Can the dead live again? If
so, this would give me hope through all my years of struggle, and I would
eagerly await the release of death. Job
14:14(NLT)
Then
Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no
resurrection from the dead. They posed
this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a
law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry
the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without
children. So the second brother married
the widow, but he also died. Then the
third brother married her. This
continued with all seven of them, who died without children. Finally, the woman also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in the
resurrection? For all seven were married
to her!” Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. But in the age to come, those worthy of being
raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the
resurrection. “But now, as to whether
the dead will be raised—even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning
bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is
the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.” Luke 20:27-38(NLT)
If you live long enough you will find it hard to deny
that the most meaningful experiences of life are heavily-centered on two areas:
v
Relationships – primarily marriage and family.
v
Life itself…when a child is born, and when a loved one dies.
The big question afterwards which we often ponder
is: after
death – then what?
If you were to write a treatise on the meaning or
purpose of our very existence on earth, you could appropriately begin with
Job’s timeless question:
If mortals die will
they live again? Job 14:14
The Sadducees didn’t think so! In fact, since they only accepted Moses’
writings, (the first five books of Scripture) and Moses didn’t write any direct
references to life after death, the Pharisees rejected out-of-hand all concepts
associated with life after death. They
didn’t believe in angels or demons or even Messiah’s coming. They were in charge of Israel’s spiritual and
political life, but they largely acted as practicing atheists! Religion for them was used to keep others in their
place and keep them elevated to power.
Some things never change!
The Sadducees weren’t interested in anything but the
here and now. They were the political
movers and shakers; they were Israel’s aristocracy, rich and powerful. They dominated the ruling political body in
Israel, the Sanhedrin.
The high priest or ruler of that council was
Caiaphas. He was a Sadducee, and as high
priest he led the Sanhedrin to condemn Jesus before Pilate. I would love to have been a “fly on the wall”
in Caiaphas’ smoke-filled back room as he drew together the political power
bloc to plot against Jesus. The man was
evil and brilliant.
The Sadducees were so different from the more
well-known Pharisees. The Pharisees were
the theological or religious thinkers; as a group they very much wanted to obey
God, and serve him. Their (also) well-known
problem was that they thought their
interpretation of Scripture was the only valid one. For the Pharisees it was our way or no way; on board with us we toss you overboard!
On Tuesday of the week before Jesus’ crucifixion the
questions were flying; mostly traps laid-out by the Pharisees and
Sadducees. One writer has it that this
particular law of a brother-in-law marrying his dead brother’s wife was not
practiced at this point in Israel; so the question they brought was merely an
academic trap to get Jesus to say something that they could use to criticize or
embarrass him.[2]
But this was no presidential
season of debate where the outcome is in question. Jesus wasn't losing! The Sadducees, and even the Pharisees may
have thought so; they were wrong.
Make no mistake – the question they brought to Jesus
on Tuesday was a hinge for them. Had
they been able to discredit or humiliate Jesus publicly, they probably would
not have pushed for his execution; they would’ve written him off and watched
his popularity die down. But, we know
the rest of the story.
There are at least three important considerations
to investigate here, as we consider how the issue of the resurrection affects
us now and in the future:
Ø
THE QUESTION to JESUS – Whose wife is she?
Ø
JESUS’ ANSWER to THE PHARISEES – For religious
leaders, you don’t know very much, do you?
Ø
THE RESURRECTION – What do we think?
first - The Sadducees’ Question
The Sadducees question was a calculated one; these
manipulators were pushing the political envelope to move Jesus into one of
those “rock and hard place” places. They
presented a question like the children’s riddle, “can God make a rock bigger
than He can lift”? Whether you answer
“yes” or “no” it becomes problematic if God really is all-powerful!
An important lesson for believers who get asked
questions like that is to answer like Jesus did…don’t attempt a “yes” or
“no”.
(Incidentally
– the answer I favor to the children’s riddle is: “God can do anything that power can do!”)
Well, back to the question: Whose wife?
Do you recall the movie Cast Away? Tom Hanks lives through a plane disaster, and
is marooned on a desert island for four years.
He succeeds in making his way home only to discover he's been declared
legally dead, and his wife has married another man. Whose wife is she?
(This
seems a hard question, but, remembers that Tom Hanks painted a head on a ball
so he’d have someone to which he could talk. He talked to that ball for four years; I’m
certain the wife’s decision wasn’t too hard!)
This question centers on one of the most universal
relationships – marriage, and the commitment it takes to have a meaningful life
together. The stories about marriage are
legion.
Five-year-old Suzie read the story of Snow White for school. Prince Charming had kissed her back to
life. Suzie said, Mom, do you know what happened
then?
The mom said Yes, they lived happily ever after.
Suzie said, No, they got married.
Questions can be traps if they’re not honest
questions. The Sadducees were
manipulative and full of personal agenda.
Some things never change!
Secondly there is – Jesus’ Answer
The Sadducees’ question wasn’t an honest one, seeking
to gain an insight into God’s will; the question was a trap. However, sometimes people ask tough religious
questions that are honest:
·
Why would God allow a
maniac in a rented U-Haul truck yelling ‘God is great’ to mow down and kill 8
bicyclists in New York?
·
If God knows what I’m
going to do, is there really any free
will?
When it comes to questions like these, Jesus has given
us a model to follow.
First, answer the question
to the best of your ability; then look for the real issue
that prompted the question:
·
hurt over a personal tragedy, for example,
·
or difficulty in making a decision.
Often the spoken question is only a test; not of your
ability to answer hard questions, but of your willingness to listen and
care.
Jesus did that.
He taught the religious leaders that, like angels in heaven, humans will
not participate in any marriage except the marriage to Jesus, the Lamb. It is a picture of how marriage between a man
and woman is like comparing baby steps to the wonder of a four minute mile,
when you match it up to the wonder of an intimate relationship with our
Redeemer in glory.
The Sadducees weren’t interested in Jesus’ answers;
they were ticked that their agenda had been laid-aside. The Sadducees often quoted Moses, so Jesus
appealed to Moses' writings in Exodus to show how God, speaking from the
burning bush called himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and the rest. These men were long dead, but God called
himself the God of the living. This
means God must have a relationship with them…they’re not dead any longer.
I love what Mark’s Gospel adds – that Jesus said to
the Sadducees: Is not this the reason you are
wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?[3] Jesus had answered the Sadducees
truthfully, but the truth exposed their arrogant murderous intentions.
As for the Pharisees, they were “tickled pink”. The two groups had little love lost between
them, so the scribes congratulated Jesus with glee and smugness because he
blew-away the Sadducees’ argument and put their ignorance of Scripture on
display; they were “put in their place” by Jesus’ overwhelming logic and
power.
The Pharisees watched this exchange between Jesus and
the Sadducees. They had previously asked
their own questions to trap Jesus, and been whipped. They must have felt like a playoff team being
beaten in the semi-finals, and then watching the team that beat you clobber the
one remaining opponent – you’re not really happy about it, but you at least
know nobody else did any better; you’ve got to tip your hat to the winner.
The Scribes at least saw that clearly. The Sadducees, on the other hand, simply were
enraged. This was the last time they
openly asked him questions; two days later on Thursday night they would haul
Jesus before the open court for teaching heresy. They had murder in their eyes.[4] Some things never change!
Now to the question before the house this morning:
Our Understanding of Resurrection
What do you think of
resurrection?
Do we just get a physical overhaul, a new body that
won’t wear out, and, bingo, you’re all set for the
next warranty period? Is it just this
same existence re-started with a little more wisdom and power so we don’t
mess-up so badly the next time around?
If that’s your concept, you would probably make a good
Hindu; the eastern idea of reincarnation works something like that…you live,
you die….you come back again in a better state if you did well in the previous
life – worse if you created bad karma with your sins. You get to keep coming back as long as you
keep messing up. If you ever live a life
that’s perfect you don’t have to come back, you just cease to exist. Great, eh?
Say hello to Shirley MacLaine!
Or perhaps your focus is on prosperity; your favorite
hymn is when we all get to Heaven, what a load of possessions we will have. The prosperity gospel has a lot of
adherents. This is what the Sadducees
were looking for…to be healthy and wealthy!
We need to keep a balanced and humble perspective on
eternity; God’s eternal life will surpass any joys of intimacy and
wealth of this present age. God has not
told us a great deal about what our eternal state will be like, but it is all
about resurrection. The Bible word is anastasis
– to stand-up
again.
God’s eternal life is the restoration of the
perfection in which Adam and Eve were created.
Sin corrupted that, and we’ve never known anything but sin. The whole issue of Jesus’ coming to earth was
for restoring the relationship between us and God, and us with each other.
Resurrection is the hinge upon which it all
swings. Sin requires death, for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death.[5] Every sinner deserves to die, but Jesus took
our place. And to punctuate his
magnificent gift of grace, on Sunday morning he became the first resurrection
that will never die again!
Our picture of resurrection is the recreating of what
once was…perfect relationship with God.
That which was lost is found.
Like the parable of the lost coin, there is rejoicing when it is
found.
Like the return of the prodigal, the lost child is
once again home. You and I are not home
yet, but it’s coming. Resurrection is
God’s guarantee in Jesus Christ.
We have these diminishing “good” days (physically) as
we age. Paul in his old age wrote from
prison, who will deliver me from the body
of this death? In the back of his
mind was certainly the overwhelming reality of resurrection, and the One Paul
served who had claimed that reality as
he spoke to Lazarus’ sisters: I AM the resurrection and the life!
In the early 80’s my children were all under 10 years
old. We were in seminary and the new
Steven Spielberg movie came out. The
kids pleaded and we scrounged-up enough to see E.T. the extra-terrestrial at
the cheap theatre.
It’s a wonderful story in many ways, and towards the
end you begin to understand that the little alien is dying because he’s been
separated from his source. It is a sad
picture as all human effort to keep him alive is futile. E.T. dies, and the cold, lifeless form is
packed in a coffin-like chamber to keep him for an autopsy. There is a window in the chamber, but all is
dark.
My son Jason was sitting two rows in front of us. I didn’t have to guess how my 9 year-old was
taking E.T.’s demise. You could hear his
tears hitting the floor. Suddenly the
glow started pulsating through that coffin window; Elliott, the young boy who
had befriended the alien, noticed the activity and opened the lid. E.T. sat bolt-upright with an alien smile on
his face and jabbered like a recording on high speed: E.T. phone home; E.T. phone home!
I had never seen a 9 year-old jump 15 feet in the air
from a sitting position before that moment – my son let out a laugh that could
be heard in Mississippi, clapped his hands and howled YES! I thought we were going to be thrown out of
the movie, except that all the other kids were doing the same thing.
E.T.’s spaceship had come for him, and the expected
imminent return had jump-started his life.
I don’t recall much about the rest of the movie, except that my son
laughed and clapped his hands the whole time.
It would strain the issue for me to compare the E.T.
experience with the resurrection of Christ, and what we will experience on that
great
gettin’-up morning. But
there is something of my son’s unbridled joy and recovering of hope that has
been lost which makes me think about seeing Christ face-to-face.
Some things never change…thank the Lord!
[3]
Mark 12:24 (NRSV)
[4]
Matthew
26:59 “Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for false
testimony against Jesus so that they might put him to death. (NRSV)
[5]
Romans 3:23 and 6:23
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