Our Glorious Resurrection

Prayer

We will praise you, O Lord, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

You know our thoughts and you know our words even before we utter them.

We take comfort it that, for even when our bodies are falling apart, we know that you care for us and not even a hair can fall from our heads without your loving decree.

So guide our steps so that we can walk without fear. Lift our hearts beyond this world and beyond this flesh and this blood, to where Christ is, sitting at your right hand.

Give us confidence in your promises. Remind us by your spirit that we are beautiful because our Saviour is beautiful. That we have purpose because we are his body. That we have a glorious destiny that is far, far above the glories of this earth. Seal this truth in our hearts: that we are accepted in the beloved.

So even when our bodies fail we might grow stronger each day in faith, hope, and love.

Give healing to those who suffer continual pain. Give patience to those who are suffering. Give faith to all. Provide for all of our needs.

Grant that we might always be truthful in our words. Give us the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent. May the slanderer be uncomfortable around us and leave us in peace.

May we be known for our gentleness, as a people of peace. So give us rest.

Give us rest from pain and sorrow. Give us rest from doubts and fears. Give us rest from our anxious thoughts and restless cares.

In the warfare of this life, give us oases of peace and strengthen us to fight one more day. And then the day after. Never leave us or forsake us, as you have promised.

And forgive us from our failures and our restlessness. Wash our sins clean that we might stand before you whole, and reflect your beauty and your goodness in all that we do.

Grant our governor and our assembly wisdom and protection. And give us peace.

Deliver us from wicked men who seek to destroy and devour. Deliver us from those who use their authority to hurt and oppress. Give justice to the afflicted and abused; protect the innocent in the courts.

Father, the family courts are so often places of oppression and injustice. Hear the cries of the innocent, protect the weak and those without resources. Be a father to the fatherless and a husband to the widow.

Tear down the wolves in the pulpits, those who seek their own and view the people of God as meat to be devoured. Raise up in their place faithful shepherds who continually point to Jesus.

How desperately we need to hear the gospel of peace! Deliver us from false gospels, wherever they arise, and point us to the only savior, the king of kings and lord of lords.

And bless our congregation. Give us patience and longsuffering. Protect us from the wiles of the devil. Unite our hearts in love. Provide our needs.

Encourage the fearful; strengthen the weak; provide for all; rescue the perishing, and call your banished ones home.

Bless the reading and preaching of your word today. Guide my lips and give us ears to hear.

And together:

Psalm 19:14 NKJV

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

Text

Luke 20:27–38 NKJV

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.”

Sermon

The leaders of the nation continue to try to catch Jesus in his words. I spoke last week of the reasons - from their perspective, they were looking for something that would cause the people to turn against him, and at the same time would cause Pilate to order his execution.

There were many social and political groups in Jerusalem, but two of the most powerful were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They didn’t agree on much of anything and were deadly enemies - except when it came to getting rid of Jesus.

The Sadducees were the wealthy patrons. They made up most of the Sanhedrin and the high priests were always Sadducees. They believed on cooperating with the Romans. They are the ones that made millions on the money exchanges in the Temple and so they had their reasons for wanting Jesus gone.

They were also materialists. They believed that the universe was a closed system, that death was the end, that there was no life after death, no angels, no spiritual realm, no punishment or reward after death, and no resurrection. They viewed it all as absurd from a scientific perspective.

It was also convenient, for it allowed them to exploit and oppress and live in luxury without fear of punishment or hope of reward.

To a Sadducee, the only life was this one. The only existence was a physical one. The only goal was to live your best life now.

These people have been around for thousands of years. 300 years ago, Matthew Henry wrote that they call themselves “Freethinkers”, and they still do today. There is arrogance in the statement - unlike you lot, who are sheep following the opinions of others, we are freethinkers who think for themselves

They would claim that there was a god, like the Deists of old. But they also claim that this god has nothing relevant to say, doesn’t concern himself with the affairs of the world, and there is no supernatural realm.

In theory, the Sadducees were not atheists, but practically , they were. They said in their hearts, “There is no god”

I have found that there are two kinds of people that call themselves atheists. One has been hurt and wounded so badly by the church in the name of God that they cannot believe in this God. All they have heard is that God hates them, that he can’t wait to throw them into hell, that he is an angry, vengeful God and his representatives on earth are also angry, vengeful people.

To them, I say, “I don’t believe in that God either.” But I would invite you to seek the God who is, who seeks after you like a woman looking for a lost coin, or a shepherd seeking a lost sheep.

The other kind is the kind that is naturally superior to other, lesser beings. Who teach that those who believe in God are weak losers, that believing in God is just a crutch for the masses, and anyone who believes in resurrection is foolish, laughable, ignorant and deserves to be put in their place.

This is the committee that confronted Jesus.

They believed that anyone who taught resurrection was stupid and laughable, and deserved to be ridiculed publicly.

The challenge

So they approach Jesus with a question that they believe will show just how stupid Jesus and people like him are. Morons that take the Bible literally.

They believe that they can do this using the law of Moses.

Moses wrote this:

Deuteronomy 25:5–6 NKJV

5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.

There were several reasons for this law, and they all had to do with the economy and the land in Israel. The land was divided up between the families and that land was a permanent inheritance. It represented the new heavens and the new earth - a permanent dwelling place for the people of God.

If a man had no sons, after his death, his land would have to go to someone else, and his name would be lost in the genealogy of Israel. The worst curse that could come to a man would be to be cut off without an heir to carry on his name. It would show that he had no place in the future of the nation, and symbolically meant that he had no inheritance.

It was all tied in to the economy of Israel, the view of the land, the care of the widows, the genealogies, which all ultimately pointed to Christ.

Very practically, if a widow had no sons who would inherit the land, then she would be destitute, have no one to care for her, and have no place in the community.

If she married a stranger, or another tribe, then her future sons would inherit their father’s estate, and the dead man would be cut off without a name.

So if a man died without an heir, in order to protect the widow and the man’s name, the younger brother would take the widow as a wife, and the first-born would inherit the name of the dead man. The widow was taken care of, and lineage preserved.

Complicated - but that is the background of the test.

So they ask him - she has buried six husbands. So who will be married to her in the resurrection?

The Pharisees taught that God’s law was unbreakable, eternal and an expression of God’s very nature - even if it didn’t make a lot of sense, they still did it. The law said to bind the word before your eyes, so they cut off little pieces of it and hung it before their eyes. Their view of the law was that God was a harsh master demanding correct service or he would punish.

So if the law said to put the law on the doorposts, that is exactly what they did. Hang it on your garments - yep.

The Sadducees thought that was ridiculous, just like they thought that this law was ridiculous and contrary to reason.

They think that they have him.

To them, he can either say that the law is wrong, or that the belief in the resurrection is wrong. Either way, they discredit him before the people.

It’s like the question “Can God make a rock too big for him to lift?” They think they have won by positing a ridiculous question.

Jesus’ Answer

Jesus answers them and stops their mouths. But he also lifts our heads up higher than the affairs of this world.

There are many today who view the law of Moses the same way that the Pharisees did. Jesus said that they search the scripture, because in them they think they find life.

So all of the law they view as transactional - if I need this, then I do this. If I do this wrong, then God will punish me.

So they spend an endless amount of time examining slavery laws, marriage and sexuality laws, blasphemy laws, and so on -

When I was a child, I was raised like this. It was called “Theonomy” - that Moses’ law was the perfect expression of God’s will for all culture and society and it should be the law of every nation.

The way it was framed was that if you disagree with it, then you are disagreeing with God’s law, and believe in autonomy. Theonomy means “God’s law” and autonomy means self law.

In other words, if you do not believe that sabbath breakers should be stoned, then you don’t believe in God’s law...

But this is a similar view that the Pharisees had, that the Sadducees mocked - but Jesus didn’t side with either one.

The marriage laws, Jesus says, were temporary. They are for the “Sons of this age.”

There will come a time when they will pass away, after they have served their purpose.

So there is a deeper way of looking at God’s law given to Moses - the way of wisdom, seeking to discern the will of God by understanding his revelation to a people living in a different age and different culture than we live in.

You will not find very many people advocating for forcing brothers to breed with the sisters-in-law when they become widows. So what changed??

God’s plan of redemption was revealed. All of the genealogies ended in Christ. Matthew begins tracing Abraham to Jesus, and there are no more after Jesus.

HE is the Son, the firstborn, the true Israel, the Lamb of God, the inheritance and the heir.

And in him we are complete. The barren woman has given birth, the solitary has been placed in a family - the new era is not a family of flesh and blood, for that which is born of the flesh is flesh. The new family is that which is born of the spirit - engrafted into Christ, whether we are married or single, rich or poor, many children or childless - none of that is the kingdom of God. We are a new family, born of the spirit, with Christ our brother as our head.

This will all be further revealed as the New Testament progresses. Jesus doesn’t step into their trap by saying, “The law has already passed away”. That will come.

But he does answer the question.

Bad question

You often hear, there is no such thing as a bad question. Yes there is. This one here. It isn’t an honest question. It is a ridiculous hypothetical situation designed to make Jesus look foolish.

If there is no resurrection, then there is no point in salvation at all, Christianity is worse than false, it is pointless. And Christ died in vain.

Luke doesn’t record this, but Matthew says that Jesus told them, “You are wrong, not knowing the scripture or the power of God.”

And that sums up most theological errors.

Creation couldn’t have happened in six days,

There couldn’t have been a flood.

Virgin births are impossible.

Miracles don’t happen

Resurrections don’t happen.

You are wrong, because you don’t know the scripture or the power of God.

They didn’t know the scripture - they thought that they had him over a barrel with this hypothetical question, but it is only a valid question is the law of Moses is still in force in the new heavens and the new earth.

When death has been taken away, do we still need to protect the widows? When death is taken away, do we still need to have babies?

When we are face to face with Jesus, do we still need the types and shadows?

Will we need judges and executioners and family courts and building codes when death is no more, and we are made perfect in love?

So not only are the laws of marriage as Moses gave them to Israel done away with, but also we are made perfect in love, death has passed away and all things have become new.

And those that have happy marriages sometimes view this sadly - you mean I won’t be married to my sweetie in heaven?

Thank God for blessed marriages, but that isn’t Jesus’ point. The love and unity and fellowship that you enjoy now in marriage isn’t going away - it is like a seed that will fall into the ground and die and bring forth something so magnificent that everything on this earth will pale in comparison.

And yes - you will experience it all with your loved ones who have died in Christ.

But Moses’ levirite laws on brothers marrying widows will pass away - That is Jesus’ only point.

And it is prophetic, for it has passed away. Marriage as it was practiced before Christ has given way to something far more glorious - Ephesians 5 describes a one-flesh relationship, that the fathers in Israel only glimpsed from afar, but rarely experienced. It can now be experienced in Christ, if we all submit ourselves to Christ, quit looking for preeminence and give him all the glory -

But that is another sermon.

The economy of the Old passed away with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. It is a new era.

I also need to say that God’s moral nature does not change, and his desire for his people to live godly lives doesn’t change. But that’s another sermon.

There is so much here...

1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV

9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

We can’t imagine - we hold on to it by faith. We will all be sons of God, like the angels of heaven - that doesn’t mean that we will be without bodies, for our bodies will indeed be raised.

But they will be glorified bodies. We cannot imagine the beauty of a body that is no longer subject to death.

No aching joints, no disease, no syndromes, no brain damage, no torn ligaments and cancers, no dying cells

We are so immersed in the curse we can’t even imagine it. We can’t imagine romping with God’s creatures, exploring his creation, saying with him in the everlasting Sabbath - “Behold, it is very good”

The curse on this earth is why we need marriage laws, and protections, and 7th commandments, and law enforcement - the law written on stone.

But when the law is on the heart and death is no more, and we are as the angels in heaven, that is something we can’t fathom. We just hold to it by faith.

Worthy is the Lamb

And there is only one worthy - worthy is the lamb. And he gives that worthiness to us as a free gift, if we just accept it. We don’t earn it. We don’t work for it. We just receive it, long for it, wait for it - and believe it.

And there will be no more curse.

Understanding the scripture and the power of God.

Where the scripture is silent, hold to God’s power.

He has the power to put together THESE bodies again, for he made them to begin with.

He has the power to gather his people together. Even those who have been burnt to ashes throughout history. Does he not have power over the atoms and the dust?

Does he not have the power to do beyond which we can ask or think?

Even making us worthy for that day by the blood of the lamb?

God of the living

400 years after the death of Abraham, God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. This appearance is the heart of the Jewish faith. If the Sadducees tried to argue with this passage, the whole congregation would have called for their deaths. This was an untouchable passage -

Jesus turns the challenge on to them.

He says look at what God said to Moses. He said, “I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

He didn’t say, “I used to be the God of Abraham” He said, “I AM the God of Abraham.”

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Luke 20:27–38

It is absurd that the living God and Fountain of life should continue related to them as their God, if there were no more of them in being than what lay in that cave, undistinguished from common dust.

Is it conceivable that God made a mistake, and used the wrong word? If Abraham is nothing more than the dust of the ground, then the right grammar would have been “I used to be”

But he said, “I am”.

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive. Their bodies haven’t been resurrected yet, but they are still alive, otherwise this passage is absurd - which cannot be.

If the Sadduccees are correct, and there is no resurrection, then the only explanation is that God is wrong, or Moses wrote it down wrong - either way, the implications are profound.

If there is no resurrection, then God lied to Abraham, for he never received what was promised.

If there is no resurrection, then God breaks promises, and what is the point of anything?

1 Corinthians 15:12–20 NKJV

12 Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

If there is no resurrection, then we are still in our sins, there is nothing trustworthy, there is nothing to believe in, and no reason to keep on living.

If the Sadduccees are correct, let’s eat drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.

But we all know that we were made for far more. We were made for perfect love, perfect goodness, perfect beauty, perfect justice.

This whole creation cries out that it isn’t finished yet- every glimpse of goodness and beauty makes us long for more.

We are made for God and our hearts are restless until we learn to rest there.

And the word that gives us hope and peace is this,.

“I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

He isn’t the god of the dead, but the living. They are still alive, with Jesus now waiting for their bodies to be raised.

And you will be there as well when your day comes.

Where are their worries now?

Before Jacob died, he said that the God who shepherded him his whole life would shepherd his children.

And God is STILL shepherding Jacob.

David wrote, “The Lord is my shepherd” and he still is. He never took his eyes off of David and he brought him to green pastures safely.

And he will shepherd you.

He has promised.