Questions from Hypocrites, Part 2

Jesus has tussled with the Sadducees, then the Pharisees, now back to the Sadducees, and then again with the Pharisees, and yet they can’t seem to pin Him down.

It started with a question about authority back in 21:23, and Jesus pokes at the hypocrisy in both the groups.

Then we had the question from the Pharisees and the politically minded Heriodians last week.

Now 3 more questions come back and forth from the two groups again, until Jesus finally finished the Q&A with His own question.

I love the way this section ends:

Matthew 22:46 CSB

46 No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.

They officially tapped out, done with asking questions.

The three questions asked in our text today reveal what was going on in the hearts and lives of the Sadducees and Pharisees.

And they reveal what is also true about the hypocrisy that lives in our hearts as well.

Jesus wants us to see the dangers of hypocrisy, how it is often hard for us to see it in our own hearts and lives.

He wants us to see these tendencies in ourselves and to pursue a faith that isn’t shallow, self-centered, and inauthentic.

He want us to fight against the inner Sadducees and Pharisees in us all.

Let’s look at the three questions...

1) They have KNOWLEDGE without UNDERSTANDING.

Matthew 22:23–33 CSB

23 That same day some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came up to him and questioned him: 24 “Teacher, Moses said, if a man dies, having no children, his brother is to marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first got married and died. Having no offspring, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second also, and the third, and so on to all seven. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had married her.” 29 Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. 31 Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read what was spoken to you by God: 32 I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

The Sadducees ask Jesus a loaded, and quite ridiculous question.

It is a unnecessarily complicated scenario about 7 brothers being married to 1 woman over the course of her life.

It didn’t need to be 7, but they wanted things to be as complicated as possible.

The Sadducees were a wealthy, powerful group of Jewish leaders who only accepted the first 5 books of the OT (the Pentateuch) as the Word of God.

And they didn’t see anything within those books about the concept of Resurrection, or life beyond this world.

They didn’t believe there was life beyond this world, but that we just stop existing.

That is the heart of their question: If resurrection is real, who is a woman married to 7 brothers on earth going to do when she dies?

If Jesus answers that she will be is one or any number of the brothers, they prove that the whole resurrection thing doesn’t make sense.

Otherwise, He will admit there is no resurrection and the Pharisees and much of the populace would discredit Him.

But Jesus has a 2 part response

First He tells them “You don't know the Bible.”

Jesus wasn’t holding back punches on this one.

Because they only read the first five books and didn't believe the other books to be authoritative, their understanding of God’s Word was incomplete and insufficient.

This would have be a stiff and solid uppercut to their chin

Therefore, sense they didn’t know the Bible, they didn't understand resurrection as the Bible clearly presents it.

Jesus explains that marriage will not be a part of the new creation.

Jesus doesn’t elaborate much on this idea, but what He is saying is that marriage, as we know it will no longer be necessary in the New Creation.

Our relationships will continue, but the purpose of marriage to multiply and subdue will be finished.

This doesn’t mean that the relationships we have in our lives will not be there in heaven.

We will know our spouses, our loved ones, and our friends and there will be a glorious reunion that we will enjoy.

But our marriages will become obsolete as our relationships with others will be pure, free from any arrogance, jealousy, anger, and comparison.

Though this might hit your ears as bad news, understand that it is far from it

It rather points to how incredible and fulfilling relationships will be when we all get to Heaven.

He then points out a passage they would know (Exodus 3:6 “6 Then he continued, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”) and shows them the idea of resurrection was built into those words.

God isn't the God of the dead, but of the living.

Abraham, Issac and Jacob are living, not dead. They would understand that if they kept reading and if they had understood the promises of God aren’t limited to the lifespan of a human.

Their hypocrisy is in the illusion and pride of knowledge, but it is proving to be insufficient and faulty.

They thought they knew, but they didn't know much at all.

This is the danger that we face as well.

Are we engaging superficially with God’s Word, or are we allowing it to transform our understanding and our faith?

How much of the Bible have you read?

Maybe you have grown up in church and listened to all kinds of sermons and Sunday school lessons, but do you really know the word?

Or are you hoping understanding will just soak into your brain and heart just by showing up on Sunday for an 1.5 hours.

It won't, trust me.

Listen, don’t be a hypocrite, read the Bible.

If you can’t understand it, keep reading it, get a study bible, find someone else to read it with you, listen to it as you are driving, STOP MAKING EXCUSES!!

2) They like RULES, but lack LOVE.

Matthew 22:34–40 CSB

34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

The Pharisees receive the tag now. And they bring in the closer, a man of the law, and expert.

His question was the debate of the day...which commandment was the most important?

Not just the 10 commandments though, but all 613.

It would be hard enough to decide from the 10, but they would get into the weeds with the other 603.

They want Jesus to point out a law that the expert can easily make him look foolish with, but the expert ends up looking like a fool.

Jesus answers by quoting the Shama (Dt 6:5), which every Jew would have repeated every day. And he connects it with Lev 19:18.

Jesus summarizes the whole Law with love—love for God and love for others—as the core commandments.

If you think about just the ten commandments, none of them ever say the word love, but Jesus us saying they have no meaning or power without it.

There is no following the Law without the motivating power and purpose of LOVE.

There is freedom in these words if we are listening.

The law of God is meant to free us, not stifle us.

We are freed to live how we were created to live, not trying to manipulate our circumstances through being good little Christians or by using relationships to advance ourselves.

This is a challenge to them and to us, to rethink our lives regarding these commandments.

Do we live out our faith in authentic love, or are we caught in legalism and self-centeredness?

Jesus points to a faith that transforms hearts and actions, reflecting God's love in all we do.

The Pharisees were good at following rules, but their motivation/source wasn't love. It was duty.

Hypocrites are great at following rules, but they are poor at love, even loving God.

Don’t be a hypocrite.

3) They have IDEAS, but no RELATIONSHIP.

Matthew 22:41–46 CSB

41 While the Pharisees were together, Jesus questioned them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “David’s.” 43 He asked them, “How is it then that David, inspired by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’: 44 The Lord declared to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet’? 45 “If David calls him ‘Lord,’ how, then, can he be his son?” 46 No one was able to answer him at all, and from that day no one dared to question him anymore.

Jesus now becomes the question-asker.

He really get to the root of all the questions in this section: None of these groups understand who Jesus is.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees believed the Messiah would be a man like David.

A great man, but a man nonetheless.

He would be a mighty, well-born king, not a carpenter's son, born in a backwoods town, and without any indication of strength or power.

Obviously, they weren't really paying attention to all Jesus had been doing, but were instead angered, offended, or threaten by all He was saying.

Their hypocrisy was in their misunderstanding and in their unwillingness to see what was right in front of them and to hear what was in their ears.

They had ideas about the Messiah and Jesus didn't match them.

Even though the signs pointed to Him, the prophesies were being fulfilled, and His teaching was unlike anyone before Him, they wanted nothing to do with Him.

I hate to quote Ricky Bobby again, but hypocrisy is wanting the Jesus we are most comfortable with, rather than the real one who will actually transform our lives.

By understanding who Jesus really is, we are empowered to deepen our relationship with Him, moving beyond the identities we create for Jesus in order to fit what we desire or are comfortable with, so that we are able to embrace Him as Lord and Savior.

Are we willing to acknowledge Christ's Salvation and Lordship in every aspect of our lives?

Don’t miss this! Jesus was sent to the world in order to reveal what true obedience and true love really looked like.

He was full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

Therefore the ultimate remedy for this spiritual fakery that plagues the religious people is to love Jesus and to live like Jesus.

If you miss Jesus or the heart of Jesus, you miss everything! There is no life, no obedience, and no righteousness apart from him.