Luke 20:41-21:4

Transcript

00:00:00:55 – 00:00:26:08
Clint Loveall
Hey, happy Tuesday. Thanks for being with us. We continue through the gospel Luke in the 20th chapter today, trying to knock out a couple of sections here. We’ve got in our first little passage here. Just one of those passages probably isn’t one that people really do a lot with, but I’ll just let me read it and then we’ll come back and see what we can find in it.

00:00:26:13 – 00:00:51:00
Clint Loveall
Then he said to them, How can they say the Messiah 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 can he be his son? This is a confusing passage. I don’t know that anybody knows exactly what to do with it.

00:00:51:05 – 00:01:21:45
Clint Loveall
Well, first of all, Jesus said to them, and it’s not clear who them is. It is likely the scribes and the religious leaders, they have been kind of the target audience for these kind of questions. And then how can they say the Messiah is David’s son? It’s not clear who was saying that or what they meant by saying it, other than possibly the idea that the Messiah is lesser than David is down, not down the physical lineage, because that was actually expected.

00:01:21:50 – 00:01:48:31
Clint Loveall
But the idea that somehow David is above the Messiah and so Jesus quotes this song, I think it’s Psalm 110 where David says, The Lord said to my Lord, in other words, he calls the quote unquote Messiah the Lord. So Jesus then turns it around and says, How could he be lesser? And what this means? It must have meant something in its context.

00:01:48:32 – 00:02:03:12
Clint Loveall
I think it’s largely lost on us. Michael. I don’t know of anybody who has made a I don’t know of a great sermon on this text. I’ve not seen it in a book. I don’t know that it has been terribly important to the church of our generation.

00:02:03:26 – 00:02:06:01
Michael Gewecke
You got to get on that. CLINTON Preach that sermon next Sunday.

00:02:06:01 – 00:02:07:32
Clint Loveall
I wouldn’t know what to say.

00:02:07:37 – 00:02:34:15
Michael Gewecke
So I do think, friends, there is actually a learning here, maybe not all learning directly from the the lesson of the text, but rather a learning from when we’re studying scripture, how we can identify passages like these and what we can do with them. I think I’ve got a really quick shorthand for you. Maybe it’s a little humorous depending upon your sense of humor, but I have a commentary up in front of me, and I love this phrase that the commentator used to describe this passage.

00:02:34:15 – 00:03:16:15
Michael Gewecke
It says, The interpretation of these three verses has been complicated by three factors, and then it lists these three different things. The reading of Psalm 110 and Jesus doesn’t answer his own question, brother, but it gives these answers. The point I want to make your claim, is when you’re in the commentary and they say it’s been complicated by or it’s a difficult text or these kinds of things, this shorthand, I think what’s really important is to give yourself permission right off the bat and say, okay, so full comprehension of what is meant here by Luke is probably not going to be given to me in my reading of this today.

00:03:16:16 – 00:03:39:15
Michael Gewecke
If this is flummoxed people whose professional job is the reading of the text, of interpretation of it, that we’re not any we’re not looking any more for. This is the through line. Instead, I think when we come to a text like this, we can say a couple of things. We can say, number one, clearly within Luke’s writing and to the people he’s writing to, this did mean something.

00:03:39:19 – 00:04:11:43
Michael Gewecke
This had an intended outcome. And when we read it, we can at least take away this idea that Luke wants us to know that one of the most revered people in the Old Testament, David, the very one who is responsible for the building of the the state, the nation of Israel at its height, and then, you know, through David’s lineage, the temple and all of this worship, worshiping life, all of this stuff that even David stands underneath the Messiah.

00:04:11:43 – 00:04:35:30
Michael Gewecke
And that unto itself is an ordering of the kingdom of God, in this case, making it clear that Jesus is taking upon himself that kind of lordship that may seem to us as modern readers to be taken for granted. If you’ve read this much of Luke, the idea that Jesus is claiming to be them, a sign that the Messiah would be greater than David is not going to strike us as generative information.

00:04:35:34 – 00:04:54:07
Michael Gewecke
But my point here is when we failed to get the exact through line because it’s been lost to us for whatever reason, that doesn’t keep us from being able to still see some of these broader points being made by the text. Appreciate that. Maybe if we’re interested, dig a little bit deeper and other commentaries that might offer some other explanations.

00:04:54:21 – 00:04:57:34
Michael Gewecke
And then when you’re ready to pick up and keep on going in the texture studying.

00:04:57:41 – 00:05:25:43
Clint Loveall
Yeah, this is not a whatever was at stake here is just not applicable all to us in the same way. And and so we’ve lost whatever it was that seems to have been intended here. You know, when you when you read a scholar say it’s complicated, that generally is Bible scholar version of we don’t know, but we can’t we can’t say that.

00:05:25:44 – 00:05:49:00
Clint Loveall
So it is nice to be reminded that not not everything has given way to our understanding yet. There are plenty of mysteries for us to work on and and this may be one of them. Then we move on to a passage that is, I think, much clearer, much, I would say much more interesting in the scope of the story.

00:05:49:04 – 00:06:18:45
Clint Loveall
Verse 45 in hearing in the hearing of all the people, Jesus said to the disciples, Beware of the scribes who like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplace and to have the best seats and the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows houses and for the sake of appearance, sing long prayers, they will receive the greater condemnation.

00:06:18:50 – 00:07:00:09
Clint Loveall
So if you were with us yesterday, Jesus has this moment where the scribes kind of give him a nod, saying that he has spoken well. And for a moment there is maybe some good favor. But for whatever reason, when Jesus returns to the the theme, the idea of the scribes here, he gives them both barrels and he warns the disciples to be on their guard against basically the hypocrisy of these religious leaders who like to be seen, who like to get respect, who don’t.

00:07:00:14 – 00:07:22:21
Clint Loveall
This this phrase devour widow houses. They don’t take care of those in need. They take from those they should give to. That’s not just about the widows houses, though That may be a literal reference. It’s a bigger condemnation of not caring about those who are vulnerable, those who are in need. And for the sake of appearance, they say long prayers.

00:07:22:21 – 00:07:48:16
Clint Loveall
Their prayers aren’t even about God. They’re self-referential. And Jesus says they will receive great condemnation. So whatever slight mending of a fence might have been done at the end of the passage we saw yesterday that that fence is pretty well knocked down and holes punched in it. Today, Jesus holds back no punches and he he gives it to them.

00:07:48:16 – 00:08:08:37
Clint Loveall
And notice that he says this, this matters. Verse 45. This isn’t a private conversation with the disciples in the hearing of all the people. He said this to the disciples. So this is a public statement and had to ruffle feathers.

00:08:08:42 – 00:08:36:32
Michael Gewecke
Yeah. Then we recover the force of words like this. I think it’s I think it’s really difficult. I think you would have to you have to identify for yourself personally, a person who you really looked up to as being an exemplar of not just your religion, but maybe even your culture at its best. I mean, the scribes are celebrities in their own way.

00:08:36:32 – 00:09:10:44
Michael Gewecke
In the Jerusalem community, they would have been a very sought after positions within that culture and within that religious establishment. These are people with means. These are people with power. These are people who have risen through the ranks and they’ve done so at the seat of Jewish life. And so for Jesus to term, I mean, I guess in modern parlance to roast them so significantly is is a real cultural statement.

00:09:10:44 – 00:09:31:19
Michael Gewecke
I mean, it’s not to say that others wouldn’t have been willing to offer critiques as well. It’s to say that in a season in which Jesus has been ramping up his arguments with these scribes, he now leaves nothing to the imagination. He, by saying that they devour the widows houses and it’s only for the sake of appearances that they make.

00:09:31:19 – 00:10:23:38
Michael Gewecke
Their long prayers is to say that they are self-referential, self-seeking and power, acquiring individuals with zero faith, but only driven by their own sort of personal gain and self advancement. That calling out of these individuals for hypocrisy. It would have been substantial had he said it only to his disciples. And it was recorded in the Scripture for him to have said that publicly at the height of the Jewish religious calendar with all of Jews who were capable from around the world making their way to to say this thing publicly is is such a large deal that that Luke is making it abundantly clear to us Jesus has he has sealed his fate.

00:10:23:45 – 00:10:45:42
Michael Gewecke
He’s made his enemies. It’s not that he hasn’t already, but if there was any doubt about it, that doubt has now been quelled. We know for certain that Jesus has. He set his peace and his peace with these scribes is not one of partnership or even, you know, sort of an amicable kind of separation. Now, Jesus has called them to the carpet.

00:10:45:46 – 00:11:03:06
Michael Gewecke
I called them as hypocrites, called them out for mal intention. And, you know, they are going to both be embarrassed and they’re also going to see as a threat for what they stand for. And for what they seek to leverage their positions for. And we can guess how that’s going to proceed.

00:11:03:10 – 00:11:33:52
Clint Loveall
The New Testament in general and Jesus certainly specifically has this kind of visceral reaction, this passionate reaction to hypocrisy to people who would use the appearance of faith without leaving out the substance of it. And that remains a challenge for all of us. You know, there’s a lot of that in Paul’s writing, certainly some of that in other parts of the New Testament that that it’s found in the Old Testament as well.

00:11:33:52 – 00:12:13:48
Clint Loveall
But I think it’s really Jesus who gives that the strongest voice. And here we have a good example of that dissatisfaction that unhappy ness with hypocrisy being pointed at the religious leaders, those who have the very appearance of knowing it all and having it all figured out, and those who love the idea that they, you know, that they are someone in that small circle and and Jesus says, beware of them, which is both recognize they have a danger, but also a warning.

00:12:13:52 – 00:12:40:19
Clint Loveall
Don’t be like them. And, you know, if you were preaching this passage, eventually you have to bring it back to us. Right? I mean, we love to look at the hypocrisy of others. The challenge is to see that hypocrisy in ourself and try to deal with it. And so, yes, this is a moment where Jesus certainly takes them to the woodshed.

00:12:40:24 – 00:12:56:08
Clint Loveall
But in the bigger picture, it is also a challenge, I think, for the reader to examine their own life to the end of not being one of these people that Jesus refers to.

00:12:56:13 – 00:13:39:09
Michael Gewecke
I think to intensify that. I would just look to the last phrase here in the text, they being the scribes, the ones who are using their position and their religious expression for their own benefit, the hypocrites, they will receive their greater condemnation. I think that goes directly to your point, Clint, that that when we reflect upon our own faith and we’re trying to learn something positively from this encounter with the scribes up, we should be very, very careful, I think, to recognize that the longer we’ve been in the faith, the more access we’ve had to discipleship to what we as Christians would call sanctification or the idea of Christ working without within us to restore

00:13:39:14 – 00:14:09:13
Michael Gewecke
the image of a God in our presence that others would see Christ more and more in us as we live our lives. That that that process is both gift but also responsibility. There’s consequence when Christians claim to be people. The good news and our lives don’t look like good news when we claim to be people who’ve received mercy and compassion, and we don’t share that with those around us when we claim to be chiefly those who’ve experienced the forgiveness of Christ.

00:14:09:18 – 00:14:45:12
Michael Gewecke
And we are known and seen to be unforgiving people, that the consequence language, I think they will receive the greater condemnation is is a harrowing phrase. And not to take that literally and apply what Jesus was saying about the scribes to our lives. But I think there are there are moments in which we see Jesus’s approach to the religious elite, and we can say we too should actively practice humility, that we might not think to ourselves beyond the critique like this from Jesus, that we too should recognize that that we’ve been given a great gift.

00:14:45:12 – 00:15:04:26
Michael Gewecke
And hearing the gospel. And so our lives should reflect the goodness and fruits of that gospel to whatever extent we are able. And when it fails, that’s where we talk about confession. That’s where it talks about humility and courage to say that we that we rely upon grace and we seek to turn from the brokenness of our lives.

00:15:04:26 – 00:15:17:19
Michael Gewecke
But but here, this this is a foreboding thing for Jesus to say of anyone. And it certainly lands on the scribes and I think we’d be wise to learn something from it for ourselves.

00:15:17:24 – 00:15:46:06
Clint Loveall
Yeah, and keep in mind the context here. Jesus is aware of the scribes. They’re going to engineer his death. I mean, we’re just we’re days from his arrest and capture. And so this is coming to a head and Jesus is not pulling any punches here. I want to just push on just a couple more verses, because I do think the next text and the previous one are a nice balance to one another.

00:15:46:06 – 00:16:08:26
Clint Loveall
So as we enter chapter 21 here, Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts in the Treasury. He also saw a poor widow that put in two small copper coins. He said, I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, for all of them have contributed out of their abundance.

00:16:08:31 – 00:16:38:17
Clint Loveall
But she out of her poverty has put in all that she had to live on. Now, this, I do think, is intended to contrast with the the scribes right. Who have the appearance of faith but don’t have the substance of it. And here we have a woman who comes to the temple, who goes to the Treasury, and she lets go of her last coins.

00:16:38:22 – 00:17:15:54
Clint Loveall
Now, you could, in some have argued that it’s easy to let go of, not very much, because there’s not much she could do with it. And the you know, we could have that discussion. But that’s not Jesus point. Jesus point is that everyone else was holding something back and she holds nothing back. And if you get distracted by the amounts or the coins or the abundance or the poverty, I think you ultimately miss the point that this woman is celebrated by Jesus because she gives everything.

00:17:15:59 – 00:17:52:33
Clint Loveall
And again, Jesus stands on the cusp of giving himself of giving everything. And so this is an interesting story. This story has been used like a club, sometimes a stewardship club. You know, I’ll be the woman, give everything. There’s no commentary that suggests there’s no follow up that Jesus says you should do the same. He simply points out that while all of those other gifts look good, none of them represent an entire and full commitment in the way that the woman does.

00:17:52:33 – 00:18:04:41
Clint Loveall
And I think that I think that’s important, Michael, because I think this is a text that can be easily we have to be careful that we don’t take it a direction that I don’t think it intends to go.

00:18:04:46 – 00:18:33:28
Michael Gewecke
I think that’s absolutely true. And I would only point out there is, I think, another connection to the previous text, because we have widows in both cases notice that the scribes are profiting off of this woman’s coins. I mean, she’s giving them to the temple, to the religious structure, the institution know this, how God is able to receive this woman’s devotion, even while Jesus is accusing the religious leadership of hypocrisy in receiving it.

00:18:33:28 – 00:19:12:36
Michael Gewecke
I think that’s the amazing thing about Jesus teaching. He points out the the honest, heartfelt religious devotion of this woman and the way in which it reflects the best of what God calls us to be courageous in our gratitude and our humility, willing to give as Jesus, as you said, Clint is is willing to give everything for us and simultaneously how that’s happening under the purview of the people who are taking advantage of her and of her goodness and of her religious devotion, that that tension is in this text, I think because of where Luke has placed it.

00:19:12:41 – 00:19:37:21
Michael Gewecke
And I think that it it both helps to provide some of the shading of the previous story. In other words, this is how bad the scribes are, and it also helps us to see the purity of the devotion of this widow who’s willing to give of of this gift that is of utmost importance to her life. And in doing so, she gives for us a model or a way forward that we could do this in our own lives.

00:19:37:21 – 00:19:39:52
Michael Gewecke
We could aspire to be like this in our own face.

00:19:39:57 – 00:20:07:13
Clint Loveall
Jesus has a wonderful way of flipping things upside down. And so we have a story in which what looks like faith, prayers and robes and etc. isn’t faith. And we have what looks like a small gift is total commitment. It is the entirety of the gift, the largest gift that this woman could give and a willingness to let go of it.

00:20:07:13 – 00:20:19:40
Clint Loveall
And so, you know, multiple times through the gospels, Jesus uncovers that things are not always as they appear. And I think these two stories work to highlight that claim.

00:20:19:40 – 00:20:36:16
Michael Gewecke
We start today with a story that we’ve got to admit we don’t know all of the details about. We end with a story, I think, where Jesus was pretty clear with his intentions and all of that is the breadth of the Scriptures and hope that today you’ve been encouraged. Maybe you’ve learned something, maybe there’s been something of value to it.

00:20:36:16 – 00:20:48:00
Michael Gewecke
If there has give this video like share it with others who might find it a valuable themselves. Subscribe to stick with us as we continue along in Luke together and no matter what until we see you again, be blessed.

00:20:48:05 – 00:20:48:30
Clint Loveall
Thanks to.