Luke 20-21 Christ Has All Authority

The Authority of Christ: He is Eternally Begotton of the Father

Luke 20:1-19 (CSB) One day as he was teaching the people in the temple and proclaiming the good news, the chief priests and the scribes, with the elders, came and said to him, “Tell us, by what authority are you doing these things? Who is it who gave you this authority?”

He answered them, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or of human origin?”

They discussed it among themselves: “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ all the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know its origin.

And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Now he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went away for a long time. At harvest time he sent a servant to the farmers so that they might give him some fruit from the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. He sent yet another servant, but they beat that one too, treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third, but they wounded this one too and threw him out.

“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

“But when the tenant farmers saw him, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let’s kill him, so that the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

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

But when they heard this they said, “That must never happen!”

But he looked at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of this Scripture:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone?

Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but on whomever it falls, it will shatter him.”

Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.

Daniel 7:13-14 (CSB) I continued watching in the night visions,
and suddenly one like a son of man
was coming with the clouds of heaven.
He approached the Ancient of Days
and was escorted before him.
He was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
so that those of every people,
nation, and language
should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that will not pass away,
and his kingdom is one
that will not be destroyed.

Matthew 28:16-20 (CSB) The eleven disciples traveled to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had directed them. When they saw him, they worshiped, but some doubted. Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

  1. Who is in charge of everything?

  2. If Christ has been all authority, whom should we trust?

  3. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Romans 8:31-34 (CSB) What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us.

The Authority of Christ: He Sets Kings In Their Place

Luke 20:20-26 (CSB) They watched closely and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, so that they could catch him in what he said, to hand him over to the governor’s rule and authority. They questioned him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach correctly, and you don’t show partiality but teach truthfully the way of God. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

But detecting their craftiness, he said to them, “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?”

“Caesar’s,” they said.

“Well then,” he told them, “give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

They were not able to catch him in what he said in public, and being amazed at his answer, they became silent.

Daniel 2:21 (CSB) He changes the times and seasons;
he removes kings and establishes kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those
who have understanding.

  1. Who made Caesar king?

  2. Who makes the President over the United States?

  3. Who is King of all kings and presidents and rulers and leaders?

Romans 13:1-7 (CSB) Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience. And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks. Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

The Authority of Christ: He is the Bridegroom

Luke 20:27-40 (CSB) Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came up and questioned him: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without children. Also the second and the third took her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children. Finally, the woman died too. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For all seven had married her.”

Jesus told them, “The children of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to take part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. For they can no longer die, because they are like angels and are children of God, since they are children of the resurrection. Moses even indicated in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are raised, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead but of the living, because all are living to him.”

Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Who can raise people from the dead?

John 11:28-44 (CSB) Having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village but was still in the place where Martha had met him. The Jews who were with her in the house consoling her saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there.

As soon as Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother wouldn’t have died!”

When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. “Where have you put him?” he asked.

“Lord,” they told him, “come and see.”

Jesus wept.

So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Couldn’t he who opened the blind man’s eyes also have kept this man from dying?”

Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. “Remove the stone,” Jesus said.

Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.”

Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.”

Romans 8:9-11 (CSB) You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him. Now if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, then he who raised Christ from the dead will also bring your mortal bodies to life through his Spirit who lives in you.

If we are born but without the Spirit of God, are we really alive?

1 John 5:1 (CSB) Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of him.

The Authority of Christ: He Is At The Right Hand of God

Luke 20:41-44 (CSB) Then he said to them, “How can they say that the Messiah is the son of David? For David himself says in the Book of Psalms:

The Lord declared to my Lord,
‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.’

David calls him ‘Lord.’ How, then, can the Messiah be his son?”

  1. Who is the Lord over David?

  2. Who is the Lord over all of Israel and the Jews?

Matthew 1:1 (CSB) An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

The Authority of Christ: He Judges The Quick and the Dead

Luke 20:45-47 (CSB) While all the people were listening, he said to his disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who want to go around in long robes and who love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and say long prayers just for show. These will receive harsher judgment.”

Romans 8:1-4 (CSB) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering, in order that the law’s requirement would be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

  1. Who gave us the Law?

  2. Who can obey the law perfectly?

  3. Who fulfills the law?

  4. Who should we trust--ourselves or Christ?

The Authority of Christ: He Has Given Us God

Luke 21:1-4 (CSB) He looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Matthew 5:43-48 (CSB) “You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven. For he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

If God provides everything to us, how much freedom do we have to give away what we have?

The Authority of Christ: Christ is the Only Messiah

Luke 21:5-9 (CSB) As some were talking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “These things that you see—the days will come when not one stone will be left on another that will not be thrown down.”

“Teacher,” they asked him, “so when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

Then he said, “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them. When you hear of wars and rebellions, don’t be alarmed. Indeed, it is necessary that these things take place first, but the end won’t come right away.”

  1. Some say they can believe in Christ on their deathbed. Is that really faith?

  2. Is faith something we say with our mouth or how we live?

The Authority of Christ: Christ Gives Us His Spirit

Luke 21:10-19 (CSB) Then he told them, “Nation will be raised up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be violent earthquakes, and famines and plagues in various places, and there will be terrifying sights and great signs from heaven. But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you. They will hand you over to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to bear witness. Therefore make up your minds not to prepare your defense ahead of time, for I will give you such words and a wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will even be betrayed by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. They will kill some of you. You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. By your endurance, gain your lives.

Job 40:6-10 (CSB) Then the LORD answered Job from the whirlwind:
Get ready to answer me like a man;
When I question you, you will inform me.
Would you really challenge my justice?
Would you declare me guilty to justify yourself?
Do you have an arm like God’s?
Can you thunder with a voice like his?
Adorn yourself with majesty and splendor,
and clothe yourself with honor and glory.

Who is in charge over all the things that happen in the world?

The Authority of Christ: Christ Exacts His Vengeance

Luke 21:20-24 (CSB) “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that its desolation has come near. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Those inside the city must leave it, and those who are in the country must not enter it, because these are days of vengeance to fulfill all the things that are written. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for there will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will be killed by the sword and be led captive into all the nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Job 40:11-14 (CSB) Pour out your raging anger;
look on every proud person and humiliate him.
Look on every proud person and humble him;
trample the wicked where they stand.
Hide them together in the dust;
imprison them in the grave.
Then I will confess to you
that your own right hand can deliver you.

Who dictates the wars and conflicts between people?

The Authority of Christ: Christ is the Glory of God

Luke 21:25-28 (CSB) “Then there will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and there will be anguish on the earth among nations bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the world, because the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these things begin to take place, stand up and lift your heads, because your redemption is near.”

Job 38:4-14 (CSB) Where were you when I established the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who fixed its dimensions? Certainly you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
What supports its foundations?
Or who laid its cornerstone
while the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Who enclosed the sea behind doors
when it burst from the womb,
when I made the clouds its garment
and total darkness its blanket,
when I determined its boundaries
and put its bars and doors in place,
when I declared, “You may come this far, but no farther;
your proud waves stop here”?
Have you ever in your life commanded the morning
or assigned the dawn its place,
so it may seize the edges of the earth
and shake the wicked out of it?
The earth is changed as clay is by a seal;
its hills stand out like the folds of a garment.

Psalms 90:1-2 (CSB)
Lord, you have been our refuge
in every generation.
Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from eternity to eternity, you are God.

Who is in charge of space and time?

The Authority of Christ: Christ Will Return One Day

Luke 21:29-38 (CSB) Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they put out leaves you can see for yourselves and recognize that summer is already near. In the same way, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“Be on your guard, so that your minds are not dulled from carousing, drunkenness, and worries of life, or that day will come on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come on all who live on the face of the whole earth. But be alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”

During the day, he was teaching in the temple, but in the evening he would go out and spend the night on what is called the Mount of Olives. Then all the people would come early in the morning to hear him in the temple.

Who is in charge over our lives even if we do not believe it?