Luke 20:27–40

The Question about Rising from Death

^27*Then some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to Jesus and said, ^28*“Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man’s brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man’s children.’ ²⁹Once there were seven brothers; the eldest got married and died without having children. ³⁰Then the second one married the woman, ³¹and then the third. The same thing happened to all seven—they died without having children. ³²Last of all, the woman died. ³³Now, on the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her.”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “The men and women of this age marry, ³⁵but the men and women who are worthy to rise from death and live in the age to come will not then marry. ³⁶They will be like angels and cannot die. They are the children of God, because they have risen from death. ^37*And Moses clearly proves that the dead are raised to life. In the passage about the burning bush he speaks of the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸He is the God of the living, not of the dead, for to him all are alive.”

³⁹Some of the teachers of the Law spoke up, “A good answer, Teacher!” ⁴⁰For they did not dare ask him any more questions.