
Chapter 20 describes the climax of the conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders. The entire religious establishment of Israel is gathering to confront the carpenter from Galilee. As the Master Teacher, He asks them a question they are afraid to answer. Then, He follows their non-response with a parable that provokes them to search for a way to arrest Him.
Notice the hatred for Jesus and the great lengths they go to capture Him. They send spies to trap Him, and Jesus sees right through their schemes. Their attempt to goad Jesus into incriminating Himself through tough theological questions only led to their decision not to ask any more questions. Jesus is pointedly revealing Himself as the promised Messiah.
Jesus knew that His question would be tricky for them to answer. If they answered, “From Heaven,” they knew that Jesus would say, “Why did you not believe him?” And if they answered, “From men,” they feared they would be stoned to death by the people who believed correctly that John was a prophet.
If the scribes and Pharisees always spoke the truth, their answer would have been easy. But sadly, that was not the case. Instead of answering honestly, they calculated which answer they thought would benefit them the most before speaking. Regardless of whether it was true or not!
As Christians, we are commanded to tell the truth. Our responsibility is to say what is right, true, and pure. Our words should be honest, glorify God, and build others up. Telling the truth should always be a priority for Christians.
One of the fastest ways to lose credibility as a Christian is to get caught in a lie. The secular world loves to point these out. Fortunately, if we speak the truth in love, we won’t have to worry!
As God brings people into our lives, we must be mindful of our words and how we say them. Our words should build people up, not tear them down. Our words should be honest and spoken with the love of Jesus.
Prayer Prompts:
- Ask God to reveal the deep things of our hearts and to purify them
- Ask God to guide our thoughts and our words to build others up in love and truth
- Praise Him for His goodness toward us as He directs our paths