Monday 05 December 2011
- Bible Book:
- Matthew
"Jesus answered them, 'You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 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, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.'" (vv. 29-32)
Background
This is one of five controversies between Jesus and thereligious authorities which Matthew places on the last day ofpublic ministry, and which are reported in the typical Jewish styleof question and answer.
The question in this case is put by some Sadducees. These were agroup of Jews who had high social standing and fulfilled manypolitical responsibilities along with priestly duties in regard tothe Temple. Josephus, a Jewish historian of the period, tells usthat they believed both soul and body perished at death, so theydid not believe in resurrection. In part this was because they onlyaccepted the five books of Moses (the first five books in the OldTestament) as authoritative, whilst the texts that suggestresurrection are found in the later books, such as
The law which required the brother of a deceased childless man tomarry the widow and have a son who would become heir to thedeceased is found in
Jesus gives a two-fold answer. Briefly he says that relationshipsbetween people in heaven don't just pick up the earthly ones.Resurrection is not a 'bringing back to life' but a taking forwardto immortal life, where marriage, seen primarily as a means ofprocreation, therefore has no purpose. We don't know enough aboutangels to deduce anything more from Jesus' answer, although wemight note that the Sadducees didn't believe in angelseither!
Then Jesus proves that there is resurrection by reminding them thatthe scriptures they do accept have God saying, "I am the God ofAbraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" long after thosecharacters had died. This is not simply a subtle argument from thepresent tense of "I am". Rather it is directing their thoughts tothe hugely important passage in
To Ponder
Having an heir to inherit a family name as wellas estate is very important for some people. Why might this be? Howimportant is it to you?
No marriage in heaven. How do you feel onlearning that?
Jesus suggests that knowing the Scripture andknowing the power of God go together. If you agree, how have youpersonally found Bible study gives you access to God's power?