MONDAY 4.3.23: Confidence in the Resurrection – Luke 20:1-40
Shielding their high status, Jerusalem’s religious leaders plotted Jesus’ death. They tried hard to build a case for his execution. Maybe they could get him to refuse to pay Roman taxes, or to admit that belief in “resurrection” was absurd. But neither their trick questions nor their show of outward piety fooled Jesus. They fumed (verse 19) when he told a story exposing the murder in their hearts.
Reflection
• Jesus’ vineyard story drew on a beloved Scripture (Isaiah 5:1-7), which called Israel God’s vineyard. But he exposed the hate around him during that fateful week (Luke 19:47, 20:19). We, like the Jerusalem leaders, can have blind spots. Is there anything God’s spirit is nudging you to face honestly in your life? Do you have the courage to face it in the light of Jesus’ “good news”?
• The Sadducee “party” didn’t believe in resurrection, so their hypothetical story (verses 27-33) tried to make the idea sound absurd. Why was it crucially important for Jesus to absolutely trust that death was not the end, that “the worst thing is never the last thing”? Do you share his confidence? If so, in what ways does it shape your day-to-day life for the better?
Prayer: King Jesus, your piercing insight made some powerful people very angry. But your purpose was always to redeem. Give me a measure of your insight, and a large dose of your redemptive heart. Amen.