Luke 20:27-47

20:27-38 | The Sadducees created an absurd story that they thought would surely stump Jesus. Although the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection, they assumed that if there was one, it would feature a life much like this one – a wildly faulty assumption. They did not imagine that since those who are resurrected can never die again, marriage and procreation will be unnecessary. And since they did not believe in angels, they could not imagine how resurrected men and women might in some respects be like them.

20:39-40 | These scribes may well have been Pharisees who were glad to see Jesus speak against the Sadducees’ disbelief in resurrection. Jesus made clear He knew how to discredit His opponents, and no one dared test Him again.

20:41-44 | The Pharisees believed the Messiah would come from the line of David, but that He would be human, not divine. Jesus countered this misconception by showing how a descendant could be greater than David: The Messiah would be both human and divine (Rom. 1:3-4; Ps. 110:1).

20:41 | The most common compound name Jesus – the Lord Jesus Christ – was originally used as a technical description of His identity. It is also a wonderful description of who He is. Lord in Greek means “master” or “ruler” – Jesus’ future position but also the one He should hold in each person’s life today. Jesus was His human name (meaning “YHWH Saves”), a reminder that He came in human flesh. Finally, Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew Messiah (“Anointed One”), who is progressively revealed from the earliest pages of the OT all the way to the final words of Revelation.

20:45-47 | Some religious men would earn the trust of unsuspecting widows in order to gain access to their finances. Although Jesus addressed the scribes alone, His stinging comments applied almost equally to the other religious leaders. This dual sin – craving public esteem more than divine approval and enriching themselves at others’ expense – will earn them greater condemnation at the final judgment.