What does Luke 20:1 mean?
Mark 11 seems to specify that this encounter happened a few days after the triumphal entry. Luke later says, "And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet. And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him" (Luke 21:37–38). Jesus is not inside the inner areas of the temple, itself. Rather, the temple site is bordered by porticoes and hallways. There, rabbis can teach whoever is willing to listen. For Jesus, this audience includes some immensely powerful men.The "chief priests and the scribes with the elders" may include members of the Sanhedrin: the religious authority over the Jews. "Chief priest" is not a title God ordained in the Mosaic law; it likely refers to former high priests and/or priests with notable influence and power. "Scribes" are the equivalent of lawyers; they are experts in the written Old Testament law. Scribes could also be Pharisees: members of a sect fanatical about adherence to a set of traditional laws meant to protect the people from breaking God's law. However, most of the Sanhedrin are Sadducees: a branch of Judaism which only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament and generally dismissed spiritual or supernatural ideas. "Elders" are influential laymen, most likely businessmen in Jerusalem. The Sadducees and elders have good relations with the Romans and wouldn't want Jesus to drive them out. The Pharisees are against the Romans, but they are too jealous of Jesus to support Him as a replacement.
The leaders' immediate purpose seems to be questioning Jesus' authority to drive out the money changers and merchants who had filled the Court of the Gentiles (Luke 19:45–46). The high priest's family almost certainly received kickbacks from those merchants; the elders probably owned some of those stands. All three groups have reasons to want Jesus gone.
Luke 20:1–8 begins the religious leaders' attack on Jesus' authority. Chief priests, scribes, and elders question Jesus' religious authority regarding the cleansing of the temple (Luke 19:45–46). In turn, Jesus challenges them to judge John the Baptist, the witness to Jesus' authority. Afraid of the crowd who believed John was a prophet, the religious leaders refuse to answer. Jesus responds with a parable about the Son of God (Luke 20:9–18). In the mirror image of this segment, Jesus will describe how the scribes' own sinful actions prove them unqualified to lead (Luke 20:45–47). Matthew 21:23–27 and Mark 11:27–33 also give accounts of this interaction.
After His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus find Himself in conflict with the city's religious leaders. Elders, priests, scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees all attempt to discredit Him. This comes mostly in challenging Jesus with trick questions. Jesus deftly handles those challenges without falling into the trap. He provides several teachings about His role as the Son of God and directly warns the Jewish people against their generation of scribes, who are arrogant and pretentious.
