What does Luke 20:26 mean?
Jerusalem's chief priests and scribes have been trying to trap Jesus. They hope He'll encourage the people to break Roman law. They ask Him if Israelites should pay the census tax to Caesar. Part of the underlying question is whether they should make a public display of loyalty to their Roman conquerors, or should they maintain loyalty to their God? Jesus counters the false dilemma by saying Israel owes a debt to Rome as their civil authority. But Israel also owes a debt to God. They need to fulfill both debts—and the two are not mutually exclusive (Luke 20:19–25).Jesus' accusers want Him to defy Rome's authority in front of the crowd to provide witnesses to Jesus' crime. During the trials after Jesus' arrest, the hand-picked witnesses will not be able to coordinate their lies (Mark 14:55–56). Eventually, the priests will settle on extortion. They'll infer that if the local governor doesn't execute Jesus, it means he affirms Jesus as king: treason against the Roman Empire (John 19:12–16).
Mark 12:13 points out the scribes are members of the Pharisees: religious leaders who follow the Jewish Scriptures and add the Oral Law. They want Israel to be free of Rome but are not willing to engage in open violence like the Zealots. Herodians are also present; this group is less religious, supporting the appointed puppet king, Herod Antipas, and appreciating that Rome gives him authority. As different as the two sects are, they have been working together to destroy Jesus since the beginning of His public ministry (Mark 3:6).
So far, the priests, Pharisees, and Herodians have failed miserably. Next, the Sadducees take their turn. They follow only the Torah, not any of the Pharisees' extra laws. The Sadducees are more worldly and generally have a good relationship with Romans. Most of the priests and members of the local ruling council are Sadducees. One distinction is that they do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They know Jesus does, so they'll try to catch Him in a logical paradox regarding death and marriage. They want to destroy His authority to speak on doctrinal issues, showing the crowd He is not a worthy teacher. Jesus destroys their argument, instead, and they retreat as well (Luke 20:27–40).
