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Luke 20:19
ESV The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
NIV The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
NASB The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him that very hour, and yet they feared the people; for they were aware that He had spoken this parable against them.
CSB Then the scribes and the chief priests looked for a way to get their hands on him that very hour, because they knew he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
NLT The teachers of religious law and the leading priests wanted to arrest Jesus immediately because they realized he was telling the story against them — they were the wicked farmers. But they were afraid of the people’s reaction.
KJV And the chief priests and the scribes the same hour sought to lay hands on him; and they feared the people: for they perceived that he had spoken this parable against them.

What does Luke 20:19 mean?

Scribes, chief priests, and elders approached Jesus and asked Him where He received the authority to drive the merchants and money changers from the Temple Mount. The chief priests and the elders probably had financial interest in those vendors. Jesus' response was so shaming that apparently the elders—powerful businessmen in Jerusalem—bowed out of the conversation (Luke 20:1–18). Jesus is a minor threat to their businesses but a major threat to the religious authority the scribes and priests hold.

The scribes and priests understand the cutting truth of Jesus' parable of the wicked tenants (Luke 20:9–18), which only heightens their desire to get rid of Him. But arresting Him would disenfranchise the very people they're trying to win back. So, they wait quietly for a chance to entrap Him into breaking the Roman law (Luke 20:20).

In His parable (Luke 20:9–18), Jesus described a landowner who planted a vineyard and hired tenants to care for it. When the vineyard was ready for harvest, the owner sent several servants to collect some of the produce. Instead, the tenants beat and/or killed the servants. Eventually, the owner sent his son and the tenants killed him. In response, the owner returned, killed the tenants, and hired replacements.

Jesus' opponents understood His subtext. He's saying that God granted them—Jerusalem's religious leaders—authority over His peoples' expression of worship; over the centuries their predecessors have beaten and killed the Lord's prophets. The generation represented in this passage will kill His Son. So, God will destroy them and establish new leadership.

It's human nature to be offended when we're rebuked about sin. Sometimes, we take the correction as disrespect, and become so angry that we ignore the warning and end up fulfilling it. Jesus told His attackers that if they kill Him, God will destroy them. Rather than being cautious, they spitefully work ever harder at finding a way to kill Him.

The opposition to Jesus from Jerusalem's leadership is an unusually ecumenical project. Scribes, sometimes called "lawyers," are experts in the Mosaic law. They can be Pharisees or Sadducees. Matthew typically identifies them as Pharisees. Most priests of the era are Sadducees. But Matthew says they also bring in Herodians: those loyal to the tetrarch over Galilee and who tolerate the Roman occupation (Matthew 22:15–16). The Pharisees and Herodians are political enemies; the Pharisees and Sadducees are religious rivals. It's rare that all three factions join behind support of the same cause.
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