April 3rd
Question –
Resurrection
27: Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny
that there is any resurrection; and they asked him, 28: Saying, Master, Moses
wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without
children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his
brother. 29: There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife,
and died without children. 30: And the second took her to wife, and he died
childless. 31: And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and
they left no children, and died. 32: Last of all the woman died also. 33:
Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to
wife. 34: And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry,
and are given in marriage: 35: But they which shall be accounted worthy to
obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are
given in marriage: 36: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto
the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the
resurrection. 37: Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush,
when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob. 38: For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live
unto him. 39: Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast
well said. 40: And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.
The Lords Question
– David
41: And he said unto them, How say they that Christ is
David's son? 42: And David himself saith in the book of Psalms, The LORD said
unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 43: Till I make thine enemies thy
footstool. 44: David therefore calleth him Lord, how is he then his son?
Jesus warns
of the Scribes
45: Then in the audience of all the people he said unto his
disciples, 46: Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and
love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the
chief rooms at feasts; 47: Which devour widows' houses, and for a shew make
long prayers: the same shall receive greater damnation.
The Sadducees come with their most difficult question. To
them it is the most difficult question that they can comprehend and they add a
complexity to the basic question to make it seven times more difficult than
impossible to answer. Their basis question is based on a point of Mosaic Law
which stated that if a man dies with out children then his brother is to take
his widow and marry her to raise children to his brother’s name. Now that was
difficult enough, but then try to make the question impossibly complex. They
say there was a man who died and his brother took his wife but he died
childless too and so his next brother took her to wife and he had not children
and so on and on through seven brothers. Now the question is not, Is the
inheritance lost? Nor is it who eventually will take his brothers name? No, the
question is - Whose wife will she be in the resurrection. Of course marriage is
only for this mortal life and does not extend beyond death. And this is exactly
the point Christ makes in response. He says that those who are accounted worthy
to obtain that world and the resurrection from the dead. (By the way here is a
simple explanation of the Jewish standing before God under law. And how
different to the Christian who comes as an unworthy sinner and finds the Grace
of God will save him by faith and not by law keeping) In the resurrection the
righteous have no marital state they will be like the angels who do not marry,
nor can they die anymore. They will be called in that day the children of the
resurrection. The Sadducees are having an education on resurrection and they
don’t believe in resurrection. Then Christ says, When the Lord spoke to Moses
at the burning bush he called himself the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then he said, he is not a God of the dead, but
of the living: for all live unto him. You see God did not say l WAS the God,
but l AM the Lord God etc. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have not ceased to exist
but they are in the presence of God now and one day will be raised from the
dead to be alive again on earth in the kingdom. The scribes were impressed by
Christ’s answer. After this they were afraid to ask him any questions at all.
So Christ decides that he will ask a question of his own. He said, how do men
say that the Christ is David's son? When David said in the book of Psalms, The
LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies
thy footstool. Now here is the question, If David called the Messiah his LORD
why is he called David’s son? The answer is that Christ is David’s son
according to the flesh but the son of God and therefore he is David’s Lord
God. Paul in his letter to the Romans
said Rom 1v3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh; 4: And declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the
dead. Lastly Christ turns to warn the
disciples of the teachings of the Scribes. He says their emphasis is on long
robes – a sign of dignity. They love greetings in the markets – a sign of
importance, the highest seats in Synagogues – a sign of rank. However they are
greedy in taking the inheritances of the widows (The most wicked crime in Israel) and to
impress men they make long prayers these very people who really aught to know
netter because of their profession will be under great damnation.
Steve
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