Sermon Tone Analysis
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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?
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