The Question of the Resurrection (Luke 20:27-40)

This lesson is a detailed discussion of Jesus’ discourse with the Sadducees about the resurrection of the dead (they didn’t believe in the resurrection).

Luke 20:27-40

The Sadducees: What About the Resurrection?

Luke 20:27-40

27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 28 saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife."

34 Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;  36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."

39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." 40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

(Matthew 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27)

The Sadducees now attempt to question Jesus

The Sadducees were essentially aristocrats who dominated the higher echelon of the priesthood, and many Sadducees who were not priests held positions of authority, such as lay elders in the Sanhedrin. The Sadducees derived their power from their class, while the Pharisees derived theirs from learning.

As a result of their high social status the Sadducees were interested in political matters, and in these areas they were very conservative, seeking to maintain the status quo. The Sadducees collaborated with the Romans, from whom much of the Sadducees’ political power originated, and maintained strict policies of law and order. Such policies both pleased the Romans and helped keep the Sadducees in power. Understandably the Sadducees found any popular movement threatening. Consequently any messianic uprisings, such as Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem, would have been seen as threatening.

The passage does not explicitly state that the Sadducees sought to trap Jesus or discredit Him. However, because Luke tells us that the Sadducees deny that there is a resurrection, he seems to imply that the Sadducees were also testing Jesus. It is hard for me to see how anything Jesus might respond to their question would have any political import and be interesting to the Roman authorities. It seems more likely to me that they hoped Jesus might say something that they could use to deny to undercut the public’s belief that He was at least a prophet if not the Messiah.

The hypothetical situation the Sadducees construct is an unusual one. One of seven brothers marries but dies childless. Each brother in turn marries the window and dies childless. Finally the woman herself dies. Their question is, whose wife will she be in the resurrection, since she had been the wife of each of the seven men?

Look at Jesus’ answer. Marriage is for the sons of this age. Those who are counted worthy to attain the coming age, and the resurrection, will no longer marry or be given in marriage. Nor will they die. They will be sons of God and equals of the angels. Because the passage is written in the present tense (“those who are counted worthy”,” they are equal”), we might be tempted to believe that Jesus is talking about earthly believers. Indeed Scripture tells us that we are already sons and daughters of God; Romans 8:14 tells us that “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

As a guiding principle, we always use scripture to interpret scripture and look at one passage in light of all scripture. When we look at Jesus’ words in the parallel accounts of Matthew 22:23-33 and Mark 12:18-27, it is clear that Jesus is not taking about earthly believers but believers in the age to come, who have received their new bodies. Jesus says clearly in Matthew 23:30 “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. ” And similarly in Mark 12:25 “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”

In the resurrection Jesus tells here in Luke 20, those who attain to that age will neither marry or be given in marriage; they will not die; and they will be equal to the angels and sons of God. I believe Jesus is telling us that our sonship will not be complete until we have our new bodies. I believe we find evidence for this in what Paul says in Romans 8:18-25:

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

I do not believe that there is any contradiction between our being sons and daughters of God now but not being fully adopted until the resurrection. This is inherent in the very idea of what it means to be a son. Among the ancient Jews the firstborn son had rights and privileges (his birthright) that came with the position. For example, he knew that all things being equal he would receive a double share compared to his younger brothers and that he would be in charge of the family. However, he ordinarily could not receive his inheritance and exercise his birthright until his father’s death. Just so with us. We are already adopted sons and daughters of God, by virtue of our faith in Christ’s work upon the cross. But we will not receive our inheritance, we will not have our renewed bodies, be unconcerned with marriage, immortal, completely children of God, or equal to angels, until the resurrection has occurred.  

Indeed I believe that we cannot receive our inheritance because we are clothed in our bodies of flesh and blood. 1 Corinthians 15:50-54 tells us:

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed —  52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

Scripture tells us that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. When we die, we go into the presence of the Lord. But our new bodies, as part of our sonship, we have seen will come only during the resurrection. What kind of body will we have, when we are absent from the body and present with the Lord?

I cannot say for certain but I believe that Paul gives us a glimpse in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:8

4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

Notice Paul desires to be “clothed in his habitation which is from heaven” [verse 5:2], in his new, eternal body. Paul twice says we do not want to be found naked or unclothed, which I believe means as a spirit without a body. His wish is I believe to be alive when the resurrection occurs, to go from clothed in his earthly tent to being “further clothed”, in his new, eternal body. If I am correct, this suggests that if I were to die tonight, and the resurrection had not occurred, that I would go unclothed, that is as a spirit without any body, into the presence of the Lord.

Contrast between the understanding of man and the truth of God.

Notice what Jesus says to the Sadducees in the parallel passages in Matthew and Mark. He tells them they are mistaken because they do not understand either the scriptures or the power of God. They may have read the scriptures but lacked understanding. They may have imagined what God was like but they did not really know Him or His ways. The Sadducees had a conception of the afterlife that was based on human understanding. They imagined that life in heaven would be like life here on earth. Jesus tells them that it will not be that way. He refers them to the words of God to Moses in Exodus 3:5-6. God calls Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I believe what God is telling Moses that it’s not that He was their God but now they are dead; rather He is their God, because through Him they still live. I cannot claim to understand this completely. God’s ways are beyond our ability to understand. But I believe it nonetheless. 

If we wish to understand the truth, if we desire to know more of God and of spiritual things, than we need to be filled with and led by the spirit. “5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”( Romans 8:5-8)

May you be filled with even more of His Holy Spirit to be able draw nearer to Him. I pray that you would seek His face and hide His word in your hearts.

Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?

41 And He said to them, "How can they say that the Christ is the Son of David?  42 Now David himself said in the Book of Psalms:

'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, 43 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."'

44 Therefore David calls Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"

Beware of the Scribes

45 Then, in the hearing of all the people, He said to His disciples, 46 "Beware of the scribes, who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts,  47 who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."

(Compare Matthew 22:41-46; Mark 12:35-37)

In the end of our last study we saw the scribes, who were in the audience when the Sadducees questioned Jesus, praising Him for His answer about the resurrection. Luke says that after Jesus’ answer, “they [the scribes] dared not question Him anymore.” They might be, for the moment, done questioning Jesus, but He is not done talking to them. In verses 41-44 Jesus about the common belief that the Messiah is simply the Son of David.

We see Jesus referred to as the Son of David several times in the Old Testament (Matthew 1:1; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30,31; 21:9,15; 22:42; Mark 10:47,48; 12:35; and Luke 18:38,39; 20:41). Most recently the blind man Jesus healed outside of Jericho in Luke 18:38-39 calls Jesus Son of David. And Matthew 21:9 records that as Jesus entered Jerusalem the crowds among other things cried out “Hosanna to the Son of David!” Indeed the Old Testament begins with these words: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:…” (Matthew 1:1) There is no doubt that through both His biological mother Mary, as well as His earthly father Joseph, Jesus was descended from the line of King David.

The genesis of this belief is the covenant between King David and the Lord found in 2 Samuel 7:8-17 and 1 Chronicles 17:3-15. Turn with me please to 1 Chronicles 17:3-15 and let us read the words God spoke through His prophet Nathan to David when he desired to build a house for God:

3 But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 "Go and tell My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another.  6 Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'"' 7 Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 8 And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 9 Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 10 since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the Lord will build you a house.  11 And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his Father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14 And I will establish him in My house and in My kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established forever."'"

15 According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

The key verses for our passage are Luke 20:11-14. Notice how God promises to establish David’s seed on the throne after his death. Certainly God kept His promise to David, for David’s son Solomon became king at the end of David’s life and the kings of Judah all appear to descend from David. However, the line of kings of Israel and Judah which descended from David apparently came to an end when Israel ceased to be an independent country. There do not seem to have been any kings of Israel for over two thousand years. God must have fulfilled His promise to establish the throne of David’s seed forever in some other way than through the kings of Israel and Judah….

I believe that God fulfilled this promise through the Messiah, Who was also a descendant of King David.  And I also believe that both the religious leaders and the people of Israel made this connection as well. They knew the word of God; however, they did not understand that word. Instead I think that the religious leaders and the people of Israel believed that Messiah would be a man through whom God would restore the earthly line of Davidic kings of Israel, which line would then continue forever.

However, while Messiah was indeed a man, He was not only a man. Indeed Jesus was and is God’s only begotten Son. And before He became a man, Jesus was equal to God; and after His death and resurrection, He was highly exalted (Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus is currently seated at the right hand of God and His Name has been exalted above all names. His throne has indeed been established forever.

Scripture does not say whether David understood all that God was telling him there in 1 Chronicles. Whether he did or didn’t, nevertheless what a tremendous promise God made. Not only did David’s descendants hold the throne of Israel and later Judah as long as there were kings there, but the Messiah Himself would be a descendant of David. And most importantly for our passage tonight, not only would the Messiah be a Son of David but also the very Son of God!

In Luke 20, we see Jesus pointing out this very fact out to the scribes. Jesus points them to Psalm 110, attributed to David, which is a prophetic psalm about the Messiah. We call this a Messianic psalm because it speaks of Jesus, Who was the Messiah, not because it contains the Hebrew word for Messiah, which is mashiyach [OT:4899], which literally means “anointed one.”

1 The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool."  2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies!

3 Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power; In the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth.  4 The Lord has sworn And will not relent, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath.  6 He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. 7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.

In this psalm, I believe we see the insight that the Holy Spirit has given to David regarding spiritual things. David demonstrates the gift of knowledge and/or prophesy about the relationship between God and His Messiah. As I read this psalm, I see two distinct parts:

1. verses 1-4, where David is speaking on behalf of God about the Messiah.
2. and verses 5-7, where David is speaking to God about the Messiah.

This first set of verses is written for the most part from the perspective of God speaking to the Messiah. Notice how in the first third of verse 1 David calls the Messiah “my Lord.” Thanks to the Holy Spirit, David understands that the Messiah will not simply be his descendant but in addition will be his Lord. The first occurrence of “Lord” in verse 1 as well as the occurrences in verses 2 & 4, is in fact the Hebrew word “Jehovah” [OT: 3068], the Hebrew name for God. God tells David’s Lord that He will sit at God’s right hand [verse 1]; that He will use His enemies as a footstool [verse 1]; that He will rule in the midst of His enemies [verse 2]; that He will have the dew of His youth [verse 3]; and that He will be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek [verse 4]. From our reading of the New Testament, it is clear that all of these statements are true of Jesus.

In verses 5-7, the perspective shifts and it seems that David is speaking to God about his Lord. The word “Lord” found in verse 5 is “'Adonay” [OT:136], which is used as a proper noun only of God. “'Adonay” is the second occurrence of the word translated “Lord” in verse 1. In verses 5-7 David is telling God that his Lord will execute kings in the day of His wrath [verse 5]; that He will judge among the nations [verse 6]; that He will fill the places with dead bodies [verse 6]; and that He will execute the heads of many countries [verse 7]. These events remind me of Revelation 19 and 20, when Jesus returns with the armies of heaven and defeat the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, and later judges first the righteous and then the unrighteous.

Jesus calls the scribes attention to Psalm 110 because He wishes to drive home the point that although they have learned the scriptures, have memorized the scriptures, have taught others what the scriptures mean, they have not understood the scriptures. They have recognized that the Messiah will be descended from the line of David. But they have not understood that the Messiah will not be a mere man but rather David’s Lord, the very Son of God, as God had promised King David.

When there is no response from the scribes, Jesus turns to His disciples and warns them about the scribes, whom the NIV calls “teachers of the Law.” Whenever the Holy Spirit points out a shortcoming, the correct response I believe is to own up to your mistake, then to repent and go the righteous way. Proverbs 13:18tells us that “Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.” and similarly Proverbs 15:5 says “A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.”

The scribes correct response to Jesus, it seems to me, should have been to receive His correction. But since they did not do so, Jesus warns the crowds that the scribes desire to be recognized by men, greeted in public places and given the best seats. It is the things of man that they seek not the things of God. Yet even though they go out of their way to appear to be righteous, they do not have a heart for the needy. They devour widows’ houses and make long prayers only when others are watching them.

Notice how Jesus concludes: “These will receive greater condemnation.” Jesus holds each person responsible for those things that He has revealed to him or her. Speaking to the crowds and His disciples in Luke 12:48, Jesus told them “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.” The more we understand of spiritual things, the more God expects of us. This is why James warns us “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things.” (James 3:1-2)

James goes on to admonish us about our need to bridle our tongues. We need to be slow to speak and careful about what we say, for we will be judged in part by the words we speak. Recall what Jesus says to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:33-37:

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." 

My prayer for myself and for each of you is that we would not be like the scribes, doing the things of God to receive the praises of men. May each of us be mindful of what we say to others. We can speak life or death into peoples’ lives and my prayer is that we would speak life, the very words of the living God!