Luke 20:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well."

NIV: Some of the teachers of the law responded, "Well said, teacher!"

NASB: Some of the scribes answered and said, 'Teacher, You have spoken well.'

CSB: Some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well."

NLT: Well said, Teacher!' remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there.

KJV: Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said.

NKJV: Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.”

It was common for teachers to pontificate, debate, and argue over theological issues on the Temple Mount. During Passover season, tens of thousands of pilgrims would have looked on. Here, the Jewish religious leaders are worried that Jesus will draw these crowds away as He has so many in Galilee. They have been attempting to discredit Him by presenting riddles and rhetorical traps.

The Sadducees are the last to enter the discussion. They want to prove that Jesus' theology about the resurrection of the dead is wrong. They give Jesus a hypothetical situation about a woman who has been widowed seven times and has no children. If people rise from the dead, whose wife would she be (Luke 20:27–33)?

Jesus tells them they don't understand what resurrection is really like. People will live forever; like the angels, they will not be married. In response to their greater disbelief of the resurrection, He points out that hundreds of years after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God told Moses He was still their God. How can the God of life be the God of the dead unless they were brought back to life (Luke 20:34–38)?

The Sadducees have no answer. In fact, the scribes—whether of the Pharisee sect that did believe in the resurrection or of the Sadducee sect—were impressed by Jesus' response. Matthew 22:33 says the crowd was "astonished at his teaching." Mark indicates a scribe who saw Jesus' adept response asked Him about the greatest commandment (Mark 12:28–34); that scribe replied to Jesus' response in a way that demonstrated He was "not far from the kingdom of God" (Mark 12:34). Matthew shows a lawyer of the Pharisees asking the same question as a test (Matthew 22:34–35). From this point on, the religious leaders stop trying to discredit Jesus in front of the crowd (Mark 12:34; Luke 20:40). Their silence allows Jesus to present a riddle of His own and then He warns the disciples—and the crowd surrounding them—to be careful of the religious leaders. If their lives don't reflect a love of God and others, their teaching isn't worth listening to (Luke 20:41–47; Matthew 22:34—23:39; Mark 12:35–40).

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.