“There was a good and righteous man named Joseph, a member of the Sanhedrin, who had not agreed with their plan and action. He was from Arimathea, a Judean town, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God. He approached Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body” (Luke 23:50-52, HCSB).
Joseph of Arimathea was apparently a member of the Sanhedrin and a man of wealth. He was a good and righteous man so he had disagreed with the injustice of the Sanhedrin’s decision to execute Jesus.
“The nation of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. The people of Judah are his pleasant garden. He expected a crop of justice, but instead he found oppression. He expected to find righteousness, but instead he heard cries of violence” (Isaiah 5:7, NLT).
In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus told a parable about a landowner who planted a vineyard (Matthew 21:33-46; Mark 12:1-12; Luke 20:9-19). In the minds of its hearers this parable was a familiar Old Testament theme that alluded to Isaiah’s song of the vineyard in Isaiah 5 (see also Psalms 80:6-16).
“When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. Jesus said, I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins. For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 22:14-16, NLT).
The Passover meal had as its ultimate goal the messianic banquet (see Revelation 19:7).
Jesus’ death as the true Passover lamb (1 Cor 5:7) inaugurated the Kingdom of God that will be completed at Jesus’ second coming!
“Jesus replied, Marriage is for people here on earth. But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection” (Luke 20:34-37, NLT).
The Sadducees were a branch of Judaism that did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. To refute the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, they posed an ad absurdum argument to Jesus regarding a woman widowed seven times.
“They talked it over among themselves. If we say it was from heaven, he will ask why we didn’t believe John. But if we say it was merely human, the people will stone us because they are convinced John was a prophet. So they finally replied that they didn’t know. And Jesus responded, Then I won’t tell you by what authority I do these things” (Luke 20:5-8, NLT).
One day near the end of His earthly ministry while Jesus was teaching in the Temple, the religious leaders challenged His authority. Jesus responded to the challenge by asking them by what authority did John the Baptist teach and baptize.
“Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him. when he drew near, He asked him, ‘What do you want Me to do for you?’ ‘Lord,’ he said, ‘I want to see!'” (Luke 18:40, HCSB).
We’re all familiar with the old saying, “The squeaky wheel gets the grease.” Well, that’s sort of what happens in this story.
“But they didn’t understand any of this. The significance of his words was hidden from them, and they failed to grasp what he was talking about” (Luke 18:34, NLT).
What Jesus was talking about was His impending death and resurrection.
Has this ever happened to you? A significant work of God–even a miracle–occurs right in front of you and it goes completely unnoticed by you, until later!
“Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14, HCSB).
Jesus told His disciples a story about how some people trust in themselves for their righteousness–that is, they are self-righteous–and in so doing, they look down on everyone else.
In the story Jesus told about a Pharisee and a tax collector who went to the Temple to pray.
“The Lord will indeed vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants when He sees that their strength is gone” (Deuteronomy 32:36, HCSB).
Deuteronomy 32 is called the Song of Moses. It is a song that was intended to warn Israel through the ages of the consequences of apostasy and disobedience to God.
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it…For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 17:33; 18:14, NLT).
In Luke 17 Jesus told His disciples about His second coming to earth and how those that try to hold on to their life in this world will lose it in the end.
In Luke 18 Jesus told the story of a Pharisee who prayed he was thankful he was not sinful like other men, while a certain tax collector prayed and called on God to have mercy on him as a sinner. Jesus exposes the prayer of the Pharisee as self-exalting.
