RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD - GOD OF THE LIVING - TRANSFORMATION OF THE BODY

 

3. By Sadducees - Mark 12.18-27; Matt 22.23-33; Luke 20.27-40

 

There are many key differences between Pharisees and Sadducees. Pharisees believed in the resurrection at the coming of the Messiah, Sadducees believed in no resurrection at all. That’s why they were Sad, you see? Ha! Pharisees also believed all of the Tanach/O.T. could be used to formulate doctrine as it was all canon. Sadducees said, no, you can only derive doctrine from the Torah, the first five books of Moses. You could illustrate your doctrine with the other writings, but doctrine must derive from the Torah only. This must be understood when trying to understand the answer Yeshua is going to give to this attack.

 

         a. The Attack

The Sadducees ask a question from the Torah about keeping the blood line of a brother alive. A woman marries and has no children and her husband dies. He has six brothers who in turn marry her w/o her having children and she eventually dies. Even though Sadducees don’t believe in the resurrection (because they do not see it written in the Torah) they ask Jesus this question--whose wife is she in the resurrection if all seven had her?

 

         b. The Answer

Jesus does not answer this question with Daniel 12.2, Isaiah 26.19, or Job 19.25-26 because they are not in the Torah. His answer is a new interpretation of Torah that witnesses to Daniel and the others--he indicates that the resurrection is not merely an awakening from the dead--but it is a transformation of the body from mortal to immortal. This new body does not reproduce itself--there will be no marriage--they are as the angels in heaven who do not reproduce.

 

Yeshua answers with Exodus 3.6 that God is the God of the living: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God made promises to each of them that could only be kept later as they did not see the promise come to pass. Abraham knew God was a promise keeper and that if he sacrificed Isaac, God would raise him up from the dead because God had yet to fulfill many promises through Isaac.

 

All three of these patriarchs had been promised they and their seed would inherit the land--but none of them had at their deaths. This promise to them individually could only be kept if they were resurrected from the dead! Our God is a promise keeping God! God has a living relationship with the patriarchs and cannot leave them dead in the grave! Contained in the promise to inherit the land is the promise of the resurrection from the dead.

 

This was a new interpretation out of the Torah and the people and leaders were astonished at the answer. The Pharisees were impressed as they now had new ammo to throw at the Sadducees and the Sadducees will not ask anymore questions of Jesus. He has answered their entrapment question on their terms and at the same time confirmed the rest of the Tanach.