Unquestionably Superior • Luke 20:20-44

1:07:29 Teaching begins

Notes

The only reason Jesus’ opponents attack Him is they think they can get away with it. “He’s just like anybody else. We can take Him down.”

What a humbling experience, to find that Jesus is more aware than you, deeper than you, smarter than you, greater than you.

He is unquestionably superior.

I’m reading in Luke 20 from verse 20.

1. Jesus’ enemies still want to kill Him.

A. Directly challenging His authority backfired on them. They wanted to put Him in danger of losing His life, and He turned the tables on them. They had to back down in humiliation and He told a parable on them.

B. They still want to kill Him, and they think, “We have to be smarter than Him. He was lucky that time, but we’ll give Him a real dilemma.”

2. So they watch and think, and come up with a strategy. We’ll ask Him an innocent question that He can’t answer without getting Himself in trouble.

A. First of all we’ll pick out some guys who look innocent and neutral. They’re not immediately identified with us, they’ll look natural.

B. Second, we’ll have them show respect and flatter Him, to show they look up to Him. He’ll be pleased that we’re sympathetic and on His side.

C. Then they ask Him to solve our problem. Teachers can’t resist solving hard questions especially after we butter Him up. And we surprise Him unpleasantly.

1. If He says don’t pay taxes, we get Him for attacking the government and inciting to rebellion. Romans don’t like rebellion at all.

2. If He says pay taxes to Romans, we get Him for siding with the occupiers.

3. Either way, He’s dead. There’s no way out of this dilemma. He goes down today.

3. Jesus sees right through them and overwhelms them entirely.

A. The reason is because they underestimate Him.

1. They think He’s a guy just like anyone else, subject to the same traps and snares everyone is liable to. They think He’s defenceless.

2. They don’t realise that Jesus really is the Messiah, and He is God born as a human being. They don’t know that Jesus is sinless, perfect, does not think about Himself, not open to flattery.

3. When they say, “Teacher, we know You teach the way of God in truth,” Jesus knows they’ve never heard Him, don’t know what He teaches. He taught that He was God, the fulfilment of the Scriptures and the promises of God. They don’t go far enough. They want to flatter Him, but for them to say, “Teacher” is an insult to Him.

4. So He knows, these guys are insincere, there’s something up.

B. They ask their question and it’s an either / or question. There’s only two answers and both of them stink.

C. Jesus surprises them with a serious, thoughtful answer.

1. Their question was false, not even a question, because they don’t care about an answer, they’re looking to attack Him.

2. But Jesus reframes the question and makes them think. Show Me a coin. Whose likeness, whose inscription? Caesar. Pay Caesar what belongs to him, pay God what belongs to Him.  It’s not a question of do I like this or do I not like this? You have an obligation to Caesar, do you fulfil it? You have an obligation to God, do you fulfil that?

D. They are amazed, and they have no answer because they weren’t looking for an answer. He gave much more than they were looking for.

E. Only God can so answer a question that you have no more to say.

4. The Sadducees think they can humiliate Jesus.

A. They only believed what Moses wrote, and therefore they didn’t believe in a physical resurrection. They didn’t believe in life after death. They believed you ceased to exist when you died.

B. They believed in this life, in power, in privilege, in being the aristocracy, the elite.

C. So they looked down on Jesus, they also underestimated Him.

D. Their question was probably the argument stopper, the one that ridiculed their opponents, to show the absurdity of resurrection. Seven brothers, the oldest married a woman, he died, the next brother married her to provide offspring for his brother, to fulfil the law of Moses. That’s so the brother’s name should not be cut off from Israel. Well, all the brothers married her, they all died without children. She dies. So in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? Ridiculous, right?

E. Jesus answers a frivolous question seriously.

1. He teaches there is a resurrection.

2. You must be found worthy by God to attain to that resurrection. He implies if you are not worthy, you don’t go poof, you undergo eternal punishment. That’s worse than not existing.

3. Marriage is for this age, it’s a temporary relationship. In the resurrection you become immortal with a greater relationship than marriage, you are sons of God.

4. Moses taught resurrection. God is not the God of the dead but of the living. He said, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,” not “I was the God of Abraham.” All live to Him. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive, says Moses.

F. The Sadducees can’t say anything in reply because it’s evident that Jesus is right. Jesus has closed their mouths with truth.

G. No one has courage to attack Jesus with a hard question. He has the right answer and He can show you to be shallow as well as wrong. He is clearly superior.

5. But Jesus doesn’t leave it there. He goes on the offense to put an end to all debate and challenge.

A. How is it they say that the Christ is David’s son? Well, because that is what is written in 2 Samuel 7. Everyone knows this.

B. Is that all he is? The Scripture says He is more than that. David himself calls the Messiah “Lord”, meaning God, equal to the Lord Himself. How is he David’s son?

1. A father is always superior to his son. Everybody knows that, too. That’s why the Pharisees always hold the fathers is such high regard. The fathers are always superior.

2. David says by the Holy Spirit that his Son is superior to him. That He is God.

C. The people around Jesus are experiencing what “superior” means right now.

1. Jesus has a depth of Scripture and understanding that we’ve never seen. Has anyone made that connection before? We all know that psalm was written a thousand years before, and yeah, sure, we all know that’s Scripture, and, what? What does that say again? Huh? Gee, I never saw that before. How did He see that?

2. Who knows the answer? He is Lord, He is David’s Son? The implications boggle the mind.

D. Jesus has effectively shut the door to debates, challenges, showdowns, duels. No one imagines they’re smart enough to trap Jesus from here on. No one is smarter or more profound than Him. He is unquestionably superior to everyone.

6. So what?

A. The unbelievers who write off Jesus only show they have never considered Him, never actually looked at what He said and did. They have never looked at Scripture to see what is written of Him, that He fulfils the promises, the prophecies, and the covenants of God. In their arrogance they just ignore Him.

B. And yet even we who believe in Jesus have a tendency to write Him off. We think He’s just like us. If I can’t do it, He sure can’t.

1. If I can’t save myself, He sure can’t.

2. If I can’t take care of myself, He sure can’t.

3. If I don’t know where I’m going, He sure doesn’t either.

C. We struggle with unbelief, that He is not sufficient.

D. That’s why I’m glad for these Scriptures. We get reminded that Jesus is superior to us. He is unique. He is miles ahead of those around Him. He always knows the right thing to say and do on every occasion. He does the impossible. Nothing is a problem for Him.

E. Jesus demonstrates His superiority to His opponents and they draw away because they don’t want to be humbled. They still want to kill Him. He is obviously perfectly superior but they don’t want to submit to Him.

F. What about you? Because He is superior submit to Him. You have questions in your life and issues you struggle with. Don’t worry about them. He already knows what He is going to do. He can get you where you need to be. He understands the Scriptures, and He can teach you what you need to know. All those questions and issues you face are side issues. He will solve them all. The most important thing is you submit to Him, commit your life to His lordship because He is superior.

Let’s pray.