Joyful Moments in Christ

This Bible study lesson is for people who are learning English (ELL or ESL students). It is made for advanced beginner and intermediate English learners. Children who speak English or adults who prefer easy English may also enjoy it and learn from it.

All lessons on this website are protected by copyright, but you can use them for free in small groups or Bible classes. You may share a link to this page, but please do not copy these pages and put them on other websites.

Lesson Icebreaker Question

Have you ever wondered what happens after people die? What do people in your country believe about this?

Lesson Highlight

In this lesson, we will learn how some people tried to trick Jesus with a question about what happens after death. We will see how Jesus taught them about life after death and about God’s great power.

Vocabulary List (GNT)

1. Age — A time or period in history.
2. Alive — Living and not dead.
3. Angel — A special being made by God to serve him.
4. Brother — A boy or man who has the same parents as you.
5. Burning Bush — A bush on fire that God used to speak to Moses, but the bush did not burn up.
6. Children — Young boys and girls who have parents.
7. Children of God — People who belong to God and are loved by him.
8. Dare — To be brave enough to do something.
9. Dead — Not alive anymore.
10. Die — To stop living.
11. Law — A rule made by God or people to tell us what we should do.
12. Living — Being alive.
13. Marry — When a man and a woman become husband and wife.
14. Moses — A man in the Bible who gave God’s laws to the people.
15. Rise — To get up or come back to life after being dead.
16. Sadducees — A group of Jewish leaders who did not believe people could rise from death.
17. Teacher — Someone who helps others learn new things.
18. Widow — A woman whose husband has died.
19. Wife — A woman who is married to a husband.
20. Worthy — Good enough or right to have something.

Summary of the Passage

This passage is from the Bible’s New Testament, where we read about Jesus’ life and teachings. Jesus often talked with different groups of people. Some wanted to learn from him, but others tried to trick him with hard questions.

In this story, a group called the Sadducees came to Jesus. They did not believe people could come back to life after they died. They told Jesus a story about seven brothers who all married the same woman, one after another, because of a law given by Moses. They asked Jesus whose wife the woman would be when people rise from death.

Jesus answered kindly and wisely. He explained that in the next life, people will not marry like they do now. They will be like angels and will never die again. Jesus reminded them that God is the God of the living, not the dead. He said God called himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — and those men were still alive to God.

Some of the teachers of the Law were impressed and said it was a good answer. After this, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more tricky questions.

This passage teaches us that there is life after death for those who belong to God. It shows that God is powerful, loving, and cares for his people forever.

Read The Passage

The Question about Rising from Death
27 Then some Sadducees, who say that people will not rise from death, came to Jesus and said,
28 “Teacher, Moses wrote this law for us: ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man’s brother must marry the widow so that they can have children who will be considered the dead man’s children.’
29 Once there were seven brothers; the oldest got married and died without having children.
30 Then the second one married the woman,
31 and then the third. The same thing happened to all seven—they died without having children.
32 Last of all, the woman died.
33 Now, on the day when the dead rise to life, whose wife will she be? All seven of them had married her.”
34 Jesus answered them, “The men and women of this age marry,
35 but the men and women who are worthy to rise from death and live in the age to come will not then marry.
36 They will be like angels and cannot die. They are the children of God, because they have risen from death.
37 And Moses clearly proves that the dead are raised to life. In the passage about the burning bush he speaks of the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
38 He is the God of the living, not of the dead, for to him all are alive.”
39 Some of the teachers of the Law spoke up, “A good answer, Teacher!”
40 For they did not dare ask him any more questions.

Luke 20:27–40 (GNT)

Most English learners should use the New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) or the Good News Translation (GNT) because they are easy to read. If you want to try something harder, you can read one of the other Bible versions:

• Very Easy: New International Reader’s Version: Luke 20:27-40 (NIRV)
• Easy: Good News Translation: Luke 20:27-40 (GNT)
• Medium: New Living Translation: Luke 20:27-40 (NLT)
• Hard: New International Version: Luke 20:27-40 (NIV)
• Very Hard: English Standard Version: Luke 20:27-40 (ESV)

Comprehension Questions

1. Who came to talk to Jesus in this story?
2. What did the Sadducees believe about life after death?
3. What story did the Sadducees tell Jesus?
4. Why did they ask Jesus whose wife the woman would be?
5. What did Jesus say about marriage in the next life?
6. What did Jesus say about people who rise from death?
7. What did Jesus remind them about God and the burning bush?
8. What did Jesus mean when he said God is the God of the living?
9. How did the teachers of the Law respond to Jesus’ answer?
10. Did anyone ask Jesus more tricky questions after this?

Application Questions

1. What do you believe happens after people die?
2. Why is it good to know that God is the God of the living?
3. How can we trust God’s promise of life after death?
4. How does it feel to know God loves and cares for his people forever?
5. What can we learn from how Jesus answered hard questions with wisdom and kindness?

Theological Insights

1. God has power over life and death.
2. God’s people will live forever with him after death.
3. God knows and loves his people even after they die.
4. Jesus taught about heaven and life after death with truth and care.
5. It is good to trust God’s promises, even when we do not understand everything.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father, thank you for teaching us about life after death. Help us to trust you and believe your promises. Please fill our hearts with peace and hope. Amen.

ELL Resources for the Gospel of Luke

More ELL Resources

You can find more Bible lessons for English learners on the main ELL page.

Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today’s English Version- Second Edition Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.