Marriage: Now and Then

 The Sadducees told Jesus a ridiculous story in today's passage. People have long wondered about one detail. Why did all 7 brothers die? A recent study may provide an answer. It found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than the men who mention it. Suddenly, that story doesn't look so ridiculous... Let's see what's really going on in Luke 20:27-38. Sadducees are the priests. They're wealthy, conservative, & corrupt from licensing the sale of animals at the temple. They think that only the Torah (Ge-Dt) is authoritative Scripture. The rest of the OT? Just commentary. Scribes & Pharisees say the oral tradition (Mishnah) is as authoritative as Scripture. But Sadducees don't & oppose them. Especially on one topic. 27aSadducees say there's no resurrection. Then Jesus resurrected Lazarus. That hurt their reputation. Soon after, in Jn 11:46, they heard about it. So, they set out to prove Jesus couldn't have done what He did! Moreover, in Jn 11:49-50, 53, they decide to kill Him. When the crowds find out about Lazarus in Jn 12:9-11, Sadducees decide to kill Lazarus, too. Those Sadducees. 27bSome Sadducees came to Jesus with a question. They don't want to know anything. They just want to trap & discredit Jesus. They want to prove He's a liar & fake. Then, they'll claim He can't have raised Lazarus. (Don't try to confuse them with the facts!) They try hard to sound respectful. 28a"Teacher... (Really?!?) 28bMoses wrote in Dt 25:5 that if a man's brother dies & leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow & have children for his brother. Why? 1st, preserve his lineage. And 2nd, provide a child to care for her in her old age. Now comes the ridiculous part. 29aSuppose there were 7 brothers. The 1st marries a woman & dies childless. Just so, 30athe 2nd, 31a3rd, 4th.... 30bIn the same way all 7 marry her. 31bAll 7 die, leaving no children. 32Finally, the woman dies too. Now, Sadducees spring their trap. 33aAt the resurrection whose wife will she be, since all 7 married her?" They're sure Jesus is stumped. We can almost hear their mic drop. Obviously, they think they proved their case. Resurrection? The idea is absurd! But we all wonder. 'What's the trap?' Their logic went something like this. Resurrection would be like this life. If there is one, in the resurrection she'd be guilty of 7-fold incest! Besides, how would you pick just one brother as her husband? Flip a coin? The Sadducees think the crowds will now agree that even the idea of resurrection is absurd. And Jesus is a fraud. Sadducees are dead set against Jesus. Scripture has no record of a Sadducee ever coming to faith. Smirking, they wait for Jesus to answer. 1st, He corrects the Sadducees' bad theology. They think any next age has to continue this one. Jesus corrects them & separates human existence into 2 ages. This age. And that age. 34"The people of this age marry & are given in marriage. Why? To carry on our names. 35aBut those considered worthy of taking part in that age & in the resurrection will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Really! Why not? For one, women were never property. They too are made in God's image. Equally. On top of that, 36aThey can no longer die. If we share Jesus' immortality, we'll carry our names forever. Who needs children to do it? We'll be 36blike angels. 36cThose in that age are God's children. Why? 36dThey're children of the resurrection. Jesus taught us to call God Abba. Father. We can't see it now. Then, we will. Jesus also corrects their interpretation. He'll use the same Scripture they say resurrection isn't in. The Torah. Moses' writings. The only Scripture Sadducees accept. Look at 37athe account of the bush, Ex 3:1-6. It's in the Torah. The only texts that'll convince Sadducees. Even worse for their case, it's the story of God's call to Moses. Where God gave him the authority to write their Scripture! Jesus' response is devastating. 37bEven Moses showed that the dead rise. Huh? How? 37bHe calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, & the God of Isaac, & the God of Jacob.' Jesus' point? 38sHe isn't the God of the dead, but [is the God] of the living. If they are not still living, He can't be their God! 38bTo him all are alive." The verb tenses are all present tense. God's statement makes no sense if the patriarchs aren't still alive. To ancient Jews, there's one more aspect. And it's even more powerful. Remember the special covenant relationship God had with Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob? It's so deep & alive that the now lifetime can't contain it. It demands an ongoing relationship after death. Let's start wrapping up. What can we learn from this powerful passage? For one, we all need to spend much more time in Scripture. Look at all that Jesus got from just one verse! We need to study Scripture more carefully. All of it. After all, it's God's Word to us. And God's Word is God-breathed. It won't return to Him empty but will accomplish His purpose. (Maybe we better find out what that is!) One more thing before I move on. Remember what Jesus says eternal life really is? Look at Jn 17:3. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, & Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. If we really want to enter eternal life, we better start now. Get to know God & His Son Jesus Christ. Where can we start? His Word. Scripture. We better study more... Jesus teaches another lesson in these verses. Live like we remember that this age isn't all there is. Keep reminding ourselves. This age isn't our home. There's a better one coming. We want to be considered of being worthy of taking part in that age. We want to be citizens of His KoG. There's only one way we'll ever be worthy. By faith, accept Jesus as Savior & Lord. Only then will his atonement for sin cover our sins, too. Having accepted Him, then we need to remember James' strong warning that our faith must be accompanied by the deeds of faith. How? Keep remembering that age. Keep remembering how He wants us to live as its citizens. How is that? Remain in Him. While we do, He'll produce the fruit He accepts as the deeds of faith. Lastly, Jesus speaks to us all, married or not. To unmarried Christians, Jesus encourages you. Your marital status now doesn't define you. It doesn't anchor your identity. Your identity is defined & anchored by your marital status then. Scripture is unanimous that celibate singleness isn't missing out. It isn't inferior or incomplete. It's taking the Lord at his Word. It's faith that he's using your unmarried walk now to prepare you for the greater marriage then. If you're unhappily married, Jesus' words may feel like a relief. This now marriages will end. Yet Jesus's teaching goes way beyond that. In now's brokenness, even a failed marriage matters for then. In every marriage now we start learning how to be part of Christ's bride then. And then, now's wounds & conflicts will give way to the Lamb's healing of his bride. If we're happily married, we may feel sad that now's marriage is temporary. We wonder. How can that age possibly be better without the intimacy & friendship we enjoy now? Instead, let's trust God at his Word. Then will be better, even if we cannot comprehend it now. Why? All marriages are built to end, but for a reason. They'll all end in a better marriage. As we worship the Lamb, the church's husband, we won't grieve what we lost. We'll only rejoice in what we gained. It's going to be that good! Whether or not we had a good marriage, we might say to our earthly spouse: "Thank you for helping me prepare for this."1 1 Thoughts on marriage from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/marriage-built-to-end/. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Marriage: Now & Then - Luke 20:27-38 Page 1 of 1