Resurrection, Scripture, and The Living God
Notes
Transcript
Opening Comments:
Opening Comments:
Please meet me in your copy of God’s Word this morning in Luke 20:27-40 (Pg. 827 in our church provided Bibles) as we return to our series in the Book of Luke titled “The Son: From the Manger to the Grave” after a three week hiatus for missions month.
Today marks our 98th sermon in the series, with only 7 more to go but that will include our Good Friday service where we will pray and worship around the reading through of Christ arrest and crucifixion, along with observing communion together.
Before we read the text , allow me to place us on the timeline of Jesus life. We are in the final week which takes place during Passover.
Jesus entered Jerusalem on Sunday in what is called the triumphal entry. (Luke 19:29-44)
On Monday, he went to the Temple and cleansed it of the money changers and pronounced condemnation on the priests for allowing what was supposed to be a place of prayer to become a marketplace. (Luke 19:45-48) And he begins teaching inside the Temple.
Tuesday is a long day of confrontation and teaching that encompasses all of Luke 20-21.
The account we pick up with today comes immediately on the heels of Jesus having his authority questioned by the Pharisees, his telling of the Parable of the wicked Tenants to illustrate just how spiritually bankrupt they had become and his argument with them over paying taxes. (Luke 20:1-26)
Now, another group, known as the Sadducees, steps up to confront Jesus on the issue of the resurrection.
This is God’s Holy, inerrant, infallible, and inspired word.
27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.
30 And the second
31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.
32 Afterward the woman also died.
33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
Introduction:
Introduction:
Within Christianity, not every doctrine carries the same level of importance.
There are some truths that are so central that to deny them is to deny Christianity altogether. These are primary doctrines that define the gospel.
The Trinity-That there is one God who exists in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.)
That Jesus is fully God and fully man.
That he died a substitutionary death.
That salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone, apart from works.
Then, there are others that are important and even shape churches and denominations but where faithful Christians can disagree.
Modes of Baptism
Church polity
The Lord’s Supper (Christ presence, frequency, partakers)
Armineism or Calvinism
And then there are tertiary matters (often preferential) where we extend grace to each other.
Worship style.
Bible translation.
Rapture timing and the millenium
Casual or formal dress in church.
Methods of preaching.
The resurrection belongs in the primary category, to reject it, isz to be outside of orthodoxy. It’s heresy.
Which brings us to the heart of this passage.
The resurrection is not built on speculation. It rests on the character of God Himself. If He is the God of the living, then death cannot have the final word. And if death does not have the final word, then this life is not all there is.
That is the tension at the center of this confrontation.
Let’s observe how Jesus dismantles the argument of the Sadducees and anchors the resurrection in God’s character.
1.) The Resurrection Questioned (v.27-33)
1.) The Resurrection Questioned (v.27-33)
A.) The Sadducees (v.27)
27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
1.) Who were they
The Sadducees were a priestly aristocracy who had control over the Temple.
The High Priest (Caiaphas), who will oversee the trial of Jesus at the end of the week), was a Sadducee.
They also oversaw the Jewish governing body called the Sanhedrin, and were cooperators with Rome.
2.) Their beliefs
Acts 23:8 tells us the difference between them and the Pharisees.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
This pitted them against most Jews of their day who embraced the resurrection because of passage like:
Daniel 12:2 speaks of those who sleep in the dust awakening.
Isaiah 26:19 says, “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.”
or Job who declared, “After my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”
It’s also a key theme of many Psalms.
Despite that, the Sadducees rejected it. Today this would make them theologically liberal, but in their day, they were actually conservative.
They held that only the Torah (Books of Moses) were authoritative scripture and viewed the rest of the OT as commentary on those first five books. They would argue that the resurrection wasn’t taught in the Torah, so it should be rejected as a later theological development.
But, behind their theology was comfort. They held power, prominence, and profited from the temple system.
Application: You see, if there is no resurrection, then this life is ultimate. If this life is ultimate, then doing everything you can to preserve influence makes sense. If a doctrine threatens your way of life, then it makes sense to reject it.
But, if there is a resurrection, your power is temporary, judgement is coming, and God’s kingdom outruns any authority you have.
B.) Their Argument. (v.28-33)
They come to Jesus and say
28 … “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
They are referring back to Deuteronomy 25:5-10 where Moses lays down the law of:
Levirate Marriage- Stipulates that when brothers live together and one dies without a son, the surviving brother must marry the widow and fulfill the duties of a brother-in-law to her. The firstborn son from this union would carry on the deceased brother’s name so that it would not be erased from Israel.
Onan (Genesis 38:8-10) & Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 1-4)
God gave this law to preserve a mans name and to protect the dignity of a man’s widow.
The Sadducees loved to take this law and weaponize it as a “gotcha” and thats what they do with Jesus.
29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died.
Now comes the question,
33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
This question was meant as mockery. Because the prevailing belief surrounding the resurrection was simply that life, continued indefinitely with the same structures, relationships, marriages, land arrangements. You were resurrected to just continue life as it was.
So this scenario was meant to press that belief to absurdity by creating a straw-man who was easy to destroy with their logic.
Application: It is possible to reject a doctrine because you’ve only considered a distorted version of it. It is also possible to caricature what you don’t want to believe. Both are the case with the Sadducees.
Jesus is about to show them that they have not understood either the Scriptures or the power of God.
2.) The Resurrection Explained and Proven. (v.34-38)
2.) The Resurrection Explained and Proven. (v.34-38)
Jesus responds first by explaining what the resurrection is actually like and then by proving its validity from the writings of Moses.
A.) The Resurrection Explained (v.34-36)
34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
Sons of- Is a Hebrew way of saying “those characterized by”. So the “sons of this age” are people who are characterized by the mortality of this present age.
Jesus is saying that the institution of marriage belongs to this age. Because this age includes death. Marriage and procreation is what sustains humanity in a world where life ends.
Now notice vs.35:
35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
Notice the contrast: This age vs. That age.
The Sadducees assumption that if there was a resurrection it would only extend this life was wrong. Jesus says that the resurrection inaugurates transformation into a new existence.
But only those who are “considered worthy” will experience this new life the resurrection brings. (The Sadducees were not “worthy”)
What is it that makes someone worthy?
The only way to be made worthy is to be declared righteous by God. Which only happens when we are justified by grace, through faith, in Christ alone. Not moral achievement or religious performance, but repentance of sin and faith in christ alone.
When we believe the gospel, we are made worthy and notice what it says in vs.36
36 for they cannot die anymore,…
This is decisive and complete change. In a world where death is no more, marriage and procreation are no longer necessary.
Let’s read the rest of vs.36
36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Notice we don’t become angels, but are made like the angels in that we will have a deathless eternal existence.
We are marked by resurrection life.
Listen how Paul explains this in 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
Have people turn in their Bibles. Pick up yours and read it.
42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable.
43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
54 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.”
55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
Resurrection is not this life stretched out, it’s life transformed into something new and better.
Application: Now, sometimes people read this that in heaven we are not married or given in marriage and they feel a sense of loss. But, the resurrection does not diminish joy, it perfects it! Marriage is meant to be a picture of our relationship with Christ, and when I’m in his presence, I no longer need a picture.
Understand, if God is capable of raising the dead, He is capable of sustaining the love we have for each other in ways we cannot even fully comprehend.
B.) The Resurrection Proven (v.37-38)
Now after explaining the resurrection, Jesus moves to proving it to them from the Torah by taking them to Exodus 3 when God spoke to Moses through the Burning bush.
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
Notice what God says “I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.”
This was centuries after their deaths but God is speaking of being in present relationship to them. God does not speak of Himself as presently belonging to people who no longer exist.
Jesus then draws the conclusion:
38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
That doesn’t mean they had already received their resurrection bodies. It means that death did not end their existence.
And if death did not end their existence, then resurrection is not an absurdity. It is the natural outworking of a God who remains faithful beyond the grave.
The Sadducees thought the resurrection was built on speculation. But Jesus shows them that it is grounded in the very character of God himself.
Application: He is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. Which means death does not have the last word.
That is why this doctrine cannot be placed in a secondary category. It is anchored in who God is.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Luke ends the scene quietly:
39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
The Sadducees tried to silence Jesus and instead left silenced. The argument was over. But the issue wasn’t.
3 days from now the Phariasees and Sadducees would join together to kill Jesus.
The One who just defended the resurrection would soon be laid in a tomb. And if the Sadducees were right, that tomb would be the end.
But three days later, God answered the Sadducees argument about the resurrection with an empty tomb that changes everything.
If Christ has been raised, then death is not final.
If Christ has been raised, then judgment is real.
If Christ has been raised, then eternity is certain.
The resurrection is not a theory to debate. It is a reality that will confront every one of us.
Invitation
Invitation
The question is not whether you will rise but how you will rise?
15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.
Jesus spoke of those who are “considered worthy” to attain to that age.
No one is worthy because they have lived a decent life, grew up in church, or even agree with the doctrine of resurrection.
We are made worthy only through the righteousness of Christ. He bore the judgment we deserve, entered death willingly, and He rose in victory.
If you have not trusted in Christ, then resurrection should not comfort you, it should sober you.
Because resurrection means judgment is real.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
But the same resurrection that guarantees judgment also guarantees hope for those who trust Him.
Today is a day to respond.
Turn from self-rule.
Confess your sin.
Trust in the crucified and risen Christ.
Do not leave resurrection as a doctrine you agree with intellectually.
Receive it as a promise secured by the Savior who lives.
And for those who belong to Christ; let this steady your heart.
Your body may weaken. Your life may be hard. This age may disappoint you. But the grave does not have the final word over you.
Because the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. And the God who raised His Son will raise you also.
Live with that certainty.
Endure with that confidence.
Hope with that assurance.
Let’s pray.
Prayer:
Prayer:
Father,
You are not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are the God who speaks, who promises, who raises the dead, and who keeps Your word beyond the grave.
We cling to what is temporary, fear what cannot ultimately defeat us and invest our hearts in what will not last.
O God, Forgive us for thinking too small about eternity.
For those in this room who have never trusted in Christ, I ask that You would open their eyes today. Convict them of sin. Show them the certainty of judgment and the beauty of mercy. Draw them to repentance and faith in the risen Savior. Let them not leave here unchanged.
And for those who belong to Christ, steady our hearts in hope. When our bodies weaken, when grief weighs heavy, when this life disappoints, remind us that death does not have the final word.
Thank You that Jesus entered the grave and walked out of it. Thank You that the Spirit who raised Him now dwells in Your people. Anchor our lives in that certainty.
Help us live as sons and daughters of the resurrection; not fearful and anxious, but confident in the promises of the living God.
We ask this in the name of our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
