Luke 20:27-40 - In defense of the ressurection

In one of his lighter moments, Benjamin Franklin penned his own epitaph. He didn't profess to be a born-again Christian, but it seems he must have been influenced by Paul's teaching of the resurrection of the body. Here's what he wrote: The Body of B. Franklin, Printer Like the Cover of an old Book Its contents torn out, And stript of its Lettering and Guilding, Lies here, Food for Worms, But the Work shall not be wholly lost: For it will, as he believ'd, Appear once more In a new & more perfect Edition, Corrected and amended by the Author.

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev's widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev's wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband's chest. There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband.

The idea of “life after death” or an “afterlife” is a topic that appears in every culture at any time. It is a big deal.

Hindu-Beliefs include reincarnation, where a deceased person returns in the form of another, and Karma

Among long gone Norse cultures burial with a sword was common and believed to help the ancestor fight in the after life

Some hold to an idea of an intermediary state of Purgatory

The ancient Greeks would place silver in the mouths of the deceased to help them buy things in the after life.

Native tribes are recorded to have buried people with dogs so they’ll have a guide in the next life.

This fascination with what comes next is natural! I believe it is from God!

Ecc 3:11

World-(olam)עוֹלָם- eternity

For the Bible believer and Christ follower we know that our ultimate destination is resurrection!

This concept of resurrection is a major theme of the Bible and Christ’s teaching!

Job: Job 19:25-27

David: Psalm 16:9-10

Daniel: Daniel 12:2

Elijah & Elisha

Abraham

Resurrection- “The future event of finally being raised to glory with Jesus Christ. Believers may rest assured that, on account of their faith, they will share in the resurrection and glory of Christ and be with him for ever.” - Hodder Dictionary of Bible Terms

A.k.a- Beating Death

Well over three hundred verses are concerned with the subject of Jesus' resurrection in the New Testament. So much of Biblical Christianity is rooted in the resurrection.

It was a LARGE part of Jesus teaching!

We are told that this event is a sign for unbelievers (Matthew 12:38-40)

as well as the answer for the believer's doubt (Luke 24:38-43).

It serves as the guarantee that Jesus' teachings are true (Acts 2:22-24)

and is the center of the gospel itself (Romans 4:24-25, 10:9)

Further, the resurrection is the impetus for evangelism (Matt. 28:18-20)

the key indication of the believer's daily power to live the Christian life (Phil. 3:10)

and the reason for the total commitment of our lives (Rom. 7:4)

The resurrection even addresses the fear of death (John 11:25)

and is related to the second coming of Jesus (Acts 1:11; Revelation 1:7).

Lastly, this event is a model of the Christian's resurrection from the dead (Acts 4:2; 1 Cor. 6:14; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

and provides a foretaste of heaven for the believer (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Peter 1:3-5). - Gary R. Habermas & J.P. Moreland, Immortality - The Other Side of Death

I remind you of this because as we examine Luke 20 we see Jesus is under extreme doctrinal scrutiny!

Leading up to this point Jesus has been leading a change in the nation of Israel

His system was different than the Jewish leaders of the day

In his criticism of legalism and focus on external acts of piety

Grace

Forgivness

Those he associated with

He has entered Jerusalem and it was loud

“Hosanas” rang

Miracles happened

He cast judgement on a “fig tree”

their system

He has purged the temple of money changers and people selling animals in Luke 19

He begins to teach daily in the temple that he has just purged (Luke 19:47)

The religious leaders could’t stand that so they raise questions to Jesus . They need him to trip up.

He is answers and silences the priests and scribes

Luke 20:19

He does it twice

Luke 20:26

He is about to get the “hat trick”

Jesus is approached by a group called the Sadducees

The Sadducees were the party of high priests, aristocratic families, and merchants—the wealthier elements of the population.

The ones in charge of that Temple Jesus just cleansed…

the Sadducees dominated the Temple and its priesthood.

Acts 5:17

The historian Josephus calls them “harsh”

Most Notably they don’t believe in the resurrection

Luke 20:27

Acts 23:8

They believe it’s lights out upon death

They’re Sad-U-Cee(sad you see)

This group who is upset at the change Jesus us making

Remember they are opposed to him because they feel threatened politically

But they are most opposed to him Theologically

They deny the resurrection

Jesus preaches it

Jesus even claims to be it!

John11:25

If they can destroy the resurrection they relegate Jesus to nothing.

He’d be a false teacher & liar

We’d have no hope

It’s the very center of the Gospel!

1 Cor 15:1-4

They ask him a question

Luke 20:28-33

7 Brides for 7 Brothers?

They asked Jesus a question that was designed to discredit the idea of resurrection by reducing it to absurdity.

The question seems crazy and even by modern sensibilities a little inappropriate

Let us remember our context- Israel

In Deut 25:5–10, Moses instructs the Hebrews to forge a levirate marriage when a married man dies and his widow has no surviving sons ( Gen 38:8; Ruth 3–4). For example, in a levirate marriage, the brother of the deceased man marries the widow and seeks to bear a son with her.

Way to preserve the land and inheritance

Let’s examine Jesus’ response and what we can learn from it

Mr.Matthew includes something I would like us to take note of

From the same story

Matthew 22:29

The Presuppositions of the Sadducees

In the question asked to Jesus the Sadducees have accepted several things to be true in their story: all of the characters went to heaven, marriage was a thing in the next life, etc

Jesus is going to begin by first handling their faulty resurrection logic

Luke 20:34-36.

That assumed that all would participate in the resurrection (Luke 20:35)

They failed to realize that there is no person even worthy to take part in this resurrection

Romans 3:23

We must understand that we bring no worth to the table

-Those who are counted worthy are those who place faith in Christ because faith in Jesus is the only means by which anyone can be accepted by God (Rm 5:1; Gal 2:16 ).

We learn that obtain resurrection status you have to be counted worthy & we have established that it is impossible to do so.

Then how?

It is credited!

Romans 4:1-5

It is in the work of Jesus that we can be made worthy of this resurrection!

2 Cor 5:21

In heaven we will be like angels, who enjoy many meaningful relationships but do not marry or reproduce. After the resurrection, the human life cycle (birth, marriage, reproduction, death) is forever changed.

They assumed that life would be the same as it is on earth(Luke 20:36)

In the area of marriage

Though marriage is part of God’s design for his creation, it will not be a feature of the new creation. So questions like, “Whose wife will the woman be?” (20:33) are irrelevant. Resurrected believers will no longer die (20:36). So there will be no need for procreation.

In heaven we will be like angels, who enjoy many meaningful relationships but do not marry or reproduce. After the resurrection, the human life cycle (birth, marriage, reproduction, death) is forever changed.

In the area of the spiritual family “Are the children of God”

This “introduction” into the family of God is initiated on Earth by faith

John 1:12-13

It is accomplished and actualized in the resurrection !

Eph 1:5

Our destiny

Romans 8:23

They assumed that death would strike again(Luke 20:36)

They seemed to ignore or forget the idea that death is defeated by resurrection!

Jesus had to remind them of this fact!

“Neither can they die anymore”

Death is defeated by resurrection!

John 11:25-26

Jesus wins!

Rev 1:18

After Jesus disputes this faulty resurrection theology he is then going to point them to the Old Testament book of Exodus.

The Precepts of Scripture

Luke 20:37-40 “37 Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. 38 For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. 39 Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said. 40 And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.”

Jesus is going to even show them what God and Moses had to say about the resurrection!

He has bested their assumptions now he will get Moses and The Father to corroborate!

Exodus 3:6

Jesus took the argument a step further in showing them the folly of their denial of spirits and the resurrection of the human body. He referred to Ex. 3, especially verses 6 and 15–16, to show that the patriarchs were then alive when God spoke to Moses.

God did not say, “I was the God …” but “I am the God …”

A continuation of life after death implies a future resurrection; for God had made covenant promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that included future blessings. Would He give these blessings to disembodied spirits?

God is the God of the living!

Existence is not extinguished at death

Those who are raised in the resurrection to eternal life with God are not bound by temporal categories of the past, present, and future. Rather, when the age of the resurrection arrives, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and those associated with God will all simultaneously be in the “present” with God

2 Cor 5:8

Those afraid of death or maybe dealing with loss, I want to let you know your loved one is not gone! Those who have trusted Jesus are very much alive!

Lee Strobel writes the following

I hesitated to ask my last question. Maybe it was too personal. Maybe it was too soon. I took a breath and then decided to go ahead and pose it to Groothuis.

“The last time I was in your office, your wife, Becky, was suffering from a terrible illness, and of course, she died pretty quickly after that,” I said. “So if you had your choice—if you were able to choose between reincarnation or resurrection as being true—which would you select? Would it give you more comfort to know she is going to live on in successive lives, or that she had gone directly to be with the Lord?”

Groothuis was somber at first. “Well, there’s no contest,” he said, a small smile breaking out at the thought. “I would choose the promise of Scripture—that Becky was fully forgiven of all her sins based on Christ’s work on the cross, that she is with the Lord, and that she would eventually be resurrected, living in a disease-free body in the new heaven and the new earth—forever and ever.

“How could I find any comfort if she were reincarnated to live in a fallen world and face death again and again and again? Maybe she’d get another disease like the one she had and have to suffer through that once more. And then in the end, what would she face? She’d be extinguished, snuffed out, cease to exist. No, I wouldn’t find any encouragement in that.

“Becky and I found hope in the self-giving love at the heart of reality. God is love. God loves the world so much that he sent his Son to conquer disability, disease, and death, and he offers eternal life as a gift of his amazing grace. That’s the heart of the gospel. That was the source of our encouragement.

“You know, when Becky was on her deathbed, I would read her passages from the Bible to soothe her spirit. Sometimes I’d open the Bible to Revelation 21.”

He glanced at the leather-clad black Bible on the round wooden desk where we sat. He picked it up and flipped to the opening words of that chapter, reading aloud:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

My eyes misted. Groothuis closed the book. “Becky and I found comfort in those words, not just because of what they promise, but because their promises are true,” he said. “This is not wishful thinking, make-believe, legend, or mythology. This is the glorious future that awaits all who put their trust in Christ.”

He paused a beat.

“Reincarnation? No, as I said, there’s no contest. Resurrection, Lee—that’s the beautiful and loving future that awaits us.

Jesus hushed the skeptics! They have no choice but to yield!

Luke 20:39-40

Ability of God

In the other accounts of this interaction Matthew and Mark include something rather fascinating.

Matt 22:29

“Power of God”

To not know the resurrection is to not know God’s power

God’s power is manifested in the resurrection!

Eph 1:19-20

Power over death

Power for hope- 1 Cor 15:19

Power to help- Ro 6 4

Power to save Ro 4:25

At the center of the gospel 1 Cor 15:2-4

The scriptures attest the resurrection and to ignore them is to err

My invitation to you is simple. Believe in the resurrection.

Trust Jesus to save you so you can participate in it.

My friends who are hurting. Lean on the hope the resurrection provides

Live in the boldness and victory the resurrection enables