The Authority of Jesus Christ Questioned & The Parable of the Tenants. Bible Study. Luke Ch 20 Pt 1

Here is a teaching on part 1 of chapter 20 of the book of Luke. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added to that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.

I did want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please open up our eyes, our ears, our minds, and our hearts to you. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we are reading, and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Luke Chapter 20 Part 1:

1 One day as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching

the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

3 He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”

5 They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘from men,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

7 So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

8 Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Alright, so I'm going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So the Chief Priests and teachers of the law saw Jesus teaching in the temple courts and preaching the gospel and they wanted to know who gave him the authority to do those things. They didn't realize that Jesus Christ is God the Son and he has all the authority in the world. Jesus was fully man and fully God, he spoke the truth, and he is the way, the truth, and the life.

In verses 3-4, Jesus asked them if John's baptism was from heaven or men. As we saw in our Bible studies from Luke chapters 1-3 about the birth of John the Baptist and how he prepared the way for Jesus, John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for Jesus Christ, he baptized with water, and his baptism was a baptism of repentance. John the Baptist was the greatest prophet because he had the honor to tell people that Christ was there instead of the other prophets from the Old Testament saying that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, was coming.

In verses 5-7, the Cheif Priests and teachers of the Law discussed it and they really didn't know where John's baptism was from. These people were so set in their ways, they were so stuck on the laws, and had hate in their hearts, that they didn't realize that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, was right in front of them and that John the Baptist was a prophet that had come to prepare the way for Jesus Christ. So because they didn't understand this, in verse 8 Jesus said that he's not going to tell them by what authority he does these things. If they didn't understand that God the Father sent John the Baptist to prepare the way for Jesus, then they wouldn't understand that God the Father has given Jesus all the authority and that Jesus Christ is God the Son.

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9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.

13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’

14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

When the people heard this, they said, “May this never be!”

17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

“ ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’?

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

Alright, so those are all of the verses of part 1 of chapter 20 of the book of Luke, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. So in this parable here, the illustration of the man is God the Father, he created the world. The farmers of this vineyard didn't make the vineyard or create anything they were just there to tend the vineyard, and that's how we are in this world. God created us and nothing in this world belongs to us. We didn't create anything in this world, God created everything. God created us and we are on the earth to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ and let other people know about Jesus so that they may be saved by Jesus and have eternal life in heaven.

In verses 10-12, whenever it was time for the harvest this man sent 3 different servants, and each time the tenants beat the servants and threw them out. These tenants were full of greed, pride, and hate, and they just wanted the fruit for themselves they didn't want to give the fruit to anyone else. This is showing an example of these tenants being these religious leaders, chief priests, and Pharisees that had greed, pride, hated Jesus, and hated the prophets. These servants are an example of the prophets that were sent to tell people about Jesus Christ and to gather people that have heard about Jesus Christ, that believe in him, and that truly believe in the words of the Bible.

So in verse 13, the owner, which is God the Father, said he would send his Son and maybe the people would respect him. So God the Father sent Jesus Christ, God the Son. Then in verses 14-15, these tenants killed the heir, the son of the owner, and this is showing an illustration of these religious leaders, chief priests, and Pharisees, and these people that have hate in their hearts will kill Jesus Christ, God the Son. They beat him, ridicule him, and crucify him. So in verse 16, then the owner will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others. As we saw in our Bible study from part 1 of chapter 19 of the book of Luke, the decision to follow Jesus is life or death. We are dead in our sins and alive in Jesus, so for people that don't believe in Jesus Christ, they hate him, reject him, and these people that crucified Jesus, they are just dead in their sins, they won't have eternal life, and they will go to hell.

In verse 17, the scripture that Jesus says here is from Psalm 118:22. In verse 19 the teachers of the law and the chief priests wanted to arrest Jesus because they knew that this parable was spoken against them, but they were afraid of the people so they didn't arrest him. It wasn't time for his arrest yet, and so Jesus Christ was protected until the time came for his arrest and his crucifixion.

Here are 3 takeaways to write down:

1. Jesus Christ has all the authority in the world

2. These religious leaders had hate in their hearts and they couldn't see that Jesus Christ was right in front of them

3. Those that hate Jesus are dead in their sins and they won't have eternal life

Luke Ch 20 Part 1 Study Guide

Where does Jesus’ authority come from?
In verse 7, why did they not know where John’s baptism was from?
In verses 10-12, the tenants and servants were used as examples of who? Why?
In verses 13-15, what was this an illustration of?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?

So that concludes this Bible study on part 1 of chapter 20 of the Book of Luke. Tomorrow we're going to go into part 2, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

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