Luke 20  Jesus has come into Jerusalem on a donkey.. His entrance has brought His disciples great joy for He is " the King who comes in the Name of the Lord"!   We call it the "triumphal entry".. yet Jesus stops and weeps over the city that cannot see the Truth.   Those who should have exalted at His coming were so blinded that they could only conspire to destroy Him instead of receive Him.

Jesus heads to the most important site in Jerusalem, the temple.  The place that was meant to be holy and set apart for the Presence of God was instead, a place where robbers were given free reign.  The chief priests, the scribes, and the leading men failed to obey the Word and led Israel to completely miss the Messiah that they had waited for all those years.  No wonder Jesus wept.

Though the people who had heard Jesus preach over the last 3 years had recognized His authority, the  chief priests did not.  They questioned Jesus again.. but He would not answer them.  Instead, He tells a parable about a vineyard owner.  The vineyard was rented out, but those who worked there refused to recognize that the owner was due his part of the produce.  They abused and killed the slaves who were sent to receive the goods.. and they took the life of the heir.. the Son, who was sent.   Jesus is revealing to the Jews that the kingdom they wanted to control.. was not theirs at all.  The Kingdom belongs to God and because of their failures, it was going to be lost altogether and given to others.

Three questions are discussed here.  The first is posed by spies who ask Jesus about paying taxes to Rome.  Jesus silences them with His answer. " .. render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's."  
The second is posed by the Sadducees who ask about a wife and the 7 brothers she married and what would happen at the resurrection ( that they didn't believe in).   Jesus sets them straight, explaining that the resurrection is real and that it is unlike anything they can imagine. Their concept of God is lacking.. they do not understand that God is not limited by death!  " Now He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him." 
The third question is posed by Jesus - .. how is He ( the Lord) both the son of David and the Lord of David?  No answer is recorded here..  They could not begin to conceive of an answer, because they did not want to believe.

Jesus warns the people to beware of those who were supposed to be leaders in the things of God, but who only wanted to exalt themselves.  They were going to be condemned.  Following these false teachers would bring condemnation, not salvation.   Only the Truth would bring them to find salvation and that would be in Him.

We know that Jesus is within days of the cross.  He is teaching important truths to His disciples and to those who have not yet decided to follow Him.  He has wept over the City of God.  He has revealed that all will be done as God has willed. He wants us to look beyond the physical world and into the True reality of Eternity - All things belong to God.  God is God of everything and everyone.

God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways far higher than our ways!  How should we respond to these truths?  Not as the the priests, scribes, and ruling men did.. questioning the authority of the Lord.. but with humble acceptance and faith.  It is our duty to render to God what is His.. and all things are His!  In faith we must acknowledge God as God of the living..  whether we are in these earthly bodies or not.. He sees us, knows us, and loves us.  Believe it!

Father in Heaven,  how blind we are to the true reality of Heaven.. and of You!  Open our eyes that we might KNOW You in all our ways, trust You with all our hearts, and lean on You, not on our limited understanding. We are not wise.. we do not begin to grasp the greatness of Your Holiness.. of who You really are.  But we have learned to fear You and to turn from evil to follow the Lord Jesus, our Savior and King.  Thank You for the mercy and grace that You have poured out on us through Jesus! O Lover of our souls, we desire to know You more and to delight in You always.  We pray for Your will to be done in our hearts and lives today.  In the Name of Jesus we pray. Amen.