Luke 20: 27-47, Even More Tricky Questions

The religious leaders in Jerusalem are relentless in challenging Jesus with a series of tricky questions.

Luke 20: 27-39, Tricky question #3
Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too.

Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"

Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.

But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord `the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

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

The Old Testament quote in verse 37 is from Exodus 3:6.

What Old Testament practice is the basis of this question? Is there a modern version of this question?

How does Jesus turn this question into a lesson? What is his point?

I find the leaders' response interesting.  Although some leaders (Saducees) were clearly not happy to have their beliefs challenged, a number of the leaders recognize the depth of Jesus's argument.  Jesus argues that the future age, after the resurrection of the dead, will be a very different age, with "old" things like marriage and societal structure replaced by a very different reality.  The Saducee argument against the resurrection was simplistic and superficial, without much thought. (I am reminded of the silly conundrum, "Can God make a stone so big he can't move it?"  This question was once given to me as proof God did not exist, and my reaction was simply to smile.)

Luke 20: 40-44, Tricky question #4
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Then Jesus said to them, "How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: "`The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet."'

David calls him `Lord.' How then can he be his son?"

This time it is Jesus who asks the tricky question!  Jesus is asking for an interpretation of a passage in Psalm 110 in which David appears to recognize the Messiah as his Lord even though the Messiah will be of the lineage of David.  How can the descendant of David also be the Messiah to whom God is speaking in David's time?

No answer is given by the Jewish leaders.  Luke expects us to recognize that this Christ is divine, having existed in David's time yet appearing in Jesus.

Why does Jesus raise this question here, in Jerusalem, before Passover?

Luke 20: 45-47, Summary
While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."

Does Jesus seem mild in this chapter?  His verbal responses are pretty sharp.

In the next chapter Jesus teaches on the destruction of Jerusalem.