devotional post # 2043

Luke 20:16-19 JDV

Luk 20:16 He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “This would never happen!”

Luk 20:17 But Jesus looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?

Luk 20:18 Everyone who stumbles over this stone will be broken to pieces, and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”

Luk 20:19 Then the experts in the law and the chief priests wanted to arrest him at that hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

social disconnect

The people of Jerusalem were caught in a painful tension—one they could not resolve without confronting the truth. On one hand, they desperately wanted to believe that their leaders were righteous, wise, and trustworthy. To admit otherwise would have meant admitting that the entire religious system they depended on was corrupt. On the other hand, they were drawn to Jesus. His authority was unmistakable. His compassion was magnetic. His miracles were undeniable. They wanted to believe in Him too.

But those two loyalties could not coexist forever. The leaders feared the crowds, so they hesitated to arrest Jesus openly. The crowds admired Jesus, but they hesitated to break with the leaders they had long revered. This social disconnect—this attempt to hold on to incompatible allegiances—created a fragile, unstable moment. And eventually, it collapsed. When pressure mounted, the crowd that once shouted “Hosanna” became the crowd that shouted “Crucify Him.” Their desire to honor their leaders outweighed their desire to honor their Messiah.

That same dynamic is alive across the world today. We elevate the wrong people as heroes—celebrities, influencers, political figures, cultural icons—and we try to hold on to Jesus at the same time. We want both: the world’s approval and Christ’s lordship. But divided allegiance never lasts. Eventually, the pressure of culture forces a choice. And unless our hearts are anchored in Christ alone, the drift will always move toward betrayal, not faithfulness.

The tragedy of Jerusalem is not simply that they rejected Jesus. It is that they tried to keep their heroes and their Messiah at the same time. The tragedy of our age is similar. We worship the wrong people, and then wonder why our devotion to Christ weakens.

True discipleship requires a decisive renunciation of false heroes. It requires the courage to say, “Only one deserves my allegiance. Only one deserves my trust. Only one deserves my worship.”

LORD, we renounce our worship of all heroes except You.