Note 1 on Luke 20:2

Jesus had already made it clear where He got His authority from during a discourse three years
earlier in Jerusalem. He said plainly that His Father had given Him authority (John 5:26-27) and
also that the testimony of John the Baptist (John 5:33-35) and the miracles that He did (John
5:36) all verified where His authority came from.

These Jews were not sincerely seeking to know who sent Jesus; they wanted to discredit Him in
front of the multitude and thereby limit His effectiveness. If they had been sincere, Jesus would,
no doubt, have answered their question directly. However, because Jesus knew all people (John
2:24-25), He didn’t engage in arguing or debates. His attitude was “he that hath ears to hear, let
him hear” (Matthew 11:15).

Jesus was under the authority of His Father; however, these Jews had repeatedly rejected Jesus’
claims of being sent by His heavenly Father. They were looking for some person’s seal of
approval, not God’s (John 5:44). Therefore, it would not have accomplished anything for Jesus
to enumerate once again all of the ways His Father had borne witness to Him. Therefore, Jesus
wisely avoided answering their question by asking them a question.

If they would tell Him who gave John the Baptist his authority, then He would tell them again
who gave Him His authority. They had rejected John the Baptist too, but all of the people had
accepted John as a prophet sent by God. They reasoned that if they spoke against John, they
would be totally rejected by the people they were trying to influence. If they approved of John,
then they knew Jesus would point to the witness that John had given of Him and say, “Why
didn’t you believe him?”

Therefore, they lied and “played dumb” by saying that they could not tell. Jesus knew it wasn’t
that they could not tell but that they would not tell, so He said, “Neither tell I you by what
authority I do these things.” They had sought to discredit Him, but instead their hypocrisy was
exposed.

Note 1 on Luke 20:9

Only Matthew recorded that this parable was the second parable given by Jesus as a rebuke to
the chief priests and the Pharisees. The first parable, that of the two sons asked to work in their
father’s vineyard (see note 1 at Matthew 21:28), was teaching the same lesson and therefore aids
us in the interpretation of this parable.

In this parable, the lord of the vineyard represented God the Father, the husbandmen were the
religious leaders of the Jews, and the vineyard was the kingdom of God. God chose the nation of
Israel as His kingdom on earth during the Old Testament rule until the kingdom of God could be
established in the hearts of people (Luke 17:21). The chief priests and other religious leaders
were given the responsibility of administrating His kingdom here on earth. God expected to reap
love, obedience, and service as a result of His great kindness bestowed upon Israel. Instead, His
own people rejected Him.

The Lord sent prophets and other holy people to the nation of Israel to turn them back unto
Himself so that they would give Him the glory that was rightfully due Him, but they responded
by beating some and killing some of His servants. Last of all, God sent His beloved Son (Luke
20:13) saying, “They will reverence my son” (Mark 12:6). However, the nation as a whole, led
by the chief priests and Pharisees, rejected Jesus by killing Him.

Therefore, Jesus began to prophesy that God the Father would come and destroy these religious
leaders, take the kingdom from the nation of Israel, and give it to His holy nation, the church (1
Peter 2:9). This church would be made up of Jews and Gentiles from all nations of the world.
These Jewish leaders knew that Jesus had spoken this parable against them (Matthew 21:45,
Mark 12:12, and Luke 20:19), and they responded by saying, “God forbid” (Luke 20:16).

Jesus then quoted Psalms 118:22 and applied it to Himself (Matthew 21:42, Mark 12:10, and
Luke 20:17). He was saying, “I am the stone that David prophesied you would reject, but my
Father will make me the chief cornerstone of His new kingdom, the church” (1 Peter 2:6-10,
paraphrase mine). This infuriated the chief priests and Pharisees, but they feared the multitude
(see note 2 at Matthew 21:26) and therefore “left him, and went their way” (Mark 12:12).

Note 1 on Luke 20:20

The Jews had tried many times to accuse Jesus on the basis of religious issues and had always
failed. Here they approached Him about paying taxes in hopes that His answer might give them
the opportunity to deliver Him to Pilate for prosecution. The Roman government levied heavy
taxes on the Jews and allowed their tax collectors to increase them even more to pad their
pockets. The Jews, therefore, hated these taxes.

These Pharisees and Herodians (Mark 12:13) reasoned that any answer Jesus gave would be the
wrong one. If He approved of the Roman taxes, He would lose popularity with the masses. If He
spoke against the Roman taxes, the Jews would accuse Him before the Roman government and
Pilate would dispose of Him for them. It looked like they had Jesus trapped.

Jesus, however, answered with such simple wisdom that these Pharisees and Herodians were
caught in their own trap and made to look like fools. It is interesting that the religious leaders
used this incident against Him at His trial, but they totally misrepresented His position, charging
that Jesus opposed payment of taxes to Caesar (Luke 23:2).
Note 2 on Luke 20:21
This was a total lie on the Pharisees and Herodians’ part. They had consistently rejected Jesus’
teaching and had even accused Him of being demon possessed. They were using flattery to bait
Jesus into making a mistake that they could use against Him. The serpent used flattery on Eve
(Genesis 3), and many people have let their pride lead them to a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Our Lord
did not.

Jesus didn’t come to do His own will (John 5:30 and 6:38) but His Father’s. This was what made
Jesus a faithful witness (John 7:18 and Revelation 1:5), and this was also what made Him above
their temptation. These Jews didn’t realize who Jesus was. They thought He was egotistical like
themselves (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16; and 23:5).

Note 1 on Luke 20:29

It is very doubtful that the situation the Sadducees were relating ever took place. It is more
probable that they were stating a hypothetical case to complicate the understanding of the
resurrection and thereby discredit it.

If you accept their basic supposition (marriage continues in heaven), then their reasoning was
correct. It would not be possible to administer marriage in heaven with multiple mates, as their
story described. Their reasoning wasn’t flawed, but rather the “facts” upon which their reasoning
was based were not scriptural.

The Scriptures speak of two becoming “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24 and Mark 10:8) in marriage,
and angels are not flesh (Psalms 104:4; Hebrews 1:7, and 14; see note 2 at Luke 20:36). Paul
said, “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 15:50); therefore,
marriage is an earthly institution limited to flesh and blood mortals (Luke 24:39) and will not
exist in heaven.

Likewise today, many people use very logical reasoning to try to discredit God’s Word. But, as
Jesus said, they greatly err because the starting points for their arguments are not based on
Scripture. Only reasoning based on Scripture have any merit.

Note 2 on Luke 20:36

The Greek word for this phrase “equal unto the angels” is “ISAGGELOS.” This is a compound
word from “ISOS” and “AGGELOS.” ISOS is translated “as much” once (Luke 6:34), “like”
once (Acts 11:17), and “equal” four times (Matthew 20:12, John 5:18, Philippians 2:6, and
Revelation 21:16). The word AGGELOS means “a messenger; especially an angel” (Strong’s
Concordance). Together, these words mean “like an angel, i.e. angelic” (Strong’s Concordance).

From this passage of Scripture, we can see that angels don’t marry or die. Marriage is temporary
for mortals while here on this earth (see note 1 at Luke 20:29), as is death (John 3:16, 11:26; and
1 Corinthians 15:51-58). This is why a person whose mate has died is free to remarry (Romans
7:1-3 and 1 Corinthians 7:39). Marriage pertains only to this life.

That is not to say that a couple who has loved each other deeply here on earth will love each
other less in heaven. God forbid. They will love each other infinitely more, but that will be God’s
“agape” love (not a romantic love) and will not be limited to just one person. We can be sure that
heaven will surpass any expectations that we have so that no one will be disappointed.

Note 1 on Luke 20:38

This is an astounding commentary on the Old Testament scriptures. It is so simple that once
Jesus said it, the truth was obvious. Others had apparently not seen this truth, or the Sadducees
would have heard this argument before.

Jesus simply quoted God’s statement to Moses from the burning bush: “I am the God of thy
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for
he was afraid to look upon God” (Exodus 3:6). He then pointed out that God spoke of being
these men’s God in the present tense as contrasted with the past tense. This showed beyond a
doubt that they were still alive. What a simple and yet profound insight.

These very Sadducees were astonished (Matthew 22:33) at His answer, and they admitted He
had answered them well (Luke 20:39). After this answer, they didn’t dare ask Him any more
questions at all (Luke 20:40).

Note 1 on Luke 20:44

Jesus took an apparent contradiction in Scripture and through combining these paradoxical
statements (concerning the humanity and deity of Christ) brought forth the truth that Christ was
God in human flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). Both assertions (the fact that Jesus was David’s Son and
yet David’s Lord) were accurate at the same time.

It is correct that Christ was David’s Son (see note 2 at Luke 18:39), and it is also correct that
Christ was David’s Lord. This means also that Christ was God (see note 2 at Matthew 16:16).
However, Christ was not exclusively David’s Son, nor was He exclusively David’s Lord. These
two truths had to be combined to arrive at the truth. No truth of God’s Word stands independent
of the other truths in God’s Word.
Not balancing truth with truth is usually the cause of much contention when interpreting
Scriptures. Some argue that everything is by grace (Romans 3:24 and 4:16), while others
emphatically state that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The Bible
teaches that we have to have both grace and faith to be born again (Ephesians 2:8), not one
without the other. The same is true of faith versus works (Romans 3:28 with James 2:17-20) and
many other truths of God’s Word. Error can simply be truth taken to an extreme at the expense
of other truths.