Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her." Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive." (Luke 20:27-38 NRSV)

Would you pray with me?

Gracious God, move among us this day so that we may always know that we are never alone; and speak to us so that we may always hear, understand, and remember -- give us your word by which you mold and shape our living; in Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

7 brothers
1 wife
whose will she be?

Jesus answered it beautifully
It’s easy to get caught up in his response about marriage,
but if we do we miss his entire point.

Marriage is for life on this side of the Resurrection
Not for life on the other side.

God is God, not of the Dead but of the Living
and
Those who live eternally
live lives that are not simply continuations of this Earthly existence.

The Resurrection is a stumbling block for many people.
And it always will be.
It is too unbelievable.
It sounds like something out of a fairy tale.
It appears to be wishful thinking.
as it did to the Sadducees.

When I was in Graduate school we used to tell the joke:

The Sadducees didn’t believe in the Resurrection from the Dead,
hence they were "Sad ... you see?"

[GROAN]

The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead.
And, so, they wanted to make any belief in the Resurrection
appear to be ridiculous rather than reality.

What they learned is that you cannot play around with Jesus,
or try to trap him with words and theology.
They were applying human thought
human reasoning
human logic
to a divine concept like the Resurrection.

Put simply, Jesus’ response makes it clear that
the Resurrection is not a simple continuation of mortal, everyday life.
Death has to precede it,
we have to be taken out of the driver’s seat, so to speak,
so that God can take over,
lifting us up to a completely new mode of existence that will last forever.
This is what Paul meant when he said that we would all be changed.

I have often wondered if some of the Sadducees might have thought
or possibly schemed among themselves:

“So ... he believes in the resurrection, does he?
This self-styled Messiah who would be King??
Let’s give him a chance to test it!”

They did.

They arranged it.

They made it happen -- his death, that is --
And God did raise him up.

The Sadducees and the other religious leaders
must have been convinced that Jesus was
some sort of a magician when they heard the story of his Resurrection.

It couldn't happen!
But people said it did!

Imagine what it must have been like to have been in their sandals.
It doesn’t really matter what they thought of Jesus’ claims,
or what they thought about the Resurrection.

They’re gone.
They’re dust.

What does matter is what we believe about the Resurrection.

Are you a modern-day Sadducee?
There are lots of them out there, you know,
denying eternal life
denying the Resurrection of Jesus Christ,
and our own hope of the resurrection.
And they live sad, sad lives.
Lives that are trapped in materialism...
The acquisition of things.

What do you believe about the Resurrection?
Our deliverance hangs upon it.
In his words, in his death and resurrection,
Jesus has given us a glimpse of our own eternal destiny.

God didn’t just raise Christ from the dead for Christ’s own sake,
but for ours.
His resurrection is a promise and a sign
That we, too, will be lifted up,
and made eternal creations.

All the rational arguments
that this world has to offer --
7 brothers and 1 wife
physics and chemistry --
are irrelevant to the proclamation of the Apostolic Faith.

We heard their first cry at Easter -- “he is Risen!”
Hear it again.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
-- Amen.