TRV
Translation
American Standard Version
And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said.
Geneva Bible (1599)
Then certaine of the Scribes answered, and sayd, Master, thou hast well sayd.
Young's Literal Translation
And certain of the scribes answering said, `Teacher, thou didst say well;'
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In the KJVVerse 25,819 of 31,102
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Commentary on Luke 20 verses 39–47
39 ¶ Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said.
40 And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.
41 And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is David's son?
42 And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
43 Till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
44 David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?
45 Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his disciples,
46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
47 Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points
The scribes were students in the law, and expositors of it to the people, men in reputation for wisdom and honour, but the generality of them were enemies to Christ and his gospel. Now here we have some of them attending him, and four things we have in these verses concerning them, which we had before: -
I. We have them here commending the reply which Christ made to the Sadducees concerning the resurrection: Certain of the scribes said, Master, thou hast well said, Luk 20:39. Christ had the testimony of his adversaries that he said well; and therefore the scribes were his enemies because he would not conform to the traditions of the elders, but yet when he vindicated the fundamental practices of religion, and appeared in the defence of them, even the scribes commended his performance, and owned that he said well. Many that call themselves Christians come short even of this spirit.
II. We have them here struck with an awe of Christ, and of his wisdom and authority (Luk 20:40): They durst not ask him any questions at all, because they say that he was too hard for all that contended with him. His own disciples, though weak, yet, being willing to receive his doctrine, durst ask him any question; but the Sadducees, who contradicted and cavilled at his doctrine, durst ask him none.
III. We have them here puzzled and run aground with a question concerning the Messiah, Luk 20:41. It was plain by many scriptures that Christ was to be the Son of David; even the blind man knew this (Luk 18:39); and yet it was plain that David called the Messiah his Lord (Luk 20:42, Luk 20:44), his owner, and ruler, and benefactor: The Lord said to my Lord. God said it to the Messiah, Psa 110:1. Now if he be his Son, why doth he call him his Lord? If he be his Lord, why do we call him his Son? This he left them to consider of, but they could not reconcile this seeming contradiction; thanks be to God, we can; that Christ, as God, was David's Lord, but Christ, as man, was David's Son. He was both the root and the offspring of David, Rev 22:16. By his human nature he was the offspring of David, a branch of his family; by his divine nature he was the root of David, from whom he had his being and life, and all the supplies of grace.
IV. We have them here described in their black characters, and a public caution given to the disciples to take heed of them, Luk 20:45-47. This we had, just as it is here, Mar 12:38, and more largely Mt. 23. Christ bids his disciples beware of the scribes, that is,
1."Take heed of being drawn into sin by them, of learning their way, and going into their measures; beware of such a spirit as they are governed by. Be not you such in the Christian church as they are in the Jewish church."
2."Take heed of being brought into trouble by them," in the same sense that he had said (Mat 10:17), "Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to the councils; beware of the scribes, for they will do so. Beware of them, for," (1.) "They are proud and haughty. They desire to walk about the streets in long robes, as those that are above business (for men of business went with their loins girt up), and as those that take state, and take place." Cedant arma togae - Let arms yield to the gown. They loved in their hearts to have people make their obeisance to them in the markets, that many might see what respect was paid them; and were very proud of the precedency that was given them in all places of concourse. They loved the highest seats in the synagogues and the chief rooms at feasts, and, when they were placed in them, looked upon themselves with great conceit and upon all about them with great contempt. I sit as a queen. (2.) "They are covetous and oppressive, and make their religion a cloak and cover for crime." They devour widows' houses, get their estates into their hands, and then by some trick or other make them their own, or they live upon them, and eat up what they have; and widows are an easy prey to them, because they are apt to be deluded by their specious pretences: for a show they make long prayers, perhaps long prayers with the widows when they are in sorrow, as if they had not only a piteous but a pious concern for them, and thus endeavour to ingratiate themselves with them, and get their money and effects into their hands. Such devout men may surely be trusted with untold gold; but they will give such an account of it as they think fit.
Christ reads them their doom in a few words: These shall receive a more abundant judgment, a double damnation, both for their abuse of the poor widows, whose houses they devoured, and for their abuse of religion, and particularly of prayer, which they had made use of as a pretence for the more plausible and effectual carrying on of their worldly and wicked projects; for dissembled piety is double iniquity.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 39–47. Public domain.
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Clement of AlexandriaAD 215
The Stromata Book 3
If anyone ponders over this answer about the resurrection of the dead, he will find that the Lord is not rejecting marriage but is purging the expectation of physical desire in the resurrection. The words “the children of this age” were not spoken in contrast to the children of some other age. It is like saying, “those born in this generation,” who are children by force of birth, being born and engendering themselves, since without the process of birth no one will pass into this life. This process of birth is balanced by a process of decay and is no longer in store for the person who has once been cut off from life here.
TertullianAD 220
Against Marcion Book IV
They, indeed, who had caught the very force of His voice, and pronunciation, and expression, discovered no other sense than what had reference to the matter of the question. Accordingly, the Scribes exclaimed, "Master, Thou hast well said." For He had affirmed the resurrection, by describing the form thereof in opposition to the opinion of the Sadducees.
CyprianAD 258
Treatise II. On the Dress of Virgins 22
Virgins, persevere in what you have begun to be. Persevere in what you will be. A great reward, a glorious prize for virtue, and an excellent reward for purity are reserved for you. Do you wish to know from what misery the virtue of continence is free and what advantage it provides? “I will multiply,” said God to the woman, “your sorrows and your groans, and in sorrow you will bring forth your children, and your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall have dominion over you.” You are free from this sentence. You do not fear the sorrows of women and their groans. You have no fear about the birth of children, nor is your husband your master, but your master and head is Christ, in the likeness of and in place of the man. Your fortune and condition are in common. The voice of the Lord says, “The children of this world give birth and are born. Those who will be found worthy of that world and of the resurrection from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage. They will not die anymore, for they are equal to the angels of God since they are the children of the resurrection.” What we shall be, you already have begun to be. You already have in this world the glory of the resurrection. You pass through the world without the pollution of the world. While you remain chaste and virgins, you are equal to the angels of God.
Ephrem the SyrianAD 373
COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 16.22
“The Sadducees came and were saying to him, ‘There is no resurrection of the dead.’ ” They are called Sadducees, that is “the just,” because they say, “We do not serve God for the sake of reward.” They do not await the resurrection, and for this reason they call themselves “the just,” since they say, “We should love God without a reward.”
Ambrose of Milan (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 397
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
According to the letter of the law, a woman is compelled to marry, however unwilling, in order that a brother may raise up seed to his brother who is dead. The letter therefore killeth, but the Spirit is the master of charity.
Mystically, this woman is the synagogue, which had seven husbands, as it is said to the Samaritan, Thou hadst five husbands, (John 4:18.) because the Samaritan follows only the five books of Moses, the synagogue for the most part seven. And from none of them has she received the seed of an hereditary offspring, and so can have no part with her husbands in the resurrection, because she perverts the spiritual meaning of the precept into a carnal. For not any carnal brother is pointed at, who should raise seed to his deceased brother, but that brother who from the dead people of the Jews should claim unto himself for wife the wisdom of the divine worship, and from it should raise up seed in the Apostles, who being left as it were unformed in the womb of the synagogue, have according to the election of grace been thought worthy to be preserved by the admixture of a new seed.
John Chrysostom (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 407
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(de Anna, Serm. 4.) As the saints claim as their own the common Lord of the world, not as derogating from His dominion, but testifying their affection after the manner of lovers, who do not brook to love with many, but desire to express a certain peculiar and especial attachment; so likewise does God call Himself especially the God of these, not thereby narrowing but enlarging His dominion; for it is not so much the multitude of His subjects that manifests His power, as the virtue of His servants. Therefore He does not so delight in the name of the God of heaven and earth, as in that of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Now among men servants are thus denominated by their masters; for we say, 'The steward of such a man,' but on the contrary God is called the God of Abraham.
Philoxenus of MabbugAD 523
ON THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 1
The prophet’s words are applicable to those who sin without perceiving their sin. A sinner who has received baptism, although he may be dead toward his soul because he does not perceive his sin, he is alive to God because of the grace of baptism that he possesses. This agrees with the words “God is not of the dead but of the living, for they are all living in him.”
BedeAD 735
On the Gospel of Luke
But some of the scribes answering said: "Master, you have spoken well." And they dared not ask him anything further. The chief priests, Sadducees, and scribes seeking a cause for calumny, and to find a word that could be ensnared, since they were confounded in their speeches, asked no more, but openly handed him over to the Roman authority. From this, we understand that the poison of envy can indeed be overcome, but it is difficult to rest.
Bede (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 735
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
There were two heresies among the Jews, one of the Pharisees, who boasted in the righteousness of their traditions, and hence they were called by the people, "separated;" the other of the Sadducees, whose name signified "righteous," claiming to themselves that which they were not. When the former went away, the latter came to tempt Him.
(ut sup.) They devise this story in order to convict those of folly, who assert the resurrection of the dead. Hence they object a base fable, that they may deny the truth of the resurrection.
Or these seven brothers answer to the reprobate, who throughout the whole life of the world, which revolves in seven days, are fruitless in good works, and these being carried away by death one after another, at length the course of the evil world, as the barren woman, itself also passes away.
Which must not be taken as if only they who are worthy were either to rise again or be without marriage, but all sinners also shall rise again, and abide without marriage in that new world. But our Lord wished to mention only the elect, that He might incite the minds of His hearers to search into the glory of the resurrection.
Or they are equal to the angels, and the children of God, because made new by the glory of the resurrection, with no fear of death, with no spot of corruption, with no quality of an earthly condition, they rejoice in the perpetual beholding of God's presence.
Or He says this, that after having proved that the souls abide alter death, (which the Sadducees denied,) He might next introduce the resurrection also of the bodies, which together with the souls have done good or evil. But that is a true life which the just live unto God, even though they are dead in the body. Now to prove the truth of the resurrection, He might have brought much more obvious examples from the Prophets, but the Sadducees received only the five books of Moses, rejecting the oracles of the Prophets.
And since they had been defeated in argument, they ask Him no further questions, but seize Him, and deliver Him up to the Roman power. From which we may learn, that the poison of envy may indeed be subdued, but it is a hard thing to keep it at rest.
Theophylact of Ohrid (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 1107
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
This was their main object, to rebuke Him before the people, which they were unable to do because of the wonderful wisdom of His answer.
Now the Sadducees resting upon a weak foundation, did not believe in the doctrine of the resurrection. For imagining the future life in the resurrection to be carnal, they were justly misled, and hence reviling the doctrine of the resurrection as a thing impossible they invent the story, There were seven brothers, &c.
But our Lord shows that in the resurrection there will be no fleshly conversation, thereby overthrowing their doctrine together with its slender foundation; as it follows, And Jesus said unto them, The children of this world marry, &c.
As if He said, Because it is God who worketh in the resurrection, rightly are they called the sons of God, who are regenerated by the resurrection. For there is nothing carnal seen in the regeneration of them that rise again, there is neither coming together, nor the womb, nor birth.
Or to the reason above given the Lord added the testimony of Scripture, Now that the dead are raised, Moses also showed at the bush, (Exod. 3:6.) as the Lord saith, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. As if he said, If the patriarchs have once returned to nothing so as not to live with God in the hope of a resurrection, He would not have said, I am, but, I was, for we are accustomed to speak of things dead and gone thus, I was the Lord or Master of such a thing; but now that He said, I am, He shows that He is the God and Lord of the living. This is what follows, But he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. For though they have departed from life, yet live they with Him in the hope of a resurrection.
But when the Sadducees were silenced, the Scribes commend Jesus, for they were opposed to them, saying to Him, Master, thou hast well said.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Luke 20:39 captures a pivotal moment where, immediately following Jesus' masterful refutation of the Sadducees' challenge regarding the resurrection, certain scribes commend Him, declaring, "Master, thou hast well said." This verse not only highlights Jesus' unparalleled wisdom and authority as a teacher but also underscores the significant theological divisions among the Jewish religious leaders of the time, particularly between the Sadducees and the scribes (who were often allied with the Pharisees and believed in the resurrection). Their unexpected praise serves as an implicit affirmation of the truth Jesus proclaimed and a testament to the undeniable power of His divine wisdom.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Luke 20:39 employs several literary devices to enhance its meaning. Irony is prominent, as the scribes, who often opposed Jesus or questioned His authority, now commend Him. This unexpected praise from a typically antagonistic group highlights the undeniable power and truth of Jesus' teaching. There is also a strong element of Contrast, specifically between the Sadducees, who are silenced and shamed, and the scribes, who openly approve of Jesus' argument. This contrast underscores the theological divide within Judaism and positions Jesus as the ultimate arbiter of truth. The scribes' statement functions as an Affirmation or Endorsement, providing external validation of Jesus' wisdom and divine insight, further solidifying His authority in the narrative. Finally, this moment could be seen as a subtle Foreshadowing of the complex and often shifting alliances and oppositions Jesus would face, demonstrating that truth can sometimes unite unlikely allies, even if temporarily.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The scribes' commendation in Luke 20:39 is more than a mere politeness; it is a profound theological statement. It validates Jesus' teaching on the resurrection, a doctrine central to God's redemptive plan and the hope of believers. By silencing the Sadducees and earning the approval of the scribes, Jesus demonstrates that His wisdom transcends human understanding and is rooted in divine truth. This affirms God's nature as a God of the living, not the dead, and underscores the continuity of His covenant promises across generations. It also reinforces the idea that true wisdom comes from God and is revealed through His Son, challenging all human-made doctrines that contradict divine revelation. The episode serves as a powerful reminder that God's truth will ultimately prevail against all forms of skepticism and error, even when championed by unexpected voices.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Luke 20:39 serves as a powerful reminder of the compelling nature of divine truth and the wisdom of Christ. In a world often characterized by skepticism, conflicting ideologies, and a reluctance to acknowledge truth, this passage encourages us to cultivate a spirit of discernment and humility. Like the scribes, we are called to recognize and affirm truth, regardless of its source, especially when it aligns with God's revealed Word. This means being willing to set aside preconceived notions, personal biases, or group loyalties in pursuit of what is genuinely right and true. Jesus' ability to answer complex theological questions with clarity and authority assures us that God's wisdom is sufficient for all of life's challenges and doubts, providing solid ground for our faith. Furthermore, the scribes' agreement on the resurrection highlights the enduring importance of foundational doctrines. For believers, this means standing firm on core biblical truths, understanding them deeply, and being prepared to articulate and defend them with both grace and conviction, trusting in the power of God's Word to silence opposition and illuminate hearts.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who were "certain of the scribes" and why did they commend Jesus?
Answer: "Certain of the scribes" refers to a group of legal experts and teachers of the Jewish Law. They were often associated with the Pharisees, a religious sect that, unlike the Sadducees, believed in the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels, and the immortality of the soul. They commended Jesus because His answer to the Sadducees' trick question about marriage in the resurrection (Luke 20:27-38) perfectly aligned with their own theological convictions regarding the resurrection. Jesus' profound and biblically grounded refutation of the Sadducees' error earned their respect and approval, as it validated a truth they also upheld.
Why is the scribes' commendation significant?
Answer: The scribes' commendation is significant for several reasons. Firstly, it underscores Jesus' undeniable wisdom and authority as a teacher. Even those who were typically His adversaries or critics were compelled to acknowledge the brilliance and truth of His arguments. Secondly, it highlights the deep theological divisions within the Jewish leadership of the time, particularly between the Sadducees and the scribes/Pharisees. The scribes' praise of Jesus' refutation of the Sadducees demonstrates that not all religious leaders were united in their opposition to Him; some recognized the truth of His teachings, at least on certain points. This moment further validates Jesus' divine mission and the power of His words to expose error and affirm truth.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Luke 20:39, though a brief interjection, profoundly points to Christ's ultimate fulfillment as the embodiment of divine wisdom and the Victor over death. When the scribes declare, "Master, thou hast well said," they are unknowingly affirming the very Word of God made flesh. Jesus is not merely a wise teacher, but the source of all wisdom (Colossians 2:3). His ability to silence the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection, foreshadows His own glorious triumph over death and the grave. He is the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Corinthians 15:20), and His resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian hope. The scribes' partial recognition of His truth on one point hints at the broader call for all humanity to recognize Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Ultimately, His "well said" words are not just intellectually sound, but are words of eternal life (John 6:68), leading to salvation and the promise of resurrection for all who believe in Him (John 11:25-26).