Luke 20:27-40
[27] There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, [28] and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. [29] Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. [30] And the second [31] and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. [32] Afterward the woman also died. [33] In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
[34] And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, [35] but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, [36] for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. [37] But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. [38] Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” [39] Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” [40] For they no longer dared to ask him any question. (ESV)
Context: The scribes and the chief priests sent spies to try to trap Jesus, to see if he would give a wrong answer about taxes. It seems like the Sadducees want their shot at it too by pulling off another impossible question - if a woman marries many times (legally) in this life, and if there really is a resurrection, whose wife will she be then?
Ephesians 5:31-32
[31] “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [32] This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Fundamentally, the question is - what is the purpose of marriage? I believe marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church, just as in the old testament, the sacrifice of animals is a picture of Christ's sacrifice on the cross - that is, a mere foreshadowing of what is to come. The intimacy and commitment of the relationship is to parallel what we have in future with Jesus.
Similarly, when Jesus fulfilled the picture of animal sacrifices, the need for animal sacrifices was done away with. This tallies with what Jesus says here - those... neither marry nor are given in marriage. The real deal is here - eternal, resurrection life with Christ, and marriage is no longer necessary to depict this coming reality.
So what was Jesus' point in His answer?
[27] There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, [28] and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. [29] Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. [30] And the second [31] and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. [32] Afterward the woman also died. [33] In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
[34] And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, [35] but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, [36] for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. [37] But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. [38] Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” [39] Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” [40] For they no longer dared to ask him any question. (ESV)
Context: The scribes and the chief priests sent spies to try to trap Jesus, to see if he would give a wrong answer about taxes. It seems like the Sadducees want their shot at it too by pulling off another impossible question - if a woman marries many times (legally) in this life, and if there really is a resurrection, whose wife will she be then?
Ephesians 5:31-32
[31] “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [32] This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
Fundamentally, the question is - what is the purpose of marriage? I believe marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church, just as in the old testament, the sacrifice of animals is a picture of Christ's sacrifice on the cross - that is, a mere foreshadowing of what is to come. The intimacy and commitment of the relationship is to parallel what we have in future with Jesus.
Similarly, when Jesus fulfilled the picture of animal sacrifices, the need for animal sacrifices was done away with. This tallies with what Jesus says here - those... neither marry nor are given in marriage. The real deal is here - eternal, resurrection life with Christ, and marriage is no longer necessary to depict this coming reality.
So what was Jesus' point in His answer?
- The resurrection is certain, even from the days of Moses and Old Testament scripture (which the Sadducees believed to be true)
- The resurrection surpasses much of what we have today, that we should not pin our expectations on the future based on the reality we see today, but to be ready for the fulfillment of a great deal more
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