Text -- Luke 20:38-47 (NET)

20:38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live before him.” 20:39 Then some of the experts in the law answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!” 20:40 For they did not dare any longer to ask him anything.

The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord

20:41 But he said to them, “How is it that they say that the Christ is David’s son? 20:42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my lord, “Sit at my right hand, 20:43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ 20:44 If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?”

Jesus Warns the Disciples against Pride

20:45 As all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 20:46 “Beware of the experts in the law. They like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 20:47 They devour widows’ property, and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Luk 20:38

¹ sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.

² tn On this syntax, see BDF §192. The point is that all live “to” God or “before” God.

NET Notes: Luk 20:39

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

³ sn Teacher, you have spoken well! The scribes, being Pharisees, were happy for the defense of resurrection and angels, which they (unlike the Sadducees) believed in.

NET Notes: Luk 20:40

¹ sn The attempt to show Jesus as ignorant had left the experts silenced. At this point they did not dare any longer to ask him anything.

NET Notes: Luk 20:41

¹ sn If the religious leaders will not dare to question Jesus any longer, then he will question them.

² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

sn See the note on Christ in 2:11.

³ sn It was a common belief in Judaism that Messiah would be David’s son in that he would come from the lineage of David. On this point the Pharisees agreed and were correct. But their understanding was nonetheless incomplete, for Messiah is also David’s Lord. With this statement Jesus was affirming that, as the Messiah, he is both God and man.

NET Notes: Luk 20:42

¹ sn The Lord said to my Lord. With David being the speaker, this indicates his respect for his descendant (referred to as my Lord). Jesus was arguing, as the ancient exposition assumed, that the passage is about the Lord’s anointed. The passage looks at an enthronement of this figure and a declaration of honor for him as he takes his place at the side of God. In Jerusalem, the king’s palace was located to the right of the temple to indicate this kind of relationship. Jesus was pressing the language here to get his opponents to reflect on how great Messiah is.

NET Notes: Luk 20:43

¹ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

NET Notes: Luk 20:44

¹ tn Grk “David thus calls him ‘Lord.’ So how is he his son?” The conditional nuance, implicit in Greek, has been made explicit in the translation (cf. Matt 22:45).

NET Notes: Luk 20:45

¹ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Luk 20:46

¹ tn Or “Be on guard against.” This is a present imperative and indicates that pride is something to constantly be on the watch against.

² tn Or “of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

³ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun by the prior phrase.

⁴ sn There is later Jewish material in the Talmud that spells out such greetings in detail. See D. L. Bock, Luke (BECNT), 2:1642; H. Windisch, TDNT 1:498.

⁵ sn See Luke 14:1-14.

⁶ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

NET Notes: Luk 20:47

¹ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 46.

² sn How they were able to devour widows’ houses is debated. Did they seek too much for contributions, or take too high a commission for their work, or take homes after debts failed to be paid? There is too little said here to be sure.

³ tn Grk “houses,” “households”; however, the term can have the force of “property” or “possessions” as well (O. Michel, TDNT 5:131; BDAG 695 s.v. οἶκια 1.a).