Matthew 22 29

Matthew 22:29 kjv

Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Matthew 22:29 nkjv

Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Matthew 22:29 niv

Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

Matthew 22:29 esv

But Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Matthew 22:29 nlt

Jesus replied, "Your mistake is that you don't know the Scriptures, and you don't know the power of God.

Matthew 22 verses

Matthew 22 29 Meaning

Matthew 22:29 captures Jesus' direct rebuke to the Sadducees, diagnosing their error regarding the resurrection. He states that their flawed understanding stems from a fundamental ignorance of two essential truths: the revealed Word of God (the Scriptures) and the limitless capacity and might of God (His power). Their logical conclusions were therefore flawed because they misunderstood the nature of life in the resurrection and the God who brings it about, attempting to fit divine realities into human, earthly frameworks.

Matthew 22 29 Context

Matthew 22:29 occurs during Jesus' final week in Jerusalem, a period filled with intense theological and political challenges from various Jewish factions. In the immediate preceding verses (Matt 22:23-28), the Sadducees approach Jesus. Unlike the Pharisees who believed in resurrection, angels, and spirits, the Sadducees were the aristocratic priestly class who largely accepted only the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses) as authoritative doctrine and explicitly denied the resurrection of the dead. They presented Jesus with a hypothetical case based on the Mosaic law of levirate marriage (Deut 25:5-6), involving a woman who had been married sequentially to seven brothers, all of whom died without progeny. Their aim was to prove the absurdity of the resurrection doctrine by asking whose wife she would be in the afterlife, thereby trying to trap Jesus and discredit Him. Jesus' response in verse 29 is His direct counter to their flawed premise, laying bare the foundational errors in their understanding. This exchange is part of a series of confrontations where Jesus' divine wisdom is pitted against human cunning.

Matthew 22 29 Word analysis

• Jesus answered and said to them: A standard introductory phrase (Apokritheis de ho Iesous eipen autois) signifying Jesus' authoritative response to a direct question or challenge. It sets the stage for His decisive instruction.

• "You are mistaken": Greek Planasthe (from planao). This word means "to go astray," "to wander," "to be led off course," or "to err." Jesus' use implies a fundamental and deep-seated intellectual or spiritual error, not just a minor inaccuracy. It signifies that they had strayed from the truth, rather than just made a logical misstep; their entire perspective was distorted.

• "not understanding": Greek mē eidotes (from oida, to know, to perceive). This is a strong negation of internal comprehension or grasp. It indicates a lack of true apprehension or insightful knowledge, highlighting that their mistake stemmed from a deficit in proper understanding of crucial truths. It’s more than simple ignorance; it suggests a failure to adequately apply or discern what should have been known.

• "the Scriptures": Greek tas graphas. Refers specifically to the inspired writings of the Old Testament. While the Sadducees focused only on the Torah, Jesus' indictment applied to all of God's revealed Word. Their error lay in their limited scope of canonical authority and, more importantly, in their inability to rightly interpret even the portions they did accept, particularly concerning God's active involvement with His people beyond physical death.

• "nor the power": Greek mēde tēn dynamin. The negation mēde reinforces the absolute absence of understanding regarding both concepts. Dynamis refers to inherent ability, strength, or might. Here, it denotes God's omnipotence and boundless capacity to act outside human limitations.

• "of God": Greek tou Theou. Connects the "power" directly to the Almighty God. Their disbelief in the resurrection was tied to their inability to conceive that God possesses the might to create a new order of existence for resurrected beings that transcends earthly limitations, such as marriage or procreation. They limited God's ability to operate outside their physical, material comprehension.

Words-group analysis:

• "You are mistaken, not understanding": This pairing directly links their error to a lack of genuine, internal knowledge. It's a foundational spiritual and intellectual flaw that prevents them from discerning divine truths.
• "the Scriptures nor the power of God": These two elements are presented as the twin pillars of their misunderstanding. Jesus asserts that true understanding of God's plan (including the resurrection) requires comprehending what God has revealed in His Word and what God is capable of doing by His own divine power. Neglecting either leads to profound doctrinal error. Their mistake was not simply a factual one, but a deep theological failing rooted in their flawed perception of both revelation and God's nature.

Matthew 22 29 Bonus section

The Sadducees’ error in Matt 22:29 highlights their rejection of oral traditions and prophecies that expanded upon the Law, particularly concerning future realities like the resurrection, angels, and spirits, as documented in Acts 23:8. Even though they adhered strictly to the Pentateuch, Jesus proves their error by quoting from Exodus 3:6 ("I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob") in Matthew 22:32, demonstrating that the very scriptures they esteemed contained implicit evidence for the resurrection. God's declaration "I am" rather than "I was" indicates an ongoing relationship with individuals who had died, proving they are still living in God's eyes and thus validating the resurrection. This shows Jesus' mastery in demonstrating truth even from a limited, agreed-upon textual foundation. Jesus’ answer here reveals that a complete understanding of spiritual truths necessitates both humble submission to all of God's revelation and an unshakeable belief in His sovereign power to accomplish all His will, even beyond human comprehension.

Matthew 22 29 Commentary

In Matthew 22:29, Jesus penetrates to the core of the Sadducees' theological deficiencies. Their challenge, though framed within Mosaic law, betrayed a profound ignorance. Their fundamental mistake stemmed from a narrow view of both divine revelation and divine omnipotence.

First, they were mistaken because they did not truly understand the Scriptures. While they meticulously studied the Torah, they missed its deeper implications concerning God's relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (which Jesus directly addresses in Matt 22:31-32). Their selective canon (limiting authority to the Pentateuch) prevented them from grasping fuller revelations of resurrection present in books like Daniel and Isaiah, but even within the Pentateuch, a discerning heart could find the seeds of God's enduring covenant and power over death. Their approach to Scripture was intellectual and literalistic in a way that obscured its living truth, reducing it to mere legal code.

Second, they did not comprehend the power of God. They projected human limitations onto God, unable to conceive of a transformed state of existence in the resurrection where physical constraints, like earthly marriage laws, no longer apply. Their worldview was earthbound, and their understanding of God's capacity was shackled by their own finite reason. They limited the Creator to the confines of His creation, unable to grasp that His power transcends human logic and natural laws, capable of raising the dead and transforming human existence.

Jesus’ diagnosis serves as a timeless principle: theological error often arises from a dual deficiency—either an inadequate or incorrect understanding of God's Word, or a limited view of God's limitless power. To accurately understand spiritual realities, one must humbly receive the truth revealed in Scripture and acknowledge God’s infinite capacity to bring about what He has promised. For instance, neglecting the direct teachings of Scripture can lead to strange doctrines, while failing to believe in God's power can stifle faith and acceptance of divine miracles or future realities. A balanced approach requires both diligent study of God's Word and robust faith in His omnipotence.