class: Attacks from People and Attacks on Finances!