Luke 20:34-47

20:34 So ¹  Jesus said to them, “The people of this age ²  marry and are given in marriage. 20:35 But those who are regarded as worthy to share in ³  that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ⁴  20:36 In fact, they can no longer die, because they are equal to angels ⁵  and are sons of God, since they are ⁶  sons ⁷  of the resurrection. 20:37 But even Moses revealed that the dead are raised ⁸  in the passage about the bush, ⁹  where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. ¹⁰  20:38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, ¹¹  for all live before him.” ¹²  20:39 Then ¹³  some of the experts in the law ¹⁴  answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well!” ¹⁵  20:40 For they did not dare any longer to ask ¹⁶  him anything.

The Messiah: David’s Son and Lord

20:41 But ¹⁷  he said to them, “How is it that they say that the Christ ¹⁸  is David’s son? ¹⁹  20:42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

‘The Lord said to my ²⁰  lord,

“Sit at my right hand,

20:43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ ²¹ 

20:44 If David then calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” ²² 

Jesus Warns the Disciples against Pride

20:45 As ²³  all the people were listening, Jesus ²⁴  said to his disciples, 20:46 “Beware ²⁵  of the experts in the law. ²⁶  They ²⁷  like walking around in long robes, and they love elaborate greetings ²⁸  in the marketplaces and the best seats ²⁹  in the synagogues ³⁰  and the places of honor at banquets. 20:47 They ³¹  devour ³²  widows’ property, ³³  and as a show make long prayers. They will receive a more severe punishment.”

[20:34]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate that Jesus’ response is a result of their framing of the question.

[20:34]  ² tn Grk “sons of this age” (an idiom, see L&N 11.16). The following clause which refers to being “given in marriage” suggests both men and women are included in this phrase.

[20:35]  ³ tn Grk “to attain to.”

[20:35]  ⁴ sn Life in the age to come is different than life here (they neither marry nor are given in marriage). This means Jesus’ questioners had made a false assumption that life was the same both now and in the age to come.

[20:36]  ⁵ sn Angels do not die, nor do they eat according to Jewish tradition (1 En. 15:6; 51:4; Wis 5:5; 2 Bar. 51:10; 1QH 3.21-23).

[20:36]  ⁶ tn Grk “sons of God, being.” The participle ὄντες (ontes) has been translated as a causal adverbial participle here.

[20:36]  ⁷ tn Or “people.” The noun υἱός (Juios) followed by the genitive of class or kind (“sons of…”) denotes a person of a class or kind, specified by the following genitive construction. This Semitic idiom is frequent in the NT (L&N 9.4).

[20:37]  ⁸ tn Grk “But that the dead are raised even Moses revealed.”

[20:37]  ⁹ sn See Exod 3:6. Jesus used a common form of rabbinic citation here to refer to the passage in question.

[20:37]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.

[20:38]  ¹¹ 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.

[20:38]  ¹² tn On this syntax, see BDF §192. The point is that all live “to” God or “before” God.

[20:39]  ¹³ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[20:39]  ¹⁴ tn Or “some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[20:39]  ¹⁵ 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.

[20:40]  ¹⁶ 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.

[20:41]  ¹⁷ sn If the religious leaders will not dare to question Jesus any longer, then he will question them.

[20:41]  ¹⁸ tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[20:41]  ¹⁹ 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.

[20:42]  ²⁰ 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.

[20:43]  ²¹ sn A quotation from Ps 110:1.

[20:44]  ²² 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).

[20:45]  ²³ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[20:45]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:46]  ²⁵ tn Or “Be on guard against.” This is a present imperative and indicates that pride is something to constantly be on the watch against.

[20:46]  ²⁶ tn Or “of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 5:21.

[20:46]  ²⁷ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun by the prior phrase.

[20:46]  ²⁸ 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.

[20:46]  ²⁹ sn See Luke 14:1-14.

[20:46]  ³⁰ sn See the note on synagogues in 4:15.

[20:47]  ³¹ tn Grk “who,” continuing the sentence begun in v. 46.

[20:47]  ³² 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.

[20:47]  ³³ 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).