Luke 20:27-40 (Part Three)
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-Let’s turn in our Bibles...
...back to Luke Chapter 20.
We’ve been looking at this encounter...
...between Jesus and the Sadducees...
...for two weeks now.
And I hope to finish up...
...this portion of it...
...this morning.
The whole encounter spans...
...from Verses 27-40...
But we’ve only been able to...
...make our way through Verse 36 so far.
So, we’ll do some review...
...and then focus the majority of our attention...
...on the final defense...
...that Jesus makes for the Resurrection...
...in Verses 37-38.
For now, let’s read over the whole thing again...
And ask the Lord to help us...
...as we go through it.
Luke 20, beginning in Verse 27
This is the...
Holy
Inerrant
Infallible
Authoritative
Sufficient
...word of the LIVING GOD!
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.
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Pray
-Alright, let’s take a few minutes...
...to be reminded of...
...what has happened...
...leading up to Verse 37:
27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
Remember this about them:
The New Bible Commentary 20:1–21:4 Teaching in the Temple
The Sadducees were a Jewish group, chiefly drawn from the priesthood and the wealthy aristocracy...
The New Bible Commentary 20:1–21:4 Teaching in the Temple
They had a traditional, conservative type of religion which was based on the five books of Moses, but it was empty and formal.
The New Bible Commentary 20:1–21:4 Teaching in the Temple
Unlike the Pharisees, they accepted only the material world and denied the resurrection, angels and spirits (
-Now, in Verse 28...
...the Sadducees brought up...
...an old Jewish law...
(something they didn’t really practice)
...trying to force Jesus into...
...a logic conundrum about the resurrection.
And the language of Verse 28...
...is particularly important for us to remember today:
28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us . . . .
Meaning that:
God had commanded them...
Through the OT writings of Moses.
Specifically:
(in their eyes)
The MOST authoritative part of the Bible (the Torah)...
Commanded this:
...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.
(The Law of Levirate Marriage)
Something that was UNDENIABLY...
...COMMANDED by God.
That being so...
They said:
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.
The woman was lawfully, legally, and righteously...
The wife of seven different men on earth.
Just as God had commanded to happen.
But that was only POSSIBLE...
...because of the sad reality of death.
Apart from the reality of death...
...all but the first of those marriages...
...would have been adulterous/polygamous!
So, thinking they have...
...the logical high ground...
They asked Jesus:
33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
Implying by that, that...
The Law of Levirate Marriage
The Doctrine of the Resurrection
...were incompatible with each other...
And since God (through Moses)...
...had clearly commanded Levirate Marriage...
Then the idea of a resurrection of the dead...
COULDN’T be True!
-But, where their logic failed...
...was in their assuming...
...that the resurrected cosmos...
...would be an exact replication...
...of the current cosmological order.
So, Jesus said to them (Matthew’s account):
29 … “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
Then He clarified (Verse 34)
34 . . . “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,
In other words:
Human Marriage is only an ordinance for...
...THIS present age/cosmological order.
But, it won’t be an ordinance...
In the Age to Come
In the New Cosmological Order
That much… Jesus had stated plainly.
That was two weeks ago.
-Last week, we focused on verse 36:
We’ll read it in conjunction with Verse 35:
35 ...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...
Remember:
What was one of the main purposes...
...of the Law of Levirate Marriage?
6 ...the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
Offspring won’t be needed...
...in order to have your name continue...
...in the age to come?
Because no one who enters into that new cosmos...
Will never die...
And never lose their inheritance!
Hence:
Their argument against the Resurrection:
Fails on its own terms.
Ha absolutely ZERO merit.
The Resurrection will actually...
...make the Law of the Levirate Marriage...
UNNECCESARY!
If no one ever died...
...there’d be no need for it.
That was one HUGE difference between...
THIS age
The age TO COME
(Death will be no more)
But...
The age to come...
...is going to be...
...even more superlative than that:
Those who are blessed to enter into that age...
36 ...cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
Those who participate in THIS age...
...do so through physical birth.
Those who enter the felicities...
...of the age to come...
...do so through spiritual re-birth!
They aren’t begotten by men...
But are begotten by...
...a supernatural work of GOD!
-Now, Jesus continues...
His defense of the resurrection...
His refutation of the Sadducees...
...down in Verse 37...
And he turns back to the authority...
...that the Sadducees had appealed to in Verse 28:
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed...
Meaning what?
That the Torah itself...
...the very portion of Scripture...
...that they thought DISPROVED...
...the doctrine of the Resurrection...
Actually proved and affirmed it!
You see, the only way...
...that the doctrine of the Resurrection...
...could even be debated...
...is if they delimited the acceptable canon of scripture...
...to the five books of Moses.
(Evil men often try to do that)
(i.e., “I believe Jesus, but not Paul)
If the entire OT canon was considered...
...the materialistic Sadducees...
...would have no leg to stand on whatsoever.
Let me show you why.
Let me show you...
...how CLEARLY the doctrine of a resurrection...
...is affirmed in the rest of the OT.
(We need to know this stuff)
Think about some of these passages:
Consider Job (possibly the oldest of biblical writings):
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another...
You can’t wordsmith that away.
A bodily resurrection...
...is the only thing that COULD be referring to!
10 For he sees that even the wise die; the fool and the stupid alike must perish and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their graves are their homes forever...
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah
-This next one is Messianic...
But it still PROVES...
...the reality of bodily resurrection:
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.
19 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.
Some (few) see that as a metaphor...
...for the national restoration of Israel.
But remember (a chapter before):
8 He will swallow up death forever...
Also, consider how Paul...
...interprets this in 1 Corinthians 15:
14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? . . .
Furthermore:
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
So...
The biblical testimony is clear!
(Especially outside the Law of Moses)
I’m assuming, then...
...that this is why...
...when Jesus moves to...
...defend the doctrine of the Resurrection from scripture...
...that he goes to the Torah itself...
...to do so!
They won’t be able...
...to squirm out of it now.
-Here we go.
To the Torah:
Verse 37:
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed...
“showed” = to reveal a secret.
The implication?
The resurrection of believers...
...was something of a mystery early on.
But, God revealed that mystery...
...through Moses (Here):
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush...
(They didn’t have chapter and verse numbers)
Let’s remember what happened:
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed...
4 ...God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6 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.
This is also the passage where...
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
Now, where in that...
...do we see the doctrine of the resurrection affirmed?
Well, it’s not as apparent in English...
...as it would have been:
In the Hebrew O.T.
(Or the Septuagint for that matter (they didn’t use it)
But, here it is:
37 ...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.
That’s the part.
Matthew records it like this:
31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God:
32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? . . .
Do you see the emphasis?
God was speaking in the present tense!
He didn’t say:
“I was God to Abraham back in his day”
“I used to be Jacob’s God”
But...
“I AM their God NOW!”
Meaning that...
Centuries after their earthly deaths...
He is still in an active covenant relationship with them!
Look at Verse 38:
38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living...
If the patriarchs had ceased to exist...
His relationship with them...
...would have been something of the past.
But the fact that...
...he stated a present reality...
...to their relationship...
PROVED...
Using the Sadducees’ own preferred portion of scripture...
And their own hermenuetic...
That the patriarchs HAD to be...
...in some sense...
Very much ALIVE!
-Watch how he finishes.
It’s how we know for sure...
...that this is the point he’s making:
38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
(Who is the “all” ?)
“All whose God He is”
All who are His people.
“live” is in the present tense (in the Greek)
See what he’s saying?
Do you see what he’s NOT saying?
He’s NOT saying:
“The patriarchs all LIVED to/for/before him” (in the past)
He’s not even saying:
“The patriarchs WILL LIVE to/for/before him” (in the future)
He’s saying that...
38 ...he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
NOW!
NOW… at the burning bush
NOW… in the 1st Century A.D.
NOW… in the year of our Lord, 2,026!
Think about that statement...
In light of this...
...sometimes confusing statement:
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die...
It’s both/and!
Once you become a child of the Living God...
Through repentance and faith
You will NEVER cease to exist!
I think this is the idea...
...that undergirded many of the things...
...that the Apostle Paul said.
Things like:
21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain....
23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
Again:
38 ...he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
Things like:
8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
Again (From Mark’s Account):
27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
This is the clear teaching of the Word of God!
It’s not really even debatable.
-Look at Verse 39:
39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
“the scribes” = the experts in the Law of Moses (Torah)
“enemies” of the Sadducees.
What he said was undeniably biblical!
(They still don’t like him, themselves)
But...
(They’re happy to see the powerful Sadducees...
...being put in their place!)
(Let’s not be like them, brethren)
And let’s certainly not...
...be like the Sadducees:
-Look at Verse 40:
Luke tells us:
40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
They decided that it would be best...
...not to try to debate him anymore.
Matthew seems to indicate...
...a couple of different reasons for that:
1.) It was futile.
They were outmatched!
46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
2.) Their pride/fear of man
33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
So, they resolved to...
...cut their losses...
...and leave without further argument.
But, they didn’t leave...
With renewed minds...
And penitent hearts.
Instead, they left...
...and began plotting his assassination.
Luke tells us a little later on:
2 And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to put him to death...
That’s what evil men do...
...when they can’t win with words.
Our Lord warned us of that:
16 You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.
17 You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
18 But not a hair of your head will perish.
19 By your endurance you will gain your lives.
How can all of that be true...
...all at the same time?
Because...
38 ...he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
Do you see how it all works together?
-Let’s finish with...
...an applicable word of encouragement:
(It’ll help us to endure)
4 ...I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ...
(Yes, I’m skipping the controversial part for now)
5 ...This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him...
Again:
38 ...he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
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That’s our hope.
Let’s pray
