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Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 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. Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife."Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 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.' For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." But after that they dared not question Him anymore.
- Luke 20:27-40
In yesterday's reading, Jesus was in the temple teaching. It is Holy Week, the week of Jesus' Passion, as we read through Luke's gospel. Jesus has just spoken a parable against the leadership in the presence of the crowds. He quoted from Scripture, warning them: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. And the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on
Him, but they feared the people--for they knew that He had spoken this
parable against them. So they watched Him and sent spies who pretended
to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver
Him to the power and the authority of the governor. Then they asked
Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You
do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth: Is
it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But He perceived their
craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me? Show Me a
denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?" They answered and
said, "Caesar's." He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." But
they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.
And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.
Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 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. Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife." My study bible explains, "The Sadducees: the high priestly and landowning class which controlled the temple and the Jewish Council. In a striking difference with the Pharisees, the Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead and they came to Christ to dispute it."
Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." Here in Jesus' answer we have an intriguing glimpse of the resurrection, of "life after death." These few details have caused endless theological treatises on the life that we look forward to, and they continue to fuel our understanding of what the afterlife is like, the future for mankind in God's eternal plan. That those in the resurrection "neither marry nor are given in marriage" nor do they die anymore, that they are "equal to the angels and are sons of God" as "sons of the resurrection" has opened up our eyes to the possibilities in this transfiguration of resurrection. Clearly we await a different sort of a life than the one we have lived in this world. Along with the visitations of the Risen Christ, these are the teachings to which we turn to understand something of the eternity, the "age to come" that awaits His return.
"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.' For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." But after that they dared not question Him anymore. My study bible says that "Jesus' answer is concise and irrefutable. Since God is not the God of the dead but of the living, both those who are physically alive and those who are deceased, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all live to Him."
It's quite striking how awed the scribes are at Jesus' answer. It's clear that His expertise in dialogue and debate is extraordinary. His answers remain to us remarkable, concise, deft, irrefutable. But that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, is a remarkable statement to think about. It gives us first of all an affirmation about the nature and Person of God to begin with, that God is life. All things originate with our Creator, and all things live to and in the life of God. So we take our assurance about our own lives when we practice our faith, when we pray, when we seek the word and life of God. Jesus has said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life." He has also taught that "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." In Christ is the abundant life that we wish to have more of in our own lives. Through participation in the energies of this God to whom all live, we seek life in abundance, and we receive that which constitutes life -- and life more abundantly. Furthermore we are assured that all live to Him. Those whom we love are not lost to us, but they live to Him as well. The Patriarchs such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, referred to in the burning bush passage, live as do the saints, and we are in communion with them. We trust that in that life of God, the life of Christ, we all live to Him. It is a promise about eternity, and time, just as the promise of the life in the age to come, made so tantalizingly here with a few hints about that life in that age, gives us a sense of life as eternal and the promise of the Resurrection. As we go through Passion Week, we will see those determined to put Him to death, and we know His human suffering. But He is our Teacher of life. His word is with us that we may have it more abundantly. Let us consider our prayer and worship; that when we do so we enter into this life, abundantly, that He promises. How does it activate things in you that need healing, and perhaps to take a look at? How does it contribute to your life through a deepened sense of wonder, of joy, of understanding -- perhaps of transcendence? Let us remember, as noted in yesterday's reading, that every good and perfect gift is from above. We have the gift of life, and Christ came that we may have it more abundantly. While the world may be full of sorrows, let us remember that in His life we also may have joy, and that it promises to be for us, "abundantly." In the image of the burning bush, let us understand the "fire" and energies of God, that burn but don't consume -- that continue to fire and illumine our lives with God's presence.
Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, 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. Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also, and they left no children, and died. Last of all the woman died also. Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife." My study bible explains, "The Sadducees: the high priestly and landowning class which controlled the temple and the Jewish Council. In a striking difference with the Pharisees, the Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead and they came to Christ to dispute it."
Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." Here in Jesus' answer we have an intriguing glimpse of the resurrection, of "life after death." These few details have caused endless theological treatises on the life that we look forward to, and they continue to fuel our understanding of what the afterlife is like, the future for mankind in God's eternal plan. That those in the resurrection "neither marry nor are given in marriage" nor do they die anymore, that they are "equal to the angels and are sons of God" as "sons of the resurrection" has opened up our eyes to the possibilities in this transfiguration of resurrection. Clearly we await a different sort of a life than the one we have lived in this world. Along with the visitations of the Risen Christ, these are the teachings to which we turn to understand something of the eternity, the "age to come" that awaits His return.
"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.' For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." But after that they dared not question Him anymore. My study bible says that "Jesus' answer is concise and irrefutable. Since God is not the God of the dead but of the living, both those who are physically alive and those who are deceased, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all live to Him."
It's quite striking how awed the scribes are at Jesus' answer. It's clear that His expertise in dialogue and debate is extraordinary. His answers remain to us remarkable, concise, deft, irrefutable. But that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, is a remarkable statement to think about. It gives us first of all an affirmation about the nature and Person of God to begin with, that God is life. All things originate with our Creator, and all things live to and in the life of God. So we take our assurance about our own lives when we practice our faith, when we pray, when we seek the word and life of God. Jesus has said of Himself, "I am the way, the truth and the life." He has also taught that "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." In Christ is the abundant life that we wish to have more of in our own lives. Through participation in the energies of this God to whom all live, we seek life in abundance, and we receive that which constitutes life -- and life more abundantly. Furthermore we are assured that all live to Him. Those whom we love are not lost to us, but they live to Him as well. The Patriarchs such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, referred to in the burning bush passage, live as do the saints, and we are in communion with them. We trust that in that life of God, the life of Christ, we all live to Him. It is a promise about eternity, and time, just as the promise of the life in the age to come, made so tantalizingly here with a few hints about that life in that age, gives us a sense of life as eternal and the promise of the Resurrection. As we go through Passion Week, we will see those determined to put Him to death, and we know His human suffering. But He is our Teacher of life. His word is with us that we may have it more abundantly. Let us consider our prayer and worship; that when we do so we enter into this life, abundantly, that He promises. How does it activate things in you that need healing, and perhaps to take a look at? How does it contribute to your life through a deepened sense of wonder, of joy, of understanding -- perhaps of transcendence? Let us remember, as noted in yesterday's reading, that every good and perfect gift is from above. We have the gift of life, and Christ came that we may have it more abundantly. While the world may be full of sorrows, let us remember that in His life we also may have joy, and that it promises to be for us, "abundantly." In the image of the burning bush, let us understand the "fire" and energies of God, that burn but don't consume -- that continue to fire and illumine our lives with God's presence.
