Matthew 22:23-33--- The Resurrection is Real
Notes
Transcript
Do you even know the Bible?
Do you even know the Bible?
The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”
But 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 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, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
Vs 23- At times we are unsure of time frames in Scripture but that is not the case here
-Jesus gets finished and the Pharisees and Herodians leave him be
-The next fella steps up- the Sadducees
Sadducees were unhappy people. Do you know why? they were sad you see
But on a serious note they believed the bible was the final authority on all things and they were convinced there was no resurrection based on the Torah
This a point of conflict between the P&S that we see play out in Acts where Paul makes mention of the resurrection and the P&S go crazy and get all fired up
saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’
Whether intentional or not, they call him teacher and then go straight to Moses- the law giver himself
This is called levarite marriage- if a man dies and has no children with his wife, his brother is marry her and so continue the lineage of his brother
Seems a little odd in our day, but the way things are going nowadays nothing seems to crazy but in this scenario it was the right thing to do
Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”
So the rest of the story plays out first brother dies and no children, second brother dies and no children and so forth to the 7th
I know what your thinking after that third brother, he need to be rethinking this thing
Bob died, then Billy, Im next....
Thankfully this is hypothetical and this is a trick question- they dont even believe in bodily resurrection
But for Jesus, he doesnt even flink
But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
This was a centerpiece for the Sadducees- no resurrection
Jesus say your wrong because you dont know the Scriptures nor the power of God
What a blow!!
The trained teachers are told they know nothing about Gods word or Gods power to satisfy us completely or resurrect us on the day of Lord
For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
In Jesus response, explains how marriages in heaven
-His simple response is their wont be
-The need for husband and wife to fill the earth with image bearers isnt needed
-God arranged marriage in such a way to be signpost pointing us toward his greater and deeper love for the church
This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.
And our marriage with our spouse is the way in which he has so blessed us to have a glimpse at his deep love us
We experience some of that now but only in limited capacity
Rev 19- We have the marriage supper of the lamb where ever believer will be with Christ forever
Marriage for believers becomes a sign post for the even greater marriage in Heaven were we will together perfected with Jesus and all those who have gone before us
So I know what your thinking now? My mind did and still does the same thing.
the questions begin: Will I know my wife, my children, my church members?
Thats not answered in this text, Jesus isnt even concerned about that
But because my mind had those thoughts Im sure yours did I want to give you couple passages to keep in mind loosely
He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
David seems very confident and under the inspiration of the HS it is recorded in scripture
And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
Peter James and John have the priviledge of seeing Jesus transfigured and glimpse the Shekinah glory of God radiating from him
But also they see and immediately know, this is Moses and Elijah? How? they never met before
This could possibly be a glimpse of the renewing power of the glory of God on display even in the mind of Peter pointing forward to the way we will be in eternity
Luke 16:19-31 is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and here it is clear that in Hades, the rich man, had full memory of the past and knew his brothers would be heading to the same place as him
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Paul gives these truths to the Thessalonians so they would be hopeful remembering that Jesus will give every dead believer a resurrected body for eternity with him and we will forever be with him
He says encourage each other with these words
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Rest assured heaven will not disappoint
There are some questions I cant completely answer but I do know that every person in Heaven will be perfected in the presence of Perfection and will enjoy a perfected relationship with God and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ
I hope that helps and if afterwards you would like to talk some more, let me know we can do that.
“but are like angels” ---- we dont become angels
We dont get our wings when we die
We will be like angels in that we do not have a need to be married and have children
That was specifically a blessing for humans
Also, angels never know what its like to be forgiven but we do- special things only for Gods people
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, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
Jesus takes the quote from
And 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 at God.
And completely refutes their resurrection claims by the very word they held to perfect truth
God isnt their God if their dead- but he is their God now and is currently with them in Paradise
And at this moment- Jesus has came face to face in a deliberate confrontation with the RL of the Day and after round two Jesus still stands unblemished
And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
In what would hurt them the most, the crowd heard this and were astonished
The S’s would have said this passage over and over and prided themselves on it and yet they were in error over the extent of what God meant when he spoke to Moses
The carpenter boy turned Rabbi has confounded the elites with Rabbinic training
Th S’s feel it slipping away, the crowds stand amazed but yet in the end we are left with neither group worshipping Jesus
May we not do the samething today
Three applications that can be made are
The power of God is in the Scriptures
-the Word is alive and transforming
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Its possible to be knowledgable and yet unbelieving and unaffected
Its exposes our hearts and our souls
Vs 13- makes an interesting move- the Word moves from it to he- clearly addressing Christ in this but also reminding us and the world by what standard all people will be judged- the Scriptures, Jesus, for he is the Word in Flesh
When we open the Word- we encounter that power and presence of God
2. Heaven is for the living
We are not just random floating disembodied spirits
For all those in Paradise now, their will be a day as 1 Thess 4 says, when the dead in Christ will rise and will be given a glorified body fit for the New Heavens and New Earth
Thats a absolute certainty
To be living is to be body and soul- we never look at the corpse and say this Bob
What do we say when we speak of someone whop just died, “Their gone”
Not physically but their spirit has left to be forever in the presence of God to be reunited one day with glorified body that is perfected in the presence of Perfection
3. Hell is for the living ???? Im not sure here
-just as sure as their is resurrection of the believers their is a day at the GWT on the Day of the Lord when the unbelieving who are in hell or if they so be alive on that terrible day- will be fit with an eternal body where they will be justly punished for eternity
Why? because they rejected God and chose to follow their own way
Doctors, lawyers, nurses, police officers, humanitarians, murders, liars, church members who die apart from Christ have this as a certainty
he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
Hell isnt some nothingness but it is punishment for the rejection of Jesus
Where do you stand?
Resurrection is real, Heaven and Hell are for the living
Beloved, may we heed the call of the Scriptures
Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.