Luke 20:30 - Printer Friendly

From the time of Abraham until Joshua, the Israelites were nomads. While settling in some places for brief periods, the only land they owned was the burial place of Sarah (Genesis 23). The "Promised Land" is just that: land that God promised to give to the Israelites as an inheritance. The ownership of land by tribe, clan, family, and sons was an important part of the culture and the identity of Israel.

A man dying without a son to inherit land was seen as a tragedy. If he had daughters, they could at least marry within the tribe and their husbands could hold the land in his name (Numbers 36). Otherwise, they Israelites practiced "levirate marriage." Under this process, a younger brother would marry his older brother's childless widow with the intent of producing a son—who would be considered the child and heir of the deceased brother. Then, the ownership of the land would continue down the original husband's line (Deuteronomy 25:5–6).

The Sadducees are a religious sect that honors the Mosaic law but does not believe in the resurrection of the dead. They are attempting to use levirate marriage to show that Jesus' teachings—such as resurrection—are false (Luke 20:27–33). They propose this scenario:

A man marries a woman, dies with no heir, and so she marries the next younger brother. That brother dies with no heir, and so forth until the woman has been married to all seven brothers but never had children. Given that scenario, the Sadducees ask, which brother is her husband after the resurrection? Only one—so the other six were false? All of them—so she's married to seven men at once? The real point isn't about levirate marriage, polygamy, or even the resurrection of the dead. It's the Sadducees' attempt to discredit Jesus.

However, the Sadducees have based their argument on a faulty assumption: that "marriage" is a concept that exists in heaven. In fact, it does not.

Luke 20:27–40 records the Sadducees trying to discredit Jesus' authority to teach. They plan to present a paradox about marriage and the resurrection of the dead. Leaders of other religious sects have already failed to embarrass Jesus regarding the law and civil responsibilities (Luke 20:19–26). Jesus easily explains away the Sadducees' argument using the very text which their sect reveres: the Torah. He continues with proof that the Christ has authority over David and warns the people to be wary of the scribes' hypocrisy (Luke 20:41–47). This debate is also recorded in Matthew 22:23–33 and Mark 12:18–27.

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.

Luke 20 is a chiasm about authority. Jesus has entered Jerusalem and cleansed the temple (Luke 19:28–46). Now, the priests and teachers attack Jesus' authority in religion, law, and doctrine; Jesus defends Himself and shows their sinful lifestyles disqualify them for authority. After holding up a widow as a better role model (Luke 21:1–4), Jesus warns His disciples about the challenges they will face in the coming years, including the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 21:5–38). The events in Luke 20 are also discussed in Matthew 21—23 and Mark 11—12.

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.