True Religion (Luke 20:19–21:4)

We may ask if there is a connection between the incidents mentioned here by Luke apart from their consecutive connection? Is there a theme that covers them? Or are they disconnected from one another? Some suggestions could be irrelevant leadership (as seen in the Pharisees, Sadducees and scribes), or ongoing dismissal of Jesus by the leadership, or proper temple attitudes and practices because he was teaching there and refers to some of them.

A suggestion that I would make is that Luke is speaking about true religion as taught by Jesus in contrast to what was taught by others. What would be included within true religion? No doubt, many things. Yet, in the light of the cross, which is the event shadowing this Passover week, what would we include? Maybe the matters that Luke includes here. If so, it would include reacting to earthly governments, experiencing the power of God, understanding who Jesus is, and what and how we should give to God. We would agree that a proper response in each of those areas of life is connected to true religion. So I would like us to consider each of them briefly, looking at how Jesus taught as well as what he taught.

Government and taxation (vv. 19-26)

Luke informs his readers that some of the scribes and the chief priests had devised a question that they imagined would be impossible for Jesus to answer without getting himself into trouble. If he objected to paying taxes to the Roman authorities, they knew that he would be in trouble with Caesar’s representatives. In their assessment, a true Israelite would never say that it was right according to Old Testament law to pay taxes to a foreign power, so if he said that they should he would no longer be popular with the people. And they presented their questions with tons of flattery, giving the false impression that they valued his opinion.

How did Jesus deal with this trick question? We can see that he dealt with it in a manner that was striking, simple and scriptural. How did he answer strikingly? Consider this – would any of those questioning him fail to recall his answer whenever they saw a coin again with Caesar’s image on it? That is the point of an illustration, to make something unforgettable. Jesus’ response shows the effectiveness of his answers. His instruction would always be with them, even although they despised it.

Simply is also one of the Saviour’s methods. Often, our response to a question is to try and find an enlarged, even a complex answer. Jesus usually went in the other direction, which is one reason why the common people heard him gladly. Instead of dithering over their subtle question, he went straight to the point. Should we not do the same when answering a question? Identifying the real issue at the heart of the concern is the way of making progress.

The third aspect of how Jesus responded is scripturally. He does not say to them to turn to a particular verse, but he does remind them of a basic biblical concept which is that his disciples live simultaneously in two kingdoms, perhaps at times two opposing kingdoms. What are they? There is God’s spiritual kingdom and there are political kingdoms. His disciples live in both worlds and in each of those worlds they have to acknowledge the particular authority. In the political world, the master can be ungodly, but his demands may not be, because God has given authority to them to raise taxes in order for their government to function. So in order to live righteously, we have to render respect to Caesar where appropriate as well as living for God. In his final week on earth, Jesus stressed this requirement even although he knew that he would be crucified by the Roman authorities. Paul says the same thing to the church in Rome when he refers to taxation.

Recognising the supernatural power of God

The next incident that Luke records concerns an attempt by the Sadducees to trap Jesus while highlighting their liberal views of the Old Testament. As we can see they used a ludicrous story about the resurrection of a woman who had to marry seven brothers in turn. Their aim was to make Jesus’ teachings on the resurrection seem impossible, which was not a surprising aim for them because they denied the possibility of a spiritual world. Their attack on Jesus is relevant for us because his response shows us how to deal with liberal critics of the Bible. As with them, such critics pour scorn on the idea of resurrection. How did Jesus deal with their attack? We can describe his response as straightforward, serious and surprising.

The straightforward aspect is seen in the authoritative way in which he spoke. It is the case that the Sadducees spoke about a topic that they did not believe was true. It is also the case that Jesus responded with what he believed was true. But his response was much more than a conviction or confidence that what he described would happen. He spoke in this way because he possessed infallible knowledge. When we hear someone disagree with Jesus’ teaching or the Bible’s overall teaching, we should ask ourselves a simple question, ‘Who can speak with authority about the matter?’ The answer is obvious. Only God can do so, whether in the person of Jesus as here or in his Word.

The second point about Jesus’ response to the Sadducees is the content of his revelation. He reminds them that life in the world to come is not like life in this world. In his answer, he speaks about life in the presence of God after the resurrection and he mentions two aspects of it.

First, it is serious because those who will experience it have to be counted worthy of it before they will receive it. How does a person become such? It is not by something that they do, but it is by something someone else has done, and that someone is God who provided salvation. Sinners are counted worthy of this glorious destiny when they believe in Jesus for forgiveness and are given his righteousness.

Second, resurrection life in the presence of God is the same as immortality. It will be life beyond death. It will be the same kind of life as angels currently have. Angels have immortality without a body; believers will have immortality with resurrected bodies. That is a wonderful destiny to anticipate.

How is Jesus’ response surprising? It is seen in his sensitivity to the exact words of the Bible. He quotes from what God said to Moses at the burning bush about his relationship with the patriarchs and highlights the tense of the verb that he used. God did not say that he had been the God of the patriarchs, which would have been true if all he had in mind was their existence before they died. But the Lord chose to highlight their current relationship with him after their deaths. He was still their God and since that is the case, it means that they are still alive in the presence of God, both when Jesus was speaking and as we are thinking about it.

What wonderful certainty is in his words! He tells the Sadducees that God’s people don’t have to wait until the resurrection in order to enjoy life with God. They have it the moment that they die. Those who live righteously rejoice in the supernatural power of God. The Sadducees could not compete with the One who spoke with authority, and when we accept his words they still come with total authority and blessing for us.

Understanding who Jesus is

Having dealt with the questions of his opponents, Jesus now asks them a question about his identity. He does so by being biblical and again his method is similar to how he responded to their questions. He cites the opening verses of Psalm 110 and his comment about those verses is short, scriptural and straightforward.

As with his comment about the present tense verb to the Sadducees, this comment considers the use of a small word, the word ‘my’ which David used of the Messiah when he said that his Messiah would rule at God’s right hand. Jesus wants them to consider who he is, to recognise that while he lived after David he also existed during David’s lifetime. Giving the correct answer to this question becomes a key for acknowledging and discovering who Jesus is.

Further, Jesus in choosing this verse said statements about his future. In a few days’ time, he will be crucified and buried. The unconverted will not see him again after that until they see him sitting at the right hand of God. That was where he was going, and he wanted his listeners to grasp this amazing reality so that they would respond to him not only as the living Saviour but also as the sovereign Lord with all power in heaven and earth.

The question that Jesus asks reminds us that fulfilment of the promises should be a stimulus for faith. Numerous predictions about Jesus have been fulfilled and they are recorded in the Bible. For Jesus, one did not need to go beyond the Bible. Rather both the prediction and the fulfilment are there and should be accepted. He is reminding us that he is the theme of the Bible, and we are to focus on him. Understanding who Jesus is and where he has gone is an essential aspect of true religion.

A contrast to be observed

The last short incident that Luke records is that of the contrast between social-climbing scribes and a poor widow, between hypocrisy that marked the scribes and the activity of the impoverished widow. There is a connection between Jesus’ rebuke of the scribes and his comment about the woman because the comment occurred after he looked up as he taught and saw the widow in the temple. In the temple, there were thirteen large jars into which people could place their donations to the temple. Obviously, the more a person put in, the bigger the sound of the coins.

A question has been raised about whether Jesus approved of what the widow did when she put in her offering. Normally, her action is regarded as commendable because it is claimed that she showed tremendous dedication to God, being prepared to do without basic necessities. That interpretation is helped by the chapter division because most people don’t read it in connection with how the previous chapter closes. Yet when we read the closing section of the previous chapter, we will see that Jesus condemned those who robbed widows. Was he saying that the temple authorities were robbing this widow by forcing her to pay all that she had? A sermon online by John MacArthur has raised questions about the traditional interpretation, but even Matthew Henry suggests the possibility that the widow’s action was connected to such excessive demands. The question is whether Jesus approved of the widow’s donation or was he angry with a system that forced her to become poorer than she was instead of helping her while at the same time promoting the false claims of the leaders.

Whichever way we wish to take the reference to the widow, the obvious point of the incident is that Jesus knows what people give to God. A verse that comes to mind with regard to that is Paul’s comment that God loves a cheerful giver, that each person is to give according to their means, and as they have decided in their own minds. And such giving is part of true religion.

If true religion is the theme of this section, then we can see that such religion includes four things (as well as other features): recognising the authority of governments, experiencing the power and presence of the God of the resurrection, accepting what the Bible says about Jesus, and ensuring that our giving to him is as he states in his Word.