23That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 24“Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27Finally, the woman died. 28Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?”
29Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’b ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
33When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. (Matthew 22:23-33)
Thoughts: The Saducees only believed the first five books in the Bible. They also did not believe in miracles or heaven and the resurrection. It seemed they were trying to trap Jesus in his belief in the resurrection.
In the Old Testament, as a way to protect widowed women and children, if a brother died, the other brother would marry the widow and adopt the children (called levirate marriage Dt. 25:5-10). But marriage and sexual activity are not the same in heaven, according to Jesus. This will disappoint many who (Freud) who think the major gift of God to human kind is sexual pleasure. This actually points out that we should not over-value sexuality (as we do in America today). In heaven we become like the angels who do not reproduce. But there is deeper knowledge and love for all who are there. The Mormons believe some marriages (performed in their Temple) can be eternal. But that does not accord with Jesus' teachings here. As one woman commentator put it, "This means that women are not the property of multiple men but stand on equal footing in heaven."
The Saducees thought they knew all about the scriptures and how predictable God was. But Jesus rebuked them. God is the living God and is God of the living. God "IS" the God of Abraham not "WAS" the God of Abraham. Jesus did not just believe in the resurrection, He lived and proved it.
In the Old Testament, as a way to protect widowed women and children, if a brother died, the other brother would marry the widow and adopt the children (called levirate marriage Dt. 25:5-10). But marriage and sexual activity are not the same in heaven, according to Jesus. This will disappoint many who (Freud) who think the major gift of God to human kind is sexual pleasure. This actually points out that we should not over-value sexuality (as we do in America today). In heaven we become like the angels who do not reproduce. But there is deeper knowledge and love for all who are there. The Mormons believe some marriages (performed in their Temple) can be eternal. But that does not accord with Jesus' teachings here. As one woman commentator put it, "This means that women are not the property of multiple men but stand on equal footing in heaven."
The Saducees thought they knew all about the scriptures and how predictable God was. But Jesus rebuked them. God is the living God and is God of the living. God "IS" the God of Abraham not "WAS" the God of Abraham. Jesus did not just believe in the resurrection, He lived and proved it.
Prayer: Lord, let me live in you and love in you.
No comments:
Post a Comment