Luke chapter 20

vs 1

They're like a posse. Nothing new under the sun, homey.

vs 2

They've tried this trick before - last time, the suggestion was that Jesus' authority was from Satan. This time, they're being more subtle, and asking him where his authority comes from. It may have been a subtle delicate ruse, execpt for the fact that all of them are standing there together demanding it of him.

vs 3-4

I'm not sure if the etiquette of Hebrew or Greek or Aramaic or whatever they were speaking allows for people to answer a question with a question. But Jesus does anyway. It seems an odd question to us, because we don't put a lot of focus on John TB. But remember - John TB was a superstar. He was heaps more well known than Jesus, at least in the early days. People from all over Judea had come to get baptised by him. So for Jesus' sake, it's probably an ordinary question. But for the sake of the other people listening, judging between Jesus and the leaders, it is a fundamental question.

vs 5

They discuss it - they can't answer from heaven, because they did not give John's ministry the stamp of approval. They were not baptised, apparently. Probably they didn't think they had any need to repent of their sin. If that's why they weren't baptised, then it shows how deep in trouble the Judaism of the day was - that no reptentance for sin was found.

vs 6

They are not afraid of getting the answer wrong. They obviously believe that John TB was not a prophet. Either that, or there is the possibility that they are now convinced that John TB was a prophet, but they think that Jesus will give them a tongue lashing for not believing him in the first place, and they want to be spared more ridicule. Their discussion is not to save them from untruth and help to find the truth. They are discussing their answer because they want to a) achieve an answer from Jesus to their original question b) keep their respectabilty and c) not get stoned to death by the people. Noble goals?

vs 7

The problem is that their answer puts them in a position of ridicule. Jesus was a master of argument. This question, no matter how they answered it, was going to put them in a bad position. Wedge politics, we like to call it. The problem with their answer is that if they don't know whether John TB was a prophet or not, then who is supposed to? Aren't these guys the spiritual leaders of Israel? And yet they can't even tell if John TB was a prophet? Saying "I don't know" not only makes them seem political (instead of just answering the question), but it makes them seem stupid.

vs 8

This is Jesus' version of saying, "You want the truth? You can't handle the truth!" And they can't, because their answer to Jesus of his question shows clearly that the truth is not on their agenda.

vs 9

Jesus now starts on what is one of the most scathing parables against the Pharisees etc that he tells in his lifetime. Note the very important context of it, so that you know that it really is specifically against the religious leaders of the time. The picture is pretty self explanitory so far.

vs 10

So the tenants suck. It's not that they have no fruit - it's that they want to keep all the fruit for themselves. Think about what this says about the religious leaders of Israel. God asks for fruit, and they treat his servants shamefully. When you align these wicked tenants with real people, they look truly awful. No wonder the Pharisees etc get truly peeved at Jesus!