Authority

Matthew 22:23-33. It is possible to debate a point in a way that is pointless. The Sadducees had a point. When we bury people, we usually bury them next to their spouse. But what if somebody loses their spouse and then re-marries? Who do you bury them next to? Belief in a literal resurrection extends this problem. How does the deceased spouse feel, now knowing that their husband or wife married someone else after them? Whether there is marriage in the New Earth or not is not really the point, it would still be a bit awkward. The Sadducees had a point. The problem is that they saw the wrong solution. Like many today, the Sadducees ignored God’s prophets because they did not agree with their view. The prophets were clear enough that the dead could be raised again, and Jesus impressed the crowd by proving the point from the Torah, which the Sadducees accepted. Yet the Sadducees would rather suggest that there was no resurrection because it was “new” than to admit that re-marriage is not the ideal, even though it was prescribed for extenuating circumstances in the Torah.

The thing that I want to learn from Jesus here, is the fact that He was able to show His detractors their fault from their own authority, the Torah. I want to be able to do this too.