August 10, 2025

Luke 20:27-47

God of The Living

Sunday Sermons

In Luke 20:27-47, we find Jesus face-to-face with the Sadducees, confronting both their skepticism about the resurrection and their wrong approach to God’s Word. In a world where so many voices vie for authority, Jesus reminds us that true hope is found not in our own assumptions or traditions, but in the living God who still speaks through his Word. Jesus exposes empty religion and reveals the life-transforming power of resurrection life—right from the very Scriptures his opponents claim to know.

The promise of resurrection in Christ is hope for the grieving, the weary, the skeptical. Join us as we consider two Bible studies in one scene: the Sadducees’ cynical riddle that twists scripture and denies the power of God, and Jesus’ life-giving correction that lifts our eyes to the glory of the age to come.

Speaker

Tommy Bailey

Series

The Gospel According to Luke

Go to Series

Scripture

Luke 20:27-47

Topics
Community Life Growth & Discipleship

Sermon Notes

Luke 20:27-47

God of The Living

Pastor Tommy Bailey

Entering Jerusalem

  • Jesus weeps over Jerusalem (19:41)
  • Jesus cleanses the Temple (19:45-46)
  • Jesus’ authority is challenged (20:1-8)
  • A trap about Caesar and taxes (20:21-26)
  • Opponents are silenced (20:26)

Parallel Accounts of Luke 20:27-47

  • Matthew 22:23-46
  • Mark 12:18-40

1. Sadducees: A Deadly Approach to the Scriptures (vv. 27-33)

“But Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.’”
Matthew 22:29

“We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency, and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.”
John Stott, Authentic Christianity

“Exegesis is loving God enough to stop and listen carefully to what He says.”
Eugene Peterson, Eat This Book

Father, as I approach Your Word today, would You comfort me, confront me, and may Your Word conform me more and more into the image of Your Son, through the power of Your Spirit, Amen.

2. Jesus: An Invitation to Resurrection Life (vv. 34-47)

“He will swallow up death forever;
And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces.”
Isaiah 25:8

“In the resurrection, life puts death to death.”
Mike Williams

“Christ has simply come to make us right with God. And in making us right with God, He is satisfying us in God. Our sexuality is not our soul, marriage is not heaven, and singleness is not hell. So, may we all preach the news that is good for a reason. For it proclaims to the world that Jesus has come so that all sinners…can be forgiven of their sins to love God and enjoy Him forever.”
Jackie Hill Perry

“For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”
1 Corinthians 15:16-22

“Death is no longer a threat in the way it was. It has been defeated in Christ. The signs of aging are no longer a threat but a promise. Gray hair and deepening lines on my face don’t need to speak to me of a past I can’t recover, but of a future I can barely conceive. The real glory days are not behind but ahead.”
Sam Allberry, What God Has to Say About Our Bodies

Discussion Questions

  • Who were the Sadducees, and what did they believe about the resurrection? How were they alike or different from the Pharisees?
  • How does Jesus use the account of Moses and the burning bush to argue for the resurrection?
  • Are we guilty of being pharisaical in certain ways? Do we have our versions of long robes, greetings, and seats of honor?
  • What practical steps can believers take to guard against the hypocrisy Jesus warns about here?
  • How does Psalm 110:1 support Jesus’ point about “David’s Lord”?

Songs, Readings & Prayer

Songs

“Come, Christians Join to Sing“ by Christian H. Bateman, arr. Traditional Spanish Melody arr by Zach White
“Christ Our Hope In Life and Death“ by Keith Getty, Matt Boswell, Jordan Kauflin, Matt Merker & Matt Papa
“Speak, O Lord“ by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
“Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery“ by Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, and Michael Bleecker
“Doxology” by Thomas Ken and Louis Bourgeois
All songs are used by Permission. CCLI License #2003690

Call To Worship: We Bless You, God of All Mercies

ALL: We bless You, God of all mercies, for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life;

WOMEN: We praise You for Your boundless love revealed to us in Your son, our Lord, Jesus Christ; for the means of grace and for the hope of glory.

MEN: Give us such an awareness of Your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth Your praise,

WOMEN: Not only with our lips but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to Your service, and by walking before You in holiness and righteousness all our days;

ALL: Through Jesus Christ our Redeemer, to whom, with You and the Holy Spirit, be all honor and glory now and forever. Amen! Amen! Amen!

Classic Prayer: Ephraim the Syrian, ca. 306-373

If the earth gives life many times over to a grain of wheat, so will your grace enrich my prayers, even more. As you hear the voices of your people-their sighs and groans— open the doors of your mercy. For you were once a child, and you know what it was like. Listen to the prayers of your children! When sheep see the wolves, they flee to the shepherd for shelter under his staff. Your flock has seen the wolves, and they cry out in terror! Let your cross be a staff to drive away whatever would swallow them up. Hear the cry of your little ones. Save them by your grace. They cry out from the midst of this flock of sheep to the shepherd of all. Deliver us!

Confession of Faith: The Apostles’ Creed, “I Believe in the Holy Spirit”

LEADER: Who is the Holy Spirit?
PEOPLE: God the Holy Spirit is the third Person in the one Being of the Holy Trinity, coequal and coeternal with God the Father and God the Son, and equally worthy of our honor and worship.

LEADER: What principal names does the New Testament give to the Holy Spirit?
PEOPLE: Jesus names the Holy Spirit “Paraclete” (“the one alongside”), which signifies Comforter, Guide, Counselor, Advocate, and Helper. Other descriptions for the Holy Spirit are “Spirit of God,” “Spirit of your Father,” “Spirit of Christ,” and “Spirit of truth.”

LEADER: What are the particular ministries of the Holy Spirit?

PEOPLE: The Holy Spirit imparts life to every living thing in creation, reveals God’s Word to his people, and calls sinners to a new life of faith in the saving and life-giving work of Jesus. The Holy Spirit unites Christians to Jesus, indwelling them, convicting them of sin, giving them spiritual gifts, and bearing spiritual fruit in their lives.

Source: ACNA, Q.84, 85, 86; The Apostles’ Creed – I Believe in the Holy Spirit, part 1 Article III.

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