John Calvin Commentary Luke 20
John Calvin Commentary
Luke 20
John Calvin Commentary
Luke 20
"But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in [the place concerning] the Bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." — Luke 20:37 (ASV)
But that the dead shall rise. After refuting the objection brought against Him, Christ confirms, by the testimony of Scripture, the doctrine of the final resurrection.
This is the order that must always be observed. Having repelled the slanders of the enemies of the truth, we must make them understand that they oppose the word of God, for until they are convicted by the testimony of Scripture, they will always be at liberty to rebel.
Christ quotes a passage from Moses because He was dealing with the Sadducees, who had no great faith in the prophets, or who, at least, held them in no higher estimation than we do the Book of Ecclesiasticus or the History of the Maccabees.
Another reason was that, as they had brought forward Moses, He chose rather to refer to the same writer than to quote any of the prophets. Besides, He did not aim at collecting all the passages of Scripture, as we see that the apostles do not always use the same proofs on the same subject.
And yet we must not imagine that there were no good reasons why Christ seized on this passage (Exodus 3:6) in preference to others; but He selected it with the best judgment — though it might appear to be somewhat obscure — because it ought to have been well known and distinctly remembered by the Jews, as it was a declaration that they were redeemed by God because they were the children of Abraham.
There, indeed, God declares that He is come down to deliver an afflicted people, but at the same time adds that He acknowledges that people as His own, in respect of adoption, on account of the covenant which He had made with Abraham.
How does it happen that God regards the dead rather than the living, but because He assigns the first rank of honor to the fathers, in whose hands He had placed His covenant? And in what respect would they have the preference, if they had been extinguished by death?
This is also clearly expressed by the nature of the relation; for as no man can be a father without children, nor a king without a people, so, strictly speaking, the Lord cannot be called the God of any but the living.
Christ’s argument, however, is drawn not so much from the ordinary form of expression as from the promise which is contained in these words. For the Lord offers Himself to be our God on the condition of receiving us, on the other hand, as His people, which alone is sufficient for the assurance of perfect happiness. Hence that saying of the Church by the prophet Habakkuk (Habakkuk 1:12):
Thou art our God from the beginning: we shall not die.
Since, therefore, the Lord promises salvation to all to whom He declares that He is their God, and since He says this respecting Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it follows that there remains for the dead a hope of life. If it is objected that souls may continue to exist, though there is no resurrection of the dead, I replied, a little before, that those two are connected, because souls aspire to the inheritance laid up for them, though they do not yet reach that condition.
"Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him." — Luke 20:38 (ASV)
For all live to him. This mode of expression is employed in various senses in Scripture; but here it means that believers, after they have died in this world, lead a heavenly life with God. As Paul says, Christ, after having been admitted to the heavenly glory, liveth to God, (Romans 6:10) because he is freed from the infirmities and afflictions of this passing life.
But here Christ expressly reminds us that we must not form a judgment of the life of the godly according to the perceptions of the flesh, because that life is concealed under the secret keeping of God. For if, while they are pilgrims in the world, they bear a close resemblance to dead men, much less does any appearance of life exist in them after the death of the body. But God is faithful to preserve them alive in his presence, beyond the comprehension of men.
"And certain of the scribes answering said, Teacher, thou hast well said." — Luke 20:39 (ASV)
And some of the scribes answering. Since it is probable that all of them were motivated by evil dispositions toward him, this confession was compelled from some of them—that is, from the Pharisees—by a secret work of divine power. It may be that, although they might have wished for Christ to be shamefully defeated and silenced, when they perceived that his reply had fortified them against the opposing sect,69 ambition led them to congratulate him on having achieved a victory.
Perhaps, too, they burned with envy and did not want Christ to be defeated by the Sadducees.70 Meanwhile, it was brought about by the wonderful providence of God that even his most deadly enemies agreed with his doctrine.
Their insolence, too, was restrained. This was not only because they saw that Christ was prepared to withstand every kind of attack, but also because they feared being repelled with shame, as had already frequently happened. Furthermore, they were ashamed of allowing him, by their silence, to claim the victory, which would greatly increase his influence over the people.
When Matthew says that all were astonished at his doctrine, we should observe that the doctrine of religion was at that time corrupted by so many wicked or frivolous opinions that it was justly regarded as a miracle that the hope of the resurrection was so skillfully and fittingly proven from the Law.
69 “Contra la secte des Sadduciens, leurs adversaires;” — “against the sect of the Sadducees, their adversaries.”;” — “against the sect of the Sadducees, their adversaries.”
70 “Que ce fussent les Sadduciens qui emportassant la victoire par dessus Christ;” — “that it should be the Sadducees who carried the victory over Christ.”;” — “that it should be the Sadducees who carried the victory over Christ.”
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