Sunday
Morning Bible Study
February
4, 2017
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken
hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision
Is the church loved? Regular: 2900
words Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Luke was a doctor and a travelling
companion of the apostle Paul.
He wrote this book while Paul was
in prison.
In writing this book about Jesus,
Luke made use of other older documents like the Gospel of Mark, as well as
extensive eyewitness accounts.
Jesus’ ministry is well under way,
and the people have been amazed not just at the things He’s been teaching, but
the things He’s been doing.
We are now on the homestretch of Jesus’ ministry.
Jesus is now in Jerusalem, on His way to be crucified.
Luke has reminded us of what Jesus’ main purpose was in life:
(Luke 19:10 NKJV) for the Son
of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
We saw Jesus arrive in Jerusalem on a Sunday, to the shouts of an adoring
crowd, crying “Hosanna”.
The next morning, on Monday, Jesus came into the Temple and cleared out
those who were ripping the people off .
He then began to teach in the Temple, as He would every day until He would
be arrested.
We’ve been seeing how His teaching has been interrupted by spies from the
religious leaders who are trying to trip Him up so He can be arrested.
20:27-38 Sadducee Resurrection
:27 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came
to Him and asked Him,
came to – proserchomai
– to come to, approach
Sadducees – Saddoukaios
– “the righteous”
deny – antilego
(“against” + “speak”) – to speak against, gainsay, contradict
resurrection – anastasis
– a raising up, rising (e.g. from a seat)
:27 some of the Sadducees
Last week we looked at the makeup of the people who were trying to trip
Jesus up.
The Herodians were mostly a political group, being “pro-Herod” and “pro-Rome”.
They were the guys behind the issue we dealt with last week, paying taxes
to Caesar.
The Pharisees were a conservative religious group.
They believed in miracles, angels, and a resurrection.
They believed the entire Old Testament was inspired by God.
They strived to obey the Law of Moses, but only outwardly.
We’ll deal with the Pharisee challenge next week.
The Sadducees were a liberal religious group.
They didn’t believe in miracles, angels, or a resurrection.
That’s why they were “sad-you-see”.
They only believed the first five books of the Old Testament (Torah) to be
inspired by God.
Today it’s the Sadducees turn to challenge Jesus.
Though the Pharisees and the
Sadducees worked together to have Jesus killed, they were usually at each
other’s throats.
When Paul was arrested, he was put
on trial before the joint leadership council, the Sanhedrin.
(Acts 23:6–9 NKJV) —6 But when
Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried
out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a
Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the
Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or
spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9 Then there
arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and
protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel
has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”
:27 who deny that there is a resurrection
The word “resurrection” is about bringing someone back from the dead.
In our passage, we’re not talking about Jesus’ resurrection, but any
resurrection.
The Sadducees simply did not believe in any kind of life after death.
They did not believe that one day everyone will rise from the dead and
receive new bodies and live forever.
The Sadducees are going to pitch something to Jesus that they’ve probably
used for years to stump those old Pharisees.
“We’ll show those simple Bible thumping fundamentalists how stupid their
beliefs are!”
:28 saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother
dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his
wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
without children – ateknos
( “not” + “child”) – without offspring, childless
offspring – sperma
– seed; from which a plant germinates; the semen virile; the product of
this semen, seed, children, offspring, progeny
:28 raise up offspring
raise up – exanistemi – to
make to rise up, to produce
from anistemi – to cause to rise
up; to raise up from the dead
There is a play on words here with “resurrection” and “raise up”. They are
choosing their words carefully.
In this Sadducee story, there are no offspring “raised” up, there is no
resurrection.
:28 Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies
The Sadducees are focusing on a passage in the book of Deuteronomy.
It is called the “Levirate Law”, or, the law of the “brother-in-law”.
(Deuteronomy 25:5–6
NKJV) —5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son,
the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the
family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and
perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And it shall be that the
firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother,
that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
The penalty for refusing to do this was humiliation before the rest of the
community.
You see the principle being lived out in the life of one of Jacob’s sons,
Judah.
(Genesis 38:6–8
NKJV) —6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was
Tamar. 7 But Er,
Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord
killed him. 8 And Judah
said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir
to your brother.”
When Judah’s second son also Onan died, Judah was a little reluctant to
give Tamar to his third son. He was
afraid that he might die like his brothers.
The story reads like a soap opera with Tamar disguising herself as a
prostitute, getting pregnant by seducing her father-in-law Judah, and ending up
being the heroine of the story for preserving the family line.
The whole goal of these customs and laws was to produce children and preserve
the family name.
Side Note: If your older brother
is getting married, you probably should make sure he marries a good gal, or you
might end up married to her if they don’t have children.
:29 Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died
without children.
wife – gune
– a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow; a wife
:29 died without children
The Sadducees are setting up a story under the framework of the Levirate
Law.
There was even a similar story in the Jewish book “Tobit” where a woman
named Sarah has seven husbands who are all killed one by one on their wedding
nights by a demon named Asmodeus (Tobit 3:7-8).
(Tobit 3:7–15 NRSV) —7 On the same day, at Ecbatana
in Media, it also happened that Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was reproached
by one of her father’s maids. 8 For she had been married to
seven husbands, and the wicked demon Asmodeus had killed each of them before
they had been with her as is customary for wives. So the maid said to her, “You
are the one who kills your husbands! See, you have already been married to
seven husbands and have not borne the name of a single one of them. 9 Why do you beat us? Because your husbands are dead?
Go with them! May we never see a son or daughter of yours!” 10 On that day she was grieved in spirit and wept. When
she had gone up to her father’s upper room, she intended to hang herself. But
she thought it over and said, “Never shall they reproach my father, saying to
him, ‘You had only one beloved daughter but she hanged herself because of her
distress.’ And I shall bring my father in his old age down in sorrow to Hades.
It is better for me not to hang myself, but to pray the Lord that I may die and
not listen to these reproaches anymore.” 11 At that same time, with hands outstretched toward the window, she prayed
and said, “Blessed are you, merciful God! Blessed is your name forever; let all
your works praise you forever. 12
And now, Lord,
I turn my face to you, and raise my eyes toward you. 13 Command that I be released from the earth and not
listen to such reproaches any more. 14 You know, O Master, that I am innocent of any defilement with a man, 15 and that I have not disgraced my name or the name of
my father in the land of my exile. I am my father’s only child; he has no other
child to be his heir; and he has no close relative or other kindred for whom I
should keep myself as wife. Already seven husbands of mine have died. Why
should I still live? But if it is not pleasing to you, O Lord, to take my life,
hear me in my disgrace.”
So, with the Sadducee story, the first brother dies without having any
children with his wife.
:30 And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.
:31 Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they
left no children, and died.
in like manner – hosautos
– in like manner, likewise
left – kataleipo
– to leave behind
:32 Last of all the woman died also.
the woman – gune
– a woman of any age, whether a virgin, or married, or a widow; a wife
:32 Last of all the woman died
also
I’m guessing she finally ate the
soup she’s been serving her husbands.
:33 Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all
seven had her as wife.”
:33 Therefore, in the resurrection …
You could rephrase it, “Therefore, in heaven …”
:33 whose wife does she become?
This is the “gotcha” part of the argument.
The Sadducee assumption is that if the woman had been married to all seven,
then in heaven she must married to all seven men.
And that just sounded ridiculous to them.
I think they’re asking the wrong question.
The question I’d like to ask is, “What did she put in her matzah balls?”
I’d also like to ask, “Why did the sixth and seventh brothers marry
her?” They sound like pretty dumb
brothers.
Matthew records Jesus saying something before giving His answer:
(Matthew 22:29
NKJV) Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures nor the power of God.
Lesson
Word and Power
They didn’t know the Scriptures.
Their beliefs were off base because they didn’t take time to study and
learn the Scriptures.
As Sadducees, they didn’t even believe in most of the Scriptures.
They only believed the first five books of the Old
Testament were inspired by God.
I think that for some of us, we don’t take the Scriptures seriously because
we don’t realize just how important they are to true, daily life.
When Jesus was hungry and tempted by Satan to turn stones
into bread…
(Matthew
4:4 NKJV) But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by
bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
You and I think that “life”, real life, is dependent on
having things like food, relationships, or lots of expensive things. Some would add things like alcohol, drugs,
and sex. Our life seems miserable when we don’t have “stuff” to fill it with.
Jesus would remind us that this kind of life is pretty
shallow, and that true, deep, meaningful living comes from learning and
understanding the very words of God – the Scriptures.
They didn’t know God’s Spirit, the power of God.
People will sometimes base their ideas of what to believe upon what they
think God can or cannot do.
The Sadducees might say, “Well I don’t think God can raise the dead because
I’ve never seen anyone raised from the dead!”
The truth is, God can do impossible things.
On Thursday night we were reminded of a simple truth that Jesus, the
Messiah, sits at the right hand of God. (Ps. 110)
He sits in the place of power. All power is available to Him for our sakes.
He puts His power in our lives through the Holy Spirit.
Some churches have wonderful teaching ministries, but will deny that the
Holy Spirit, the power of God works today in the same way that He did in the
early church.
Some churches tend to have a great emphasis on the things of the Spirit,
but you’ll hardly ever crack open a Bible during the entire service.
If you have the Scripture without the Spirit, you’ll dry up.
If you have the Spirit without the Scripture, you’ll blow up.
But if you have the Scriptures and the Spirit, you’ll grow up.
:34 Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are
given in marriage.
sons – huios
– a son
age – aion
– forever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; the worlds,
universe; period of time, age
marry – gameo
– to lead in marriage, take to wife
given in marriage – ekgamisko
– to give away in marriage: a daughter; to marry, to be given in marriage
:34 The sons of this age marry
Marriage is for people on this side of eternity.
(Luke 20:34 NLT) “Marriage is
for people here on earth.
:35 But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the
resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
counted worthy – kataxioo
– to account worthy, judge worthy
to attain – tugchano
– to hit the mark, of one discharging a javelin or arrow; to reach, attain,
obtain, get, become master of
age – aion
– forever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; the worlds,
universe; period of time, age
:36 nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons
of God, being sons of the resurrection.
die – apothnesko
– to die
equal to the angels – isaggelos
(“equal” + “angel”) – like the angels
:35 neither marry nor are given in marriage
Those who make it to heaven will find that there is no marriage in heaven.
The Sadducees have made up a story about something that simply doesn’t
exist (marriage in heaven).
Keep in mind that the context of this passage is the Levirate Law, the idea
of raising up children in the name of a dead brother.
Yet in heaven there will be no more death, so there will be no reason to
“procreate” and produce more offspring.
Some have suggested (and it makes sense) that this is the reason there is
no marriage in heaven.
Husbands and wives, don’t panic because there’s no marriage. I don’t think this means you will have to
live in opposite sides of heaven. Unless
you want to.
Our Mormon friends have a different take on this.
They teach that the ultimate goal of every Mormon is to reach the state of
“exaltation” or “godhood”.
They teach that the way to achieve “exaltation” is through “celestial
marriage” where you are married in one of their Temples, and your marriage will
last past death into eternity.
I think the concept of “celestial marriage” is an example of someone not
knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.
Jesus said there was no marriage in heaven.
Mormonism
Mormonism on the other hand teaches
something different than the Bible does on this point.
The Mormons teach that the ultimate
goal in life is to reach “exaltation” in heaven, to be “gods”, to reach
“Godhood”
Former LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie wrote that those who
attain exaltation "…inherit in due course the fullness of the glory of
the Father, meaning that they have all power in heaven and on earth..."
(Mormon Doctrine pg. 257). The LDS Doctrine and Covenants also
teaches that "then shall they be gods, because they have no end…then
shall they be gods, because they have all power…" (D&C
132:16-26). This is the ultimate goal in Mormonism.
The way to reach this “exaltation”
is through “celestial marriage”.
When you are married in a Mormon
Temple, you are not just married until “death do us part”, but for eternity.
Former LDS Apostle Bruce McConkie wrote, "Celestial
marriage is the gate to exaltation, and exaltation consists in the continuation
of the family unit in eternity. Exaltation is…the kind of life which God
lives" (Mormon Doctrine pg. 257). Celestial marriage is an
absolute necessity to reach this desired goal. Its importance in the place of
salvation and exaltation cannot be overestimated. "The most important
things that any member of (the LDS Church) ever does in this world are: 1) To
marry the right person, in the right place, by the right authority; and 2) To
keep the covenant made in connection with this holy and perfect order of
matrimony…" (Mormon Doctrine pg. 118).
All Mormon men who desire Godhood are required to marry; if
they do not, their leaders have taught that their actions will be displeasing
to God. For instance, 10th LDS President Joseph Fielding Smith said,
"Any young man who carelessly neglects this great commandment to marry, or
who does not marry because of a selfish desire to avoid the responsibilities
which married life will bring, is taking a course which is displeasing in the
sight of God…There can be no exaltation without it. If a man refuses…he is
taking a course which may bar him forever from (exaltation)." (Doctrines
of Salvation 2:74).
:36 nor can they die anymore
can – dunamai – to be able;
to be capable
You will not “be able” to die.
This is probably what Jesus means when He says we will be “equal to the
angels” – angels do not die.
Some people have the mistaken notion that angels are good people who have
gone to heaven. And then when you do
enough good things in heaven you earn your “wings” and a bell rings somewhere
on earth.
That may make good warm fuzzies in the movies, but it’s not Biblical.
Lesson
Heaven
When you get to heaven, you will no longer face the possibility of dying.
John describes heaven like this:
(Revelation 21:4
NKJV) And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be
no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away.”
In heaven you will finally experience life to it’s fullest.
You will no longer be weighed down by your sin nature – you will no longer
be tempted or give in to temptation.
You will have no more pain or sorrow.
The Bible teaches that God has placed a longing for heaven in the heart of
each man. Solomon wrote,
(Ecclesiastes 3:11
NLT) Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted
eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of
God’s work from beginning to end.
We are all born with a longing inside.
It’s a like the cry of the wild wolf in the wilderness.
Video: Puppies Learning to Howl
The problem is that men tend to go down the wrong kinds of roads looking
for that thing that will fulfill that wild cry of the heart for heaven.
Video: Mercedes GT Roadster Easy
Driver Commercial
Looking for adventure?
Look to head out on the highway with Jesus.
I think the best part of heaven will be this:
(Isaiah 25:9 NKJV) And it will
be said in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will
save us. This is
the Lord; We have
waited for Him; We will be
glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
We will finally see Jesus face to face.
We will see the one who loved us so much that He laid down
His life for us.
:37 But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that
the dead are raised, when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
raised – egeiro
– to arouse, cause to rise; to arouse from sleep, to awake; to arouse from
the sleep of death, to recall the dead to life
burning
bush – batos – a thorn or bramble bush
:38 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to
Him.”
the dead – nekros
– one that has breathed his last, lifeless
the living – zao –
to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead)
live – zao –
to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead)
:37 Moses showed in the burning bush passage
Jesus is now going to teach the Sadducees about the reality of life after
death from a passage in Exodus.
Do you remember what part of the Bible the Sadducees did believe was
inspired by God?
They only believed in the first five books of the Bible (Torah). That’s
where Exodus is.
They would even say that they didn’t believe in a resurrection because
Moses never said anything about it.
Jesus is going to pick out a passage from the part they believed in.
showed – menuo – to
disclose or make known something secret
Jesus is going to make his point from something so small, so subtle, yet so
true.
The Sadducees didn’t believe in life after death, yet there it was in their
own Scriptures.
:37 when he called the Lord ‘the God of Abraham …
Jesus takes us back to Moses and the Burning Bush.
Moses was tending his father-in-law’s flocks and he came across a strange
phenomenon – a bush that was on fire yet it didn’t burn up.
The verse in question is,
(Exodus 3:6 NKJV) Moreover He
said, “I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon
God.
The implication is that God is still the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, even though they physically died a long time ago. He is still their God because they are still
alive.
God didn’t say, “I WAS the God of thy father, the God of Abraham …
etc”. God said, “I AM …”
God isn’t the God of those who are dead, gone, and passed out of existence.
He is the God of those who live, even if they’ve gone through death on this
side of eternity.
Abraham had died 600 years before Moses, yet Abraham was still alive.
To God, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still alive, “for all live to Him”.
:35 those who are counted worthy to attain that age
Lesson
Worthy of heaven
How does a person become “worthy” to make it to heaven?
Some folks have this idea that you have to be “good enough” in order to be
“worthy” of heaven.
There is truth to this statement.
David wrote,
(Psalm
15:1–2 NLT) —1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, Lord? Who may enter your presence on your holy hill? 2 Those who lead
blameless lives and do what is right, speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
You not only have to be “good”, you have to be perfect.
Jesus said,
(Matthew
5:48 NLT) But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is
perfect.
The problem is, nobody is “good” enough.
We are all sinners.
(Romans 3:23 NLT) For everyone
has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Part of the problem is that we don’t like to admit we are
sinners. We don’t like to admit we have
problems.
Like Brett Favre trying to figure out why he threw so many
interceptions:
Video: Brett Favre Buffalo Wild
Wings Conspiracy
If you want to be worthy of heaven, it starts with
admitting that you have a problem.
You need to admit you are a sinner.
So how can we actually be “good enough” if we are sinners? Only through the sacrifice of Christ, through
His death paying for our sins.
(2 Corinthians 5:21
NLT) For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our
sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
God took our sins and placed them on Jesus, while taking
Jesus’ righteousness and giving it to us.
If you want to be “worthy” of heaven, you need to open your heart and
follow Jesus.
(John 1:12 NKJV) But as many
as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those
who believe in His name: