Luke 20: The Stone the Builders Rejected, the Coin, and the God of the Living
I spent last Saturday squaring a slab of black walnut for a dining table. The first corner I cut was off by a degree. Just one degree. But that one degree meant every subsequent measurement would be wrong. I would have to recut the whole piece from the reference edge.
Luke 20 is about people who rejected the reference edge.
The religious leaders came at Jesus with questions designed to trap Him. They asked about authority, then taxes, then the resurrection. Every question looked honest but was a test. Jesus answered each one by showing them where the measurement was off. He did not argue or raise His voice.
Who Is the Stone the Builders Rejected
The first exchange was about authority. The leaders asked Jesus by what authority He taught and healed. It sounded fair until you realized they were looking for grounds to arrest Him rather than an honest answer.
Jesus turned the question around. He asked about the baptism of John and whether it came from heaven or from men. They could not answer without exposing their motives. If they said from heaven, they would have to explain why they did not believe John. If they said from men, the crowd would turn on them.
They said nothing. Jesus said nothing back. If you are not honestly asking, you do not get an answer.
Then He told the parable of the wicked husbandmen. A man planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants. When he sent servants for the fruit, the tenants beat them. He sent another and the same thing happened. He sent a third and they wounded him. Finally he sent his son and they killed him. The tenants wanted the vineyard for themselves and forgot it was only leased.
Jesus quoted the Psalm. The stone the builders rejected became the head of the corner. That is the first stone laid, the one that determines the angle of everything else.
The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner. (Luke 20:17)
I think about this when I set up a table saw. The fence has to be parallel to the blade. The blade has to be square to the table. If any of those reference points is off, every cut inherits the error.
Jesus was the reference point. The builders rejected Him and tried to build without a square edge. That is why everything went crooked.
What Does Luke 20 Teach About the Resurrection
The Sadducees came next with a ridiculous hypothetical. A woman married seven brothers, one after another. They asked whose wife she would be in the resurrection. They thought this proved resurrection was impossible.
Jesus corrected them. The children of this world marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to obtain the next world do not marry. They are like the angels, children of God, children of the resurrection.
Then He gave the real evidence. Moses at the burning bush called the Lord the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. God is not a God of the dead but of the living. If He is their God, they must still exist.
He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. (Luke 20:38)
That might be the quietest and most powerful argument for the resurrection anywhere in scripture. It does not rely on visions or miracles. It is a grammatical observation about a verb tense. God said I AM the God of Abraham. Present tense. Abraham still lives to Him.
Render Unto Caesar and Unto God Meaning
The third challenge came from spies pretending to be righteous men. They asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. Saying yes would make Jesus look like a Roman collaborator while saying no would make Him a rebel.
Jesus asked for a coin and said whose image and inscription are on it. Caesar's, they answered. He told them to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.
The coin carried Caesar's image, so it went back to Caesar. But you carry the image of God, so you go back to Him.
There is a connection here to Luke 18: The Widow, the Publican, and the Blind Man Who Saw. That chapter is about the kind of prayer God hears. This one is about the kind of loyalty God deserves. Both lead to the same place: give Him what is already His.
Warning Against the Scribes
The chapter closes with a warning. Beware of the scribes who love long robes, greetings in the markets, and the highest seats. They devour widows' houses while making long prayers.
The scribes had been trying to trap Jesus all day. He never fell into any of their traps. Instead He showed them what they really were: men who loved the appearance of authority but would not recognize the real thing standing in front of them.
How to Apply Luke 20 to Modern Discipleship
This chapter asks a question I keep coming back to. Am I honestly seeking or am I trying to manage my position?
There is a difference between asking because you want to learn and asking because you want to avoid answering. The leaders in this chapter asked about authority to protect their own standing, asked about taxes to trap Jesus, and asked about the resurrection to make faith look foolish.
Jesus answered the honest seekers and stayed quiet with the rest.
I find that sobering. Most of my bad decisions started with a question I was not ready to have answered.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Jesus mean by the stone which the builders rejected?
The religious leaders were the builders. They rejected Jesus as the Messiah. But in God's plan He became the head of the corner, the most essential foundation. What they threw away is what holds the whole thing together.
Why did Jesus ask about John's baptism before answering about His authority?
Jesus exposed their insincerity. They cared more about public opinion than about truth. By showing they would not answer about John, He proved they were not honestly asking about Him. He did not waste an answer on a dishonest question.
What is the main point of the resurrection discussion in Luke 20?
The next life is not just a continuation of this one. Marriage and mortal institutions carry over differently. But the people who died still exist. God called Himself the God of Abraham in the present tense because Abraham is still alive.
How should Christians balance paying taxes and serving God?
The coin belongs to Caesar, so give it back to him. But you bear the image of God, so give yourself back to Him. Pay your taxes and serve your country, but your ultimate allegiance belongs elsewhere.
I squared the walnut slab around noon and the rest of the afternoon went clean. Every joint lined up. The table sits flat.
The difference was that first corner. Once it was right, everything else followed. The stone the builders rejected is the one that would have made everything straight.
— D.