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Jesus found himself in controversy with the Jewish leaders who tried to trap him into making statements that could be used against him in court (20:1-8). When they questioned him about the source of his authority, he did not give a direct answer but asked them to name the source of John the Baptist’s authority, a question they were reluctant to answer.
He told the parable of the vineyard (20:9-19) as a warning to the Jews. Its form is allegorical. The vineyard stands for Israel, or the privilege of being God’s people. Its owner is God. The servants beaten by the tenants are the prophets. The beloved son, who is killed, is Jesus. The destruction of the tenants is the overthrow of the Jews, which in fact occurred in the war of 66-73 a.d. And the others who receive the vineyard are the followers of Christ, whether Jews or Gentiles. But this parable is not just a warning to Jews. It challenges everyone who, by hostility or disloyalty to Jesus, crucifies him “all over again” (Heb 6:6).
Luke records two questions put to Jesus and one raised by Jesus himself. When the Jewish leaders asked Jesus about taxes (20:20-26), he indicated that taxes should be paid to Caesar. His reaction was consistent with his refusal to rebel against Rome. In answer to another question, put by the Sadducees (vv.27-40), he affirmed his belief in resurrection and took the position that marriage was a relationship for this present life rather than for the future. He then took the initiative and asked a question himself (20:41-44). He did not receive an answer, but the question implied that he was no mere son of David; he was David’s Lord.
In the incidents that follow (20:45-21:4) there is a contrast between the exploitation of widows by the teachers of the law and a particular widow’s own unstinted generosity.