Trapping Jesus
Luke 20:19-26
July 12, 2020
As you know we are now in Luke’s gospel
And only a couple of days away from Jesus’ death.
IT IS WEDNESDAY.
• He’s already entered Jerusalem on that donkey infuriating the Pharisees.
• He’s already cleared the temple infuriating the Chief Priests.
• And today He has entered the temple, sort of taken over, and His preaching His gospel to the people.
It is no doubt a sharp stick in the eye to the religious elite.
As we have said many times, Jesus is securing a crucifixion.
• Isaiah prophesied the necessity of His death.
• David prophesied the manner of His death (crucifixion)
• Daniel prophesied the time of His death (right now during this Passover)
And even though it is the religious leaders desire for Jesus to die
Fulfilling all of those prophecies is a bit of a tall order.
Since:
• The religious leaders don’t really want to kill Jesus during the Passover.
• The religious leaders don’t really want to align with Rome in order to kill Him.
But it has been decreed
So Jesus is now in Jerusalem securing a crucifixion.
It really does drip of His sovereignty.
And sort of as an introduction to our study today
I just want to remind you of a statement Jesus would have made
Only a few months ago.
Back in December during “The Feast of Dedication” (Hanukkah)
Jesus made announcement about His coming death.
John 10:17-18 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
I really like that statement: “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative.”
• The cross was NOT the result of careful scheming by the devil.
• The cross was NOT the result of a well-crafted plan by the Pharisees.
• The cross was NOT the result of political pressure from the Pharisees.
The cross was the result of the sovereign plan of God
And the immeasurable love of Christ.
He laid down His life.
He offered Himself to God.
He didn’t stumble into the role of atoning sacrifice,
He purposely fulfilled that role.
Sovereign Grace Music has a song out on their newest album, I think it’s in the new song books we put out in the pews.
“See How He Loves Us”
King of heav’n, robed in light; Sovereign of all, angels adore Him. Came and set His crown aside; Emptied Himself, leaving His glory. See how He loves us?
Son of Man robed in flesh; Bearing our grief, knowing our weakness. Yet despised in our eyes; Pitied and poor, living among us. See how He loves us?
Lamb of God crucified; Suffered alone, dying He saved us. Laid within a sinner’s grave; Ever He lives, risen to raise us. See How He loves us?
https://sovereigngracemusic.org/music/songs/see-how-he-loves-us/
This is primarily what I want you to see
Every time you see Jesus at work here in Jerusalem.
• Everything He does here is so that He might secure that crucifixion.
• Everything He does here is so that He might show you that no one took His life, but He lay it down on our behalf.
And THIS MORNING, that fact becomes extremely evident as we see the UTTER INABILITY of the religious elite to be able to condemn Him.
And today they’re pulling out all the stops.
• They’re going to appeal to His pride (if He has any)
• They’re going to challenge any legalism in Him (if there is any)
• They’re going to try to trip Him up regarding His words
(20) “So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement…”
And can I just point out to you that
This is perhaps the most lethal trap of all?
When people are able to hang on our every word
With the intent of incriminating us, it is not difficult to do.
We see this in our day in relentless fashion.
I was watching a political video this past week, it was a BBC interview of Ben Shapiro (one of my favorite political analysts). And since this BBC news anchor disagreed with Shapiro the entire premise was to pull quotes from Shapiro and spring them on him.
At one point even Shapiro says, “If you’re just going to pull out quotes and play ‘Gotcha’ with me I might as well end this interview right now. In fact I’ve got an entire link on my website of wrong things that I’ve said.”
Shapiro’s point was that if you’re going to condemn or acquit me
Based on everything I’ve ever said, then “Game Over, I Lose”.
James 3:2 “For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.”
James said show me a man who never slips up with the tongue
And I’ll show you a perfect man.
Without intending to, that’s exactly what these spies are going to prove.
Jesus “is a perfect man”.
What is more, His perfection is more than they can handle.
Just pick up on some of the key phrasing Luke uses.
• (19) “The scribes and the chief priests TRIED to lay hands on Him…”
• (20) “So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they MIGHT catch Him…”
• (26) “And they were UNABLE to catch Him in a saying…”
The simple point is that they are out-matched.
• They are trying to expose a perfect man.
• They are trying to condemn a righteous man.
• They are looking for a reason or a way to kill Him.
AND THEY CAN’T FIND ONE.
He is not going to be crucified because He deserves crucifixion.
He is going to die because He is determined to lay down His life.
So let’s look at our text this morning.
I’ve chosen to break it down by showing why the religious leaders
Were so incompetent in their efforts to condemn Jesus.
HERE WE SEE WHY THEY COULDN’T KILL HIM.
4 points
#1 THEY WERE RESTRICTED BY FEAR
Luke 20:19
Immediately the previous text is forced into our mind.
It was a parable and here we are reminded that
Everyone there fully understood this one.
“they understood that He spoke this parable against them.” (the religious leaders)
You remember the parable.
• It was the vineyard owner who rented out the vineyard
• He came back wanting produce and sent a slave to get it
• They beat the slave and sent him away
• The vineyard owner sent a second slave and they did the same to him
• The vineyard owner sent a third slave and they did the same to him
• Finally the vineyard owner sent His Son and they killed Him
• The result would be that the vineyard owner would destroy those vine-growers
It was an “in your face” parable.
It was so direct that the crowd cried out “May it never be!”
Everyone knew exactly what Jesus was saying.
• God had sent prophet after prophet after prophet and they had all be rejected.
• Now God has sent His Son, but the religious elite will kill Him.
• As a result of their treachery God will destroy them.
The “scribes and the chief priest” were so angry at that parable
That they “tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that He spoke this parable against them.”
So you can see again that they really want to kill Jesus
BUT FEAR HAS STOPPED THEM.
Now, we already saw one expression of this.
• During that first argument when they sort of pounced on Jesus and demanded
Him to explain what authority He had…
• You’ll remember Jesus asked them about John the Baptist, but the religious
elite wouldn’t answer.
Luke 20:6-7 “But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from.”
That was a fear of literally being stoned by the people.
Here was Jesus who was willing to die for His beliefs, but they were not.
THE FEAR HERE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
Jesus just gave a parable in which He specifically said that these religious leaders would reject Him just like they had rejected every other prophet.
In fact Jesus said that they would kill Him.
Well, if they kill Him now all they do is prove Him right.
The people knew what that parable meant,
So for fear of losing the respect of the crowds they are hog-tied.
So let’s make sure we grasp the SOVEREIGN SHREWDNESS of Jesus.
Remember, I told you that not only does Jesus have to die now, but He also has to die by crucifixion, as was prophesied in Psalms 22:16
That means that the Jews are going to have to work with the Romans
To get Jesus executed.
And with one parable Jesus has already pushed them in that direction.
Now, they want Him dead, but they can’t do it without confirming His words.
So now they shift gears and look for ways to get Rome to do it for them.
The wisdom of Jesus is just mind-blowing.
But first you see that these religious leaders couldn’t kill Him because they were restricted by fear.
#2 THEY WERE RELEGATED TO FLATTERY
Luke 20:20-22
An interesting plot emerges here.
(20) “So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.”
The first thing you must recognize here is that
THEY OBVIOUSLY HAD NOTHING ON HIM.
If they want Him dead, but don’t want to appear unjust in killing Him,
All they have to do is present the evidence that He is worthy of death.
Just show this crowd His sin and they’ll be fine with it.
But that’s the problem, they can’t.
They’ve got nothing on Him.
This, by the way, is one of the greatest proofs of His sinless perfection.
If Jesus had committed sin
The religious leaders most certainly would have exposed it.
This past Monday CNN news anchor Don Lemon said, “Jesus Christ, if that’s who you believe in, Jesus Christ admittedly was not perfect here on earth.”
I’d like to know what Bible he is reading because
I can’t find a single time where Jesus admitted to not being perfect.
I saw Him tempted
I saw Him tried
I saw Him trapped
I never saw Him sin
He was perfect, and He knew it.
John 8:46 “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?”
• The thief on the cross will announce it.
• The resurrection is the greatest proof of it.
AND WE ARE THANKFUL FOR HIS PERFECTION BECAUSE
It is that perfection that He imputes to those who believe in Him
It is that perfection that allows Him to be an acceptable sacrifice for sin.
His perfection is a big deal to us.
But His perfection is A REAL PROBLEM for the religious elite.
And so they’re going to have to try and trick Him into trouble.
And the strategy the use is FLATTERY.
They “sent spies who pretended to be righteous”
• They’re going to bait Him and see if they can’t trap Him and get grounds to have Him killed.
Matthew’s gospel actually IDENTIFIES who they sent.
Matthew 22:15-16a “Then the Pharisees went and plotted together how they might trap Him in what He said. And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians…”
Just so you know, that is an odd partnership.
These two were not friends.
• The Pharisees were the blue collar patriots.
• They got their start protesting the Greek cultural influence into Israel.
• The Herodians were just the opposite.
• They were the liberals who loved Greek culture and Greek influence.
But somehow they’ve found common ground in their desire to trap Jesus.
(21) “They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth.”
This is quite humorous.
They acknowledge His HIGH POSITION
“Teacher”
• It’s kind of funny that earlier this morning they were asking “Who do You think You are? Who gave You this authority?”
• And now all of a sudden they are giving Him the title of “Teacher”.
This was a sought after title of respect.
Matthew 23:6-7 “They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.”
They are here calling Him what they most like to be called.
They are trying to appeal to His pride.
They acknowledge His THEOLOGICAL PERFECTION
“we know that You speak and teach correctly”
• We’ve listened carefully,
• We’ve discerned Your words,
• We’ve compared Your teaching to the Scriptures
• We’ve concluded that You are an orthodox teacher.
There is no heresy in what You teach at all.
They acknowledge His LACK OF PARTIALITY
“and You are not partial to any”
• You are a “tell it like it is” type of teacher.
• You don’t give in to bribes or cater to the well-to-dos.
• You just speak truth when truth is called for.
They acknowledge His DIVINE PURPOSE
“but teach the way of God in truth”
“way” there is a reference even to salvation.
• You teach people how to be pleasing to God.
• You teach people how to be saved.
Now the ironic part is that they are trying to flatter Him,
But in reality everything they said about Him was 100% true.
THAT’S EXACTLY WHO HE WAS
But their goal is simply to get Him to let down His guard.
• To feel like He is among fans.
• To feel free to speak His mind without fear.
• “You can tell us, we think You’re great!”
That’s what you call flattery, and they had to use it
Because they didn’t have any real evidence.
Flattery, by the way, is deception pure and simple.
It is “reverse slander”.
• Flattery is when you say something to someone’s face that you wouldn’t say
behind their back.
And the only reason people use it is to gain an advantage over a person.
Jude 16 “These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”
That’s what these men are after.
They are looking for an advantage in the conversation.
And all their flattery was so that they might launch this question.
(22) “Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
This was a hot-button topic and it seemed to be the perfect trap.
Matthew tells us that they specifically asked about the “poll tax”.
• The “poll tax” was the most hated tax Jews were required to pay.
• It was basically just a head-count tax that was required of all men as sort of a “thank you” to Rome for all their services.
• You drive on our roads…
• You enjoy our security…
• You benefit from our economy…
“So here’s a tax for your privilege of us being in your life.”
The Jews hated that because
• They didn’t want Rome there to begin with.
• Coupled with that, it was paid in Roman currency which Jews saw as a violation of the 2nd commandment which prohibited graven images, and since the coin had a graven image of Caesar it was viewed as detestable.
And this is the chosen topic.
“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
“lawful” there is in reference to the Mosaic Law.
Would God have us pay this tax?
If He says, “Yes, pay the tax”
The Pharisees will seize upon Him for His idolatrous and traitorous ways and the crowd will likely disown Him because they were categorically opposed to this tax.
If He says, “No, don’t pay the tax”
The Herodians will seize upon Him and immediately report Him to Rome who will likely arrest Him for treason and sentence Him to death.
It’s the perfect trap for this righteous man.
There’s no way out.
Or so they think.
• It would be nice if they could’ve just used actual evidence against Him,
• But they’ve got none and so they are relegated to flattery.
#3 THEY WERE RECOGNIZED AS FRAUDS
Luke 20:23-25
“But He detected their trickery”
Of course He did!
John 2:25 “…He did not need anyone to testify concerning man, for He Himself knew what was in man.”
• Did they really expect to deceive the One who formed them in their mother’s womb?
• Did they really expect to get the drop on the One who ordained their days before them?
Hebrews 4:13 “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.”
He knew exactly what was going on.
He could read the hearts of men.
And by the way, you should just know this.
JESUS SEES THROUGH ALL FORMS OF FLATTERY.
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’”
Matthew 15:7-9 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”
Don’t play games with Him, you’re out of your league.
• He does not see as man sees.
• Man looks at the outer appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
He saw right through these spies.
And He said to them
(24-25) “Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
When Jesus asked for a denarius
They must’ve thought they had Him dead to rights.
“He’s about to condemn it as a graven image and renounce paying taxes!”
But that’s not what He did.
“He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”
Interesting wording that Jesus uses here.
They asked “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”
“pay” in the Greek is DIDOMI
It means “to give”
Jesus said, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”
“render” in the Greek is APIDIDOMI
It means “to return”
If we were talking about making offerings to Caesar
Or giving gifts to him as tribute that would be one thing,
But that’s not what Jesus condoned.
Jesus called for them to give a return to Caesar for his services to them.
Jesus took this from a legal obligation to a moral one.
You owe this to Caesar.
• Do you not walk on his roads?
• Do you not enjoy his protection?
• Do you not benefit from his economy?
You owe him.
Morally, you owe him.
This, is exactly what Paul would teach.
Romans 13:1-7 “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.”
The governing authorities have the obligation of keeping the peace.
• They are there to reward good behavior.
• They are there to punish evil behavior.
• And you owe them compensation for that.
That is exactly what Jesus just said.
• Do you live under Caesar?
• Do you operate in his economy?
• Then you owe him.
Incidentally, Jesus didn’t stop there.
He went on to add, “and to God the things that are God’s.”
Caesar isn’t the only one
You are morally obligated to give a return to.
YOU ALSO OWE GOD.
Like what I wonder?
Luke 20:10 “At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed.”
He’s good isn’t He?
• They snuck in to try and trick Him.
• They wanted Him to condemn Himself before Caesar.
Not only did He answer in a way where He couldn’t be condemned,
But He also managed to once again remind these spies
That their account was still deficient before God.
As long as we are on the subject of compensation
Let’s talk again about the fruit you owe to God.
Everything for Him led back to the gospel.
They sought to trap Him, and with one answer He has turned the table on them again in order to reveal that they are in need of a Savior.
• They couldn’t kill Him because they were restricted by fear.
• They couldn’t kill Him because they were relegated to flattery.
• They couldn’t kill Him because they were recognized as frauds.
And then the final and almost laughable scene
#4 THEY WERE RESIGNED TO FAILURE
Luke 20:26
“And they were unable to catch Him in a saying in the presence of the people; and being amazed at His answer, they became silent.”
Matthew’s gospel adds “they went away”
But that is Luke’s point.
• They can’t condemn Him.
• They can’t catch Him.
• Satan couldn’t tempt Him
• Scribes couldn’t trick Him
• Priests couldn’t intimidate Him
• Leaders couldn’t condemn Him
• Pharisees couldn’t outsmart Him
And it’s not that they were incompetent,
It’s just that He was perfect and beyond reproach.
It doesn’t matter how long they play this game.
If it is dependent upon them, they will never kill Jesus.
If it’s a matter of their skill are shrewdness then Jesus will go on forever.
• He is flawless
• He is perfect
• He is too wise and too shrewd.
But if that’s the case,
Then how is it that in less than 48 hours He’ll be dead?
The only reason He will die is because He will lay down His life.
John 10:18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
• He won’t die because He messed up.
• He will die because of the great love He has for His children.
Remember His conversation with Nicodemus?
John 3:14-16 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
It was always about love.
John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.”
If it was up to the ability of the religious leaders Jesus would’ve lived forever.
• He died because He came to die.
• He died because the wages of your sin was death.
• He died because it was the only way for you to stand forgiven before God.
SEE HOW HE LOVES US!
This morning,
I just call you church to rejoice in the deep deep love of Jesus.
“I stand amazed in the presence, of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how He could love me, a sinner condemned unclean. How marvelous, How wonderful, and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, How wonderful is my Savior’s love for me.”
If you have never trusted in Christ this morning I again call you to do so.
This morning is the other side of the coin.
• Here we see the great benefit of the love of Jesus when you believe in Him.
• Last week we saw that all those who reject Him will be crushed by Him.
It all hinges upon what you do with Jesus.
If you’ve never called upon His name and asked for His salvation
DO THAT TODAY.
If you have, then take a moment and rejoice in the great love of Jesus
Who would willingly and purposely lay down His life for you.
