Encountering the Afterlife

Slide What is your favorite question about heaven?

Will my dog go heaven? What about my cat? Will there be animals at all? Dinosaurs? Will I drive a car, eat my favorite foods or drink my favorite beverages? Will I have a house, a shack, a mansion? Will I be an angel? Will I know I am dead? Will I recognize my family and friends? What age will I be? What kind of body will I have?

Those are all great questions and none of which we are going answer this morning … But there are some things about the afterlife which are clear and worth talking about this morning because they are address in our text. When it comes to believing in the afterlife, a resurrection and an eternal life in heaven …

Over the years many people have expressed their doubts about life beyond the grave. Carl Sagan said, “I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But … I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.” Albert Einstein said He could not imagine an afterlife.

The afterlife or life after death is the existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity, their spirit, soul, continuing to exist after the death of their physical body.

This whole section in Matthew that we have been in, is about Jesus encountering unbelieving hearts. Unbelief of the people as Jesus entered Jerusalem, saying who is this man. Or the unbelief of the Pharisees. In our text today, it is the unbelief of a religious group called Sadducees.

In the days that Jesus walked on the earth, there were three basic religious "parties" among the Jewish people. The first, of course, you already know as the Pharisees.

Pharisees– In the world but not of the world.

They were careful students of the law of Moses, who sought to expand upon that law through rules and regulations in order to protect themselves from any form of disobedience. Their name suggested the idea of "separation", and so they sought to live a "holy" life that was distinct from common people. And yet, as we can see from the Bible, they were also very much involved in everyday social life.

The second group was called the Essenes.

Essenes– Neither in the world nor of the world.

Some ancient writers have suggested that their name emphasized "holy mystery". They added a sense of mysticism to their doctrines and practices. They believed that a life of moral purity and abstinence from fleshly pleasures would lead them to greater closeness to God. We don't find them mentioned in the New Testament, because they formed groups that were largely separate from society.

The third group were called the Sadducees.

Sadducees– In the world and of the world.

They were of the priestly class of society; and at the time of Jesus, they were the group that was in the political majority. Their name is taken from a Hebrew word that means "the righteous".

They were generally wealthy; and their influence was mostly among the upper classes of society. They rejected the oral traditions of the law that the Pharisees clung to; and believed that only the first five books of the Old Testament, written by Moses, had true authority. They insisted that we all have responsibility over the things that happen to us in life; and they tended to believe that we are all the captains of our own fate.

Because they held only to the first five books of the Bible, the Sadducees denied that the dead would be raised unto eternal punishment or eternal rewards. They didn't believe that such a thing was taught in the books of Moses. Instead, they believed that the promises of "rewards" from God in the Bible were only 'temporal’ and were only concerned with matters of life on this earth. And what's more, they denied that there were any such things as angels or spirits that could affect people. Their view of life was, for the most part, materialistic in nature. Like we see with Sagan and Einstein, the Sadducees believe what they believed in the head because their heart was not changed …

Slide The head cannot overcome an unbelieving heart.

In our world today, we struggle to embrace mystery, the unseen, the spiritual. We through the word “science” around as if it is a god and the only answer to humankind’s dilemma. Yet God wants us to have an encounter of the divine kind, encountering the afterlife so that we might live and love differently now and into the afterlife.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees were rival religious parties. They didn't get along with each other. And so; when these Sadducees watched and saw that the Pharisees failed to trap the Lord, they stepped in. Matthew tells us,

Slide The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection… Matthew 22:23

The Sadducees came seeking, like their enemies the Pharisees, to trap Jesus. Isn't it amazing how unbelieving people can have so many differences between themselves—and yet, be together in their singular opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ? And they will do whatever it takes to discredit, disparage and ultimately destroy the Lord.

Slide … and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.” Matthew 22:24-28

It was not a sincere question. It was simply a question asked out of a spirit of unbelief—one that was designed to make Jesus scramble around for some answer to a ridiculous question in an effort to save face.

The truth is that if I were these brothers, I would be wondering what this woman was doing that every brother she married died. I would say no thank you.

According to the Guinness Book of world records, the greatest number of monogamous marriages by a woman is 23, by Linda Essex (USA). Her most recent marriage was in June 1996, when she married Glynn 'Scotty' Wolfe, who happens to hold the record for the most marriages by a male. He died 10 days before their first anniversary.

Sadducees only believed that the first five books of the Old Testament were authoritative. And so, here, they quote from a law that was found the Book of Deuteronomy. It was something that is often called "the levirite law"—taken from the Latin word for 'brother-in-law' (levir).

One of the greatest tragedies that the Jewish people could imagine would be that of a man dying without any offspring to carry on his name and preserve his inheritance of land. And this law was meant to provide for the widow who remained, and for the perpetuation of the dead man's name and inheritance. (We know of at least one great instance in the Bible when this law was put into practice—in the case of the Old Testament widow Ruth, who became the wife of her near-kinsman Boaz.)

On this side of the grave marriage is designed to be the most real, intimate, and trusted relationship we have. It is often the place where we learn about love, intimacy, commitment, unselfishness, endurance, forgiveness, kindness and more. God designed marriage so we could bring children into the world as a family to give them a sense of security and instruction. That family unit (which is also seen in a different way in the church) is the closest thing we have to understanding the fullness of God.

But Jesus simply says …

Slide Encountering the Afterlife begins with intimate knowledge!

Not just some information, but personal experience, with two things …

Listen to how Jesus responds …

Slide But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. Matthew 22:29

Wrong – mistaken, lead astray, you do not realize or perceive what is true. Jesus exposing the heart attitude—the presumption of unbelief—from which the question sprang in the first place!

Slide The heart is guided by the truth of all scripture.

Paul writes to Timothy …

Slide All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16–17

They did not have the full counsel of Scripture. They were happy to live in their own echo chamber and not be confused or convinced by anything outside of the Torah, the first five books of the bible. The prophet Isaiah writes …

Slide Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. Isaiah 26:19

So, just as the heart is guided by the truth of all scripture, so …

Slide The heart is changed by the power of God.

Proverbs says …

Slide The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will. Proverbs 21:1

God told the prophet Ezekiel …

Slide And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. Ezekiel 11:19–20

Key - You can’t argue about the afterlife with someone whose heart hasn’t been changed by the truth of scripture and the power of God.

Jesus recognizes in this and teaches all of us in that moment about our need for an intimate knowledge, a personal experience with scripture and the power of God in order to be able to understand, receive and look forward to the afterlife. Because when you encounter the afterlife you understand it leads to loving differently!

Slide Encountering the Afterlife leads to loving differently!

The scriptures teach us about three kinds of love in the bible:

In the ancient Greek language in which the New Testament was written, there are some 7 or 8 different words for love – four of the words are found in some form in the bible. 1) Philia, 2) Eros, 3) Storge, and 4) Agape.

1. Philia – brotherly love. It’s the emotion that causes our voices to shake and tears to well up in our eyes when we try to tell our brothers and sisters in Christ how thankful we are for them.

2. Eros – sexual love. It refers to the love found in romantic relationships. It refers to the idea of passion and intimacy. It is connected to our idea of “falling in love” and “being in love.”

3. Storge – Family love. It refers to the love between family members. It’s a strong bond shared by parents, children, and those close enough to be considered family. “Storge” is a “protective love that can withstand hardships and trials.”

4. Agape – God’s unconditional love. It’s an unconditional and sacrificial love. It is a love that God is and that God shows. Agape is a love of choice, is a love that serves others with humility. It is selfless love, the highest form of the four loves we’ve considered.

The Sadducees had one frame of reference. The here and now. They had no view of an unconditional love that lead to an afterlife. This physical world is all they knew and wanted to know. But Jesus blows their minds as well as the crowds when he says …

Slide For in the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. Matthew 22:29

We must understand this: in the afterlife, we are not earthly in our love, we are heavenly in our love. Notice that He doesn’t say that we will be angels but will be like the angels. In the same way, when we are in heaven, we will not need to be in earthy relationships doing earthly things.

Even our questions about the afterlife are often about the things we find enjoyable, necessary, or even painful in this life. It’s our only frame of reference. But …

Slide In our afterlife we will have heavenly relationships and be doing heavenly things!

The love that we have in heaven will not be lesser than what we have on earth, it will be greater!

The relationships that we have with our spouses now (if they are also Christians) will be different in heaven, but it will be better!

We won’t be upset with a loss of love in heaven because we will be experiencing vividly and personally the everlasting love of God our Father!

Of course, I love Gail and want to be with her forever in heaven. And I will. I believe that I will always have a special relationship with her, and her with me. It may not be in the kind of relationship that we understand marriage on this earth to be, but it will be in a relationship that is deeper and more profound than what we can understand even from what we experience in marriage. And from what Jesus is saying, I believe that it will be a deep relationship that my wife and I will share together with all followers of Jesus in the afterlife.

It seems to me that Jesus is saying that, in that glorified state—so different from this earthly state that we can't even begin to imagine it—the heavenly love that a woman shares with one of her former husbands in glory wouldn't have to exclude her from sharing the same heavenly love with another of her former husbands in glory; any more than a mother's love for one child would exclude her from equally loving another child on earth, or than a man's earthly love for his brother would exclude him from also equally loving his sister.

Encountering the Afterlife isn’t just about loving differently …

Slide Encountering the Afterlife leads to living differently … Now!

Jesus goes on to say …

Slide And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” Matthew 22:31–32

Ok, now here’s the biblical truth for the Sadducees and for us.

Jesus is preparing the dish and putting it on a silver platter for the Sadducees. Remember, the Sadducees only held to the teachings of the first five books of the Bible, which they believe do not teach the reality that people will live after their physical deaths.

Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6 when God spoke to Moses …

And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Exodus 3:6

God chose not to use the past tense, but the present tense. He is speaking to Moses in the present tense about people who had long ago passed away.

Jesus quotes God’s own words from Exodus, which is the second book of the Bible and He gives evidence for the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still living beings (at least in some form). Because the …

Slide The Afterlife is about life not death!

The afterlife is too often seen as just that … after life on this earth … when I am physically dead. There is no life left in my body. We can’t imagine that life as we know it beyond death because life is not as we know it beyond death! Listen to the words of Jesus …

Slide “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25–26

Notice that there is death, and there is life and Jesus makes a clear statement that physical death is not the end of life.

When we remember there is more to love and life than the here and now …

· The loss of loved ones is easier to bear.

· Our own approaching death is not as terrifying.

· We are able to let go of resentments.

· We can resist sin knowing one day it will no longer frustrate us.

· We can live more faithfully because we know we will give an account to God for choices and decisions we make in life.

· Serving the Lord is worth the sacrifice even without results.

The Matthew records these words …

Slide And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. Matthew 22:33

Jesus demonstrated what Paul talks about in 2 Cor. 10:3-5

Slide For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ … 2 Corinthians 10:3–5

God offers new life. There is an afterlife! There is a resurrection of the dead! There is a heaven! There is eternal life! Through Jesus, we can be experiencing a new life here and in the afterlife!

Slide This life is our training ground for the afterlife! (Pad)

The sooner we can let go of believing that this world is all we have or will ever have, the more we can begin live in the reality of our eternal life with the kind of love and living that is eternally minded, thinking that is heavenward.

Slide We are called to love differently and live differently now!

… because of what we intimately know about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God’s word and the power of God to save us.

Just maybe then we would see the prayer of Jesus lived out, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

So, are you ready to encounter the afterlife? Now is the time by faith to trust and believe in the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and begin to prepare for the afterlife in this life … now! Then we will learn to love and live differently, and maybe the world will get a glimpse of the eternal in our temporary and the afterlife in the midst of our living.

How are you doing? Are you ready?

Slide I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 15:50–55

Communion

Song – Holy Forever