Devine Scripture

Luke 20:27

What does Luke 20:27 mean?

A plain-English look at Luke 20:27 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Luke 20:27 means

After the defeat of the chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees, a new group of religious leaders approached Jesus: the Sadducees. Luke specifically notes that these were "they that say that there is no resurrection," which is the key to understanding their challenge. Unlike the Pharisees, Sadducees rejected the idea of an afterlife, angels, and spirits, based on their strict interpretation of the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses). Their arrival signals a shift in the theological nature of the confrontations, moving from political traps to a challenge rooted in their specific doctrinal opposition to the resurrection.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection;

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection;

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And some of the Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no coming back from the dead; and they said to him,

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

And certain of the Sadducees, who are denying that there is a rising again, having come near, questioned him,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And there came to him some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection: and they asked him,

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is any resurrection, coming up [to him],

Context

This verse introduces a new group of challengers, the Sadducees, immediately following Jesus' triumph over the previous spies and their tax question. The introduction explicitly notes their rejection of the resurrection, which is crucial for understanding the nature of their upcoming question. This sets the stage for a theological debate that will test Jesus' understanding of the afterlife and expose the Sadducees' flawed theology.

v.26And they were not able to take hold of the saying before the people: and they marvelled at his answer, and held their peace.

v.27This passage

v.28and they asked him, saying, Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that if a man’s brother die, having a wife, and he be childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Acts 23:6

    But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees: touching the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

  • Matthew 22:23

    On that day there came to him Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection: and they asked him,

  • Matthew 16:6

    And Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

  • Matthew 16:1

    And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and trying him asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

  • Acts 4:1

    And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

  • Acts 5:17

    But the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him (which is the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy,

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