Verse Lens · Expanded explanation
Luke 20:38 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 38. 38For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Luke 20:38 grounds resurrection in God's living covenant relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
They use a widow as a riddle; he answers with the living God
This verse is one part of that explanation in Luke 20:27–20:40. The complete section carries the connected meaning and how it should shape life.
Read It With
- Luke 20:27–20:40
Read Luke 20:38 with 20:27–20:40. In isolation, this contribution—grounds resurrection in God's living covenant relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—can be detached from its speaker, audience, scene or teaching sequence, and outcome. The complete unit establishes: Sadducees pose a seven-brother levirate case; Jesus distinguishes the coming age, says the resurrected do not die or marry in the same way, and argues from Moses that God is God of the living.
Follow the Context
- Identify the actors, setting, and initiating speech or action in Luke 20:27–20:40.
- Sadducees pose a seven-brother levirate case; Jesus distinguishes the coming age, says the resurrected do not die or marry in the same way, and argues from Moses that God is God of the living.
- Hold this material interpretive limit in view: The hypothetical woman is treated as a problem object by the questioners; Jesus' answer concerns resurrection life and should not be used to trivialize grief, marriage, singleness, or infertility.
What This Verse Is Not Saying
This verse does not detach its specific contribution—grounds resurrection in God's living covenant relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—from the complete unit or override the unit's explicit boundary: The exchange does not authorize contempt for Sadducees or Judaism, erase relationships, shame singleness, or claim exhaustive knowledge of resurrection embodiment.
What Remains True
Luke 20:38 grounds resurrection in God's living covenant relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Read inside Luke 20:27–20:40, this contribution supports the unit's proportionate truth: Sadducees pose a seven-brother levirate case; Jesus distinguishes the coming age, says the resurrected do not die or marry in the same way, and argues from Moses that God is God of the living. Its use remains accountable to affected people and the unit's explicit boundary.
Continue in Context
Read the complete section for the connected explanation and how it should shape life. This verse is a doorway into that passage, not a saying that stands alone.
Read Luke 20:27–20:40 — Jesus Defends Resurrection beyond Present Marriage StructuresSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? probable
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Luke 20:27–20:40, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and sentence relations; the edition is not treated as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Luke.txt, 20:27–20:40
Open the Luke Greek text file ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Luke
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, KJV-language clarification, historical notes, Synoptic parallels, and textual alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Luke PDF, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to Luke 20:27–20:40
Open source ↗