Possibly the best-known psalm is the 23rd. The focal point of this psalm is the challenge of human mortality and the presence of God in the midst of the valley of deep darkness.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
The two leading religious groups in Jesus’ day were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees would have answered the problem of death with the reassurance of resurrection, but the Sadducees believed there was no life after death.
While Jesus was teaching in the courtyard of the temple, He was tested by one group after another. This time, the Sadducees posed a question to Him intended to trap Him and make Him look bad before the crowd.
A Dishonest Question
The kind of question posed by the Sadducees was typical of scholarly arguments in their time. The difference in this instance was the dishonesty of these religious leaders. They weren’t interested in an honest discussion; they just wanted a chance to show up the preacher from Galilee before the crowd.
“The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question: ‘Teacher, Moses said, “If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.”‘
“Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. Last of all, the woman herself died.
“In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her.” (Matthew 22:23-28)
The Sadducees believed the only authorized scriptures were the first five books of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy). They couldn’t find any references to resurrection in those books and reasoned that resurrection was ruled out by God.
They believed that having children was the only way someone lived on beyond death. In their illustration, the wife and the men who attempted to fulfill the redeemer function all lost out because they produced no children. Beyond that, they wondered who would be her husband in heaven—if it even existed.
A Good News Answer
Jesus’ response to their dishonest question is one of the most comforting passages in the Bible.
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 of God 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 God not of the dead, but of the living.” (Matthew 22:29-32)
The first statement that troubles people about Jesus’ words is the issue of there being no marriage in heaven. People who deeply love their spouse often have a hard time thinking of heaven without that connection.
Think about it this way: we are currently limited in our ability to love other people. Most often, our love is confined to family members and a few close friends. In heaven, our love will be as expansive as our Heavenly Father’s. No one will experience less love than anyone else.
The Sadducees were basing their argument on the production of children. In heaven, there will be no need to produce more children; thus, marriage will not be essential.
Notice that the Old Testament passage mentions Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These are distinct persons with recognizable names. Though marriage may not be necessary in heaven, we will recognize our loved ones just as the patriarchs were identified in Jesus’ words.
Possibly the most comforting aspect of Jesus’ message is this: heaven is the continuation of a relationship that God began with people while on earth. God had a relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He would have been unjust and unkind to terminate that relationship upon death. Instead, heaven is the continuation of a personal relationship for all eternity.
Here’s how Paul put it:
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)
This is abundant reason to praise God and live faithfully with Him.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Matthew 22:15-33 on YouTube today.
Real Voices 