Luke 20:19-40
To the treacherous question asked by the "spies" the Lord Jesus replies as usual by speaking to their consciences. We should render to each man his due, and above all render obedience and honour to God (Romans 13:7).
As for the Sadducees, the Lord proves to them the reality of the resurrection simply by reference to the title which God gives Himself: "the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (v. 37; Exodus 3:6). When the LORD spoke in this way to Moses, these patriarchs had long since left the earth, but He still declared Himself their God. For Him therefore they were still living and they would be raised. These men of faith had grasped the "things promised" which lay beyond the present life, and showed that they confidently awaited their fulfilment; "wherefore" – the writer emphasizes – "God is not ashamed to be called their God" (Hebrews 11:13-16).
Fellow believers, may we also be occupied in showing those around us that we have a living hope.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees correspond to two ever present religious tendencies – on the one hand a formal legalism, the attachment to traditions, and on the other rationalism (or modernism) which casts doubt on the Bible and its fundamental truths.