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27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 28 saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. 32 Last of all the woman died also. 33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.”
34 Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; 36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”
39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore. ~ Luke 20:27-40
Today's text takes place on the final Wednesday of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus. Then He was crucified on that Friday. This was a busy day for Him as He taught in the temple all day in the context of the Jewish religious community trying to trip Him up with their questions. Good thing He is God, I couldn't have done it.
Toward the end of the day that Wednesday, a certain element of the Jewish religious leaders, the Sadducees, came to the Lord Jesus with a hypothetical question. The Sadducees accepted only the first five books of Moses as the word of God. In addition, they did not believe in angels, spirits, or the resurrection of the dead. And, by the way, when the Romans came in and destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the Sadducees ceased to exist.
Central to this question from the Sadducees was the subject of the resurrection which is at the crux of all that we believe. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 15:14, the Apostle Paul tells us, without the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we are all without hope.
Our eternity with God is not a mere continuation of the life we know right now. In heaven, we will maintain our identities and know each other, but there will be no more death. As a result, there will be no more need for marriage and procreation. In heaven we will share the image of Jesus Christ and be much higher than the angels.
In v.28-33, the Sadducees asked the Lord Jesus who will in heaven be the husband of a woman who had been married to seven different men. The Sadducees were trying to discredit Him in front of the people by asking Him this question that nobody had ever been able to answer. This was the question that stumped everybody.
In v.34-38 the Lord Jesus answers the question. He was quick to say marriage is a thing of this temporal world. Then, He accentuates the fact that the angels do not procreate. They were all created at one time and they don’t procreate or die. Their number is fixed. And so, in heaven, there will be no need for marriage because there will be no procreation.
According to v.36, people do not die, and in this sense we are equal to angels. When we believed in the Lord Jesus, we received His life, eternal life. When we received His life we became the sons and daughters of the resurrection.
The resurrection proclaims: the believer in Christ finds his worthiness in the merit of the Lord Jesus Christ. And His resurrection from the dead sealed His merit as worthy.
The Lord Jesus eliminated the need for the Sadducees' question. And, the real point comes in v.37-38 which reads, “37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”
The Lord Jesus uses logic by directing our attention to Moses in Exodus 3. God identified Himself with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and thus affirmed that these three patriarchs are very much alive.
The Sadducees only believed in the first five books of the Old Testament, and the Lord Jesus uses Moses to make the most salient point to the Sadducees. He quotes Exodus 3:6, meaning, "I am, and therefore they are." God is the God of the living Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From the vantage point of earth, these patriarchs are dead but in eternity they are alive. The Lord Jesus dismantled the Sadducees false views by proving that Moses affirmed in His writing that God is the God of the living.
In v.39-40 we read, "39 Then some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 But after that they dared not question Him anymore." The Lord Jesus blew the minds of the most learned of that day. He silenced for the first time, ever, the hypothetical question of the Sadducees.
One day there will be no more tears, pain, sickness, and death. For the believer in Christ, there will one day be complete harmony. In eternity, we will live in a new earth without the interference of sin and death. We who believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ will enjoy sinless hearts and minds along with disease-free bodies. All that causes us pain and discomfort will be destroyed, and we, we will live forever.
