Luke 20:27-47

Common English Bible

Question about the resurrection

²⁷ Some Sadducees, who deny that there’s a resurrection, came to Jesus and asked, ²⁸ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a widow but no children, the brother must marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.^{[a] 29} Now there were seven brothers. The first man married a woman and then died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third brother married her. Eventually all seven married her, and they all died without leaving any children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ In the resurrection, whose wife will she be? All seven were married to her.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “People who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy to participate in that age, that is, in the age of the resurrection from the dead, won’t marry nor will they be given in marriage. ³⁶ They can no longer die, because they are like angels and are God’s children since they share in the resurrection. ³⁷ Even Moses demonstrated that the dead are raised—in the passage about the burning bush, when he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.^{[b] 38} He isn’t the God of the dead but of the living. To him they are all alive.”

³⁹ Some of the legal experts responded, “Teacher, you have answered well.” ⁴⁰ No one dared to ask him anything else.

⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “Why do they say that the Christ is David’s son? ⁴² David himself says in the scroll of Psalms, The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right side ⁴³ until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’^{[c] 44} Since David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be David’s son?”

Jesus condemns the legal experts

⁴⁵ In the presence of all the people, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Watch out for the legal experts. They like to walk around in long robes. They love being greeted with honor in the markets. They long for the places of honor in the synagogues and at banquets. ⁴⁷ They are the ones who cheat widows out of their homes, and to show off they say long prayers. They will be judged most harshly.”