(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)

Worship

By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.

Thanksgiving

Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)

Scripture Reading

Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!

Scripture Reading: Luke Ch. 20 (ESV)

Meditation

Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.

Devotional

Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.)

(vv. 1-8) In this passage, we see the chief priests and scribes continue to question Jesus in a hostile manner, but we also see how Jesus responds with wisdom to render them speechless. Jesus was welcomed by crowds as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey. He cleared the temple courts and taught in the temple. All this displayed his extraordinary authority. If he wasn’t from God, how could he do any of this? The chief priests and scribes could accept that John the Baptist was given authority from heaven even though he did not perform a single miracle, yet they were unwilling to accept Jesus, who performed signs and wonders and spoke with authority. Could they really not see or understand? Was it so difficult to acknowledge the authority of Jesus? 

However, let us reflect on this. When we say that Jesus is our Lord, our God, and our Savior, are we truly surrendering to his authority? Perhaps we don’t ask Jesus outright, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”, but in reality, if we are hesitant or reluctant to do what God wants us to say and do, isn’t that also questioning God through our actions? May we obey God’s word in our lives, so that his authority may be displayed in our life! 

(vv. 9-18) The Bible compares Christ to three types of stones, all of which are mentioned in this passage: 

• To the church, he is the cornerstone (The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone): 

Ephesians 2:20 “built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” 

1 Peter 2:6-7 “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” 

• To the Israelites whose hearts were hardened, he is the stone who causes people to stumble (Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces): 

Romans 9:32-33 “Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works.  They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone  of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 

1 Corinthians 1:23 “but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles” 

• To all unbelievers, he represents the stone of judgment and destruction (when the stone falls on anyone, it will crush him): 

Daniel 2:34-35 “As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” 

(vv. 19-26) When Jesus said “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s”, he was speaking to the legitimacy of the Roman regime, because the coins did indeed have the image and inscription of the Roman leader, and paying taxes was an obligation to abide by the law. But he continued to say “render to God the things that are God’s”, telling us that above the governments on earth, there is a higher authority that belongs to God. Since man is made in the image of God, we should be faithful to God, more so than to the authorities on earth! By giving such a response, not only did Jesus not fall into the trap of the chief priests and teachers of the law, but also helps us to have a deeper understanding of the priority of heavenly authority versus earthly government.  

1 Peter 2:9 says “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Dear brothers and sisters, do you know your own identity? Remind yourself, render to God the things that are God’s! 

(vv. 27-40) The Sadducees were mainly composed of priests. They belong to the higher ranks of society, and were more well-off than others. They only accepted the authority of the five books of Moses, and did not believe in angels, spirits or resurrection (Acts 23:6-8). The Sadducees and Pharisees were not friendly with each other, but yet they were willing to unite together so that they could find fault with Jesus. This time, in order to prove their own beliefs, they came up with an illogical example to raise doubt about the resurrection of the dead. From Jesus’ response, we see that the future resurrection of God’s children transcends the relationship of marriage, and that from a spiritual viewpoint, everyone is born of God (1 John 5:1, John 3:6), and are all sons and daughters of God. On the other hand, Jesus also used God’s declaration to Moses, that “I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” to show that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, these patriarchs of the Israelites, were counted worthy and were alive in the presence of God, and this refuted the Sadducees’ errant belief that there is no resurrection of the dead. 

(vv. 41-47) When the people stopped questioning Jesus, Jesus turned to question them. After Jesus had taught about the truth of resurrection, he now focused on another important truth, which is his true identity. Jesus is not only a man, but he is God descended from the heavenly throne. Jesus used Psalm 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” to show that the Jesus they are seeing, is in fact the one who sits at the right hand of God, the one whom David calls “my Lord”. 

The Jews view the right hand as a place of importance, and the Bible in many places reference Jesus being at the right hand of God (Hebrews 8:1, 12:2; Romans 8:34); where he makes his enemies his footstool, signifying total victory. The Bible also proclaims Christ as the victorious king (John 16:33; Revelation 3:21, 17:14). 

From today’s Scripture reading, we are once again reminded about how to correctly view politics, faith, and religion: 

• Regarding earthly government: Because I obey God, I am willing to submit to earthly authority and obey the laws of the land; but more importantly, I need to surrender myself to God! 
• Regarding the resurrection of the dead: Because of my faith in Jesus, I am considered worthy of eternal life, and I will be resurrected in glory! 
• Regarding Jesus’ identity: Jesus is the victorious King; he rules over me and leads me to victory! 

Pray

Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what/where are you going to lead me to today?”)