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Luke 20 · a question people ask

Jesus says, "for all are alive to him" (20:38). Does that mean those who have died are alive now?

In the text

Here is what the verses say. Jesus is answering "Some of the Sadducees", "those who deny that there is a resurrection" (20:27), and he is speaking of the dead being raised: "But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him." (20:37-38) (tap bush, alive). The words "for all are alive to him" are not in Mark's or Matthew's telling (Mark 12:26-27; Matthew 22:31-32). Luke tells of nothing more Jesus said about them here. These notes quote them as they stand, add nothing to them and choose no reading of them.

The verses

“Some of the Sadducees came to him, those who deny that there is a resurrection.”
Luke 20:27 · World English Bible
“But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.””
Luke 20:37-38 · World English Bible
“But about the dead, that they are raised, haven’t you read in the book of Moses about the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken.””
Mark 12:26-27 · World English Bible
“But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.””
Matthew 22:31-32 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of Luke 20

Luke 20: In the hearing of all the people

In Luke's telling of the vineyard, the farmers beat, shame and wound the three servants sent to them, and the one they kill is the son (20:10-15). And Luke keeps the people in view: Jesus was "teaching the people" (20:1), and he warned his disciples about the scribes "In the hearing of all the people" (20:45).

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Last reviewed October 7, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions