Antioch Odessa
Luke 20
  • My Soul Will Wait (Psalm 62)
  • O Lord My Rock And My Redeemer
  • Holy Holy Holy (Nicaea)
  • Good morning, turn in your Bibles with me to Luke chapter 20. There are some passages that we turn to in Scripture and wonder why in the world is this here? In fact there are times where we can really struggle with the meaning of a certain text and this may be one of those. The title of our message today is, “An absurd question leads to an honest answer.” The answer is the wonderful hope for every believer, and that is the truth of the resurrection. As believers the doctrine of the resurrection is so important because it does give us hope that God does not just leave us here on earth and once we die that is it. It is interesting that chapter 20 begins with the religious leaders questioning Christ by asking by what authority do you do these things. Who gave you the authority to heal, forgive sins, and even teach with boldness and authority? And as we conclude this chapter we see again the same questioning. When it comes to authority most people want it, but there are few folks who want to be under someone’s authority. In our world today there are many people who are suspicious of authority. We don’t trust claims to power and control, and sometimes we have a good reason. We have seen all kinds of authority abused. We have seen parents mistreat their children, we have seen bosses be cruel to their employees, we have seen government leaders abuse their authority, and we have even seen church leaders take advantage of people. With so much abuse of authority, it’s no wonder many people have so many questions.
    Although we are going to look at a rather silly or absurd question from some of the most religious people of all of Israel, there is a very serious question that we must deal with. The question at stake is this. Is there going to be a resurrection after this life is over? Will people be raised from the dead, is still debated in our day and age. The reason why this is such a big question is because there are several issues at stake.
    -Will people be held accountable to God after this life is over?
    -Will there be a time of judgement?
    -Is there eternal life? Or do we just die and that is it?
    Without knowing and believing in a resurrection than death is the end of things and judgement and eternal life are meaningless ideas. Paul talks about this in his first letter to the Corinthians, and if this is all true than our religion would just seem that all is in vain or pointless.
    1 Corinthians 15:12–22 ESV
    12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
    Paul believed with all his heart that there was in fact a resurrection. There were also many other Biblical authors who shared their same beliefs about the resurrection.
    -Job said this in Job chapter 19
    Job 19:25–26 ESV
    25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God,
    -David expressed his hope in a resurrection.
    Psalm 49:15 ESV
    15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah
    There are many helpful Scriptures that assure us of a resurrection. Let’s dive into Luke chapter 20 and look at 4 principles that we may learn from our text.
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    Luke 20:27–40 ESV
    27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” 39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
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    1. Notice the Unbelief of the skeptics.

    Luke 20:27 ESV
    27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
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    Over the past few weeks we have looked at the background of tax collectors and Pharisees. Today we will look at the back ground of another group of people. In verse 27 we learn about a group religious elitists. This group was known as the Sadducees. This group of people were very well known in their area because they were very wealthy and influential. This religious group included the high priests and the chief priest. As a priestly aristocrat movement, these men only accepted the first five books of the Old Testament as carrying final authority. They disliked the oral tradition of the Pharisees. These men were known to hang out and even cooperate with the Romans since they did not hold to any existence of life after death. Luke tells us here plainly that they denied that there was a resurrection. We also see this mentioned in Acts chapter 23.
    Acts 23:8 ESV
    8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
    The Sadducees adapted the motto that many people today have seemed to believe in. They lived believing that “You only go around once in this life, so grab all the gusto you can get.” They focussed on their attention and efforts on this present life, not anticipating eternal life. Many of the Sadducees went after power, wealth, and control because after this life they believed that there was nothing else. These men taught that both the soul and the body cease to exist at death. So this small group of Sadducees now come together to confront Jesus about the resurrection. As we saw earlier there were many times where the Pharisees tried to trap Jesus in certain questions and now the Sadducees tried to discredit Jesus by asking Him an absurd question that they think he cannot answer. This question that they pose to Jesus shows us that they did not really want an answer because they were convinced in their hearts and minds that this absurd situation shows that there was not any evidence of the resurrection.
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    2. Notice the absurd story shows a lack of understanding about the resurrection.

    Luke 20:28–33 ESV
    28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
    We now come to the absurd and yet silly question that is brought to Jesus. The Sadducees bring this question to Jesus to try and show their point of how crazy they thought the resurrection was. This question is drawn from the levirate marriage that we learn about in Genesis chapter 38 and Deuteronomy chapter 25. This meant that if the husband of a wife died, the next brother was to take her as his wife so that she may have children. These religious leaders assumed that a man was to be a husband of one wife in heaven, this is why they asked the question, “whose wife will she be?” As these men walk Jesus through this ludicrous story they share that each of seven marriages of a certain woman end without having a child. The absence of having a child would lead to this levirate process. The story is actually somewhat funny because we get the understanding here that it was basically the death sentence to marry this woman. Every guy that married her eventually died. So, finally the woman dies. This is where the question now comes to the forefront. Jesus what do you think here? Whose wife will she be at the resurrection?
    Now this question that is brought before the Lord is a very serious question on several levels. First of all, there were many Jews who did believe in a resurrection and actually the Pharisees themselves believed in the resurrection. The second issue at stake here was that Jesus had talked about and even predicted his own resurrection to his disciples. But more importantly the resurrection is at the very center of our hope as Christians. So, even though this question was absurd, the question now needed to be addressed with an honest answer. Church we need to know that God’s word gives us hope that there is a resurrection. Don’t be deceived. This next section answers the question.
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    3. Notice the Lord’s answer proves the resurrection.

    Luke 20:34–38 ESV
    34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
    Jesus now responds to this absurd question with a very strong rebuke. I love how the gospel of Matthew shares this same account and what the Lord’s immediate response was to these religious leaders.
    Matthew 22:29 ESV
    29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.
    This would have been very humiliating to these leaders because they prided themselves in their knowledge of the Scriptures. If these religious leaders did know and understand the truth, they would have known that God sent His son in that of Jesus, and because of the power of God He would cause His son to rise from the grave. Jesus now responds to this question in several different ways. The first way Jesus responds to the question is in a very practical manner. The answer is very simple. There is no marriage in heaven. The sons of this age are those living currently and they marry and are given in marriage. Jesus helps us to see here that the after life is not like our current life. There will be no marriages in heaven. But why is this? Well since we know that in heaven people will live forever, there will be no more need for marriage since one of the many reasons for marriage is to help populate the earth. Relationships will look differently in heaven. Jesus says here in verse 36 that we will be like and equal to angels, and we know that angels are not given to marriage.
    In ancient times and even during the time of Christ we know that marriages were often arranged and were more like a business issue in order to associate families. This is still true in some remote parts of our world today. But here in the West, with our current ideas of romantic love and individual choice, along with dating practices, marriage has become more personalized. My point here is that of course marital love did exist during the ancient times, but the romantic aspects of love have a more prominent role in our day. So, when Jesus speaks of the end of marriage in heaven, this may come across as a shock to us or even not right.
    Those who are worthy of the resurrection, those who are God’s children, His son’s and daughters, will be children of the resurrection.
    This leads us to the second way that Jesus responds to the question. Jesus implies here that not everyone will be resurrected in regards to spending an eternity with Him in heaven. Jesus speaks here of those who are considered worthy in verse 35. The answer here helps us to see that not everyone receives the resurrection to everlasting life with Christ.
    Jesus now makes a final argument from the books of the Law so that the Sadducees would be in agreement that these books could be trusted. Jesus explains that the dead are raised because Moses showed this in the passage about the burning bush. In Exodus chapter 3 Moses calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. In other words, if God is the God of the living and not the dead which He is, than God is still God to the patriarchs as he speaks too Moses, long after these men’s deaths. So of course they must be alive and in the midst of God. There is most certainly a resurrection! God is the God of promise to these patriarchs.
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    4. Notice the Lord’s answer silences the skeptics.

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    Luke 20:39–40 ESV
    39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
    The reaction to the Lord’s response here is somewhat funny and yet straight to the point. The Lord definitely answers their question and gives them an answer instantly. Of course we know that the Pharisees would have been in agreement with the Lord’s answer, especially in defense of the resurrection. However, Jesus is also very quick to silence his opponents, so that they would not try to trick him and catch him off guard or ask any more questions. The Sadducees response is Teacher you have spoken well. There was nothing more that they could say. It didn’t matter what the question had to do with, wether it was political on paying taxes or even theological like this question, the Lord’s enemies have quickly been given a correct and truthful answer. My point here is that Jesus knows more about God’s will and where he is going than the religious leaders of the time. There were many times where it seemed as if Jesus was outnumbered, but he was always quick to point people to God His Father and teach them that the way to God can be trusted.
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    Application and Conclusion:
    We live in a world today that is full of skeptics. There are many folks who do not think logically because they do not have a Christian world view. We also live in a world today that is full of sin, including our own. Yet God assures us that he will make us like himself. Once again 1 Corinthians chapter 15 helps us with the resurrection. Paul gives us some wonderful insight on what things will really look like for believers. In fact he gives us great hope.
    1 Corinthians 15:42–55 ESV
    42 So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
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    Church it is not just where we are going that makes our hope so great, but who we will be with when we get there. I want you to know this today because this should remind us that we should pay careful attention to our daily walk with God. We should live as we have been created to live. How is that you may ask? Be reminded daily of the reality of the resurrection and to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling. Be careful on what you are listening too and who you are following so that you are not deceived. As we have learned today from our text, the Lord was calling the Sadducees to realize that there is much more to life than the here and the now. While it is true that we only have one life to live, we should live to be obedient to Christ knowing that someday He will return for us and call us home to be with Him.
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    (Close in Prayer)

      • 1 Corinthians 15:12–22ESV

      • Job 19:25–26ESV

      • Psalm 49:15ESV

      • Luke 20:27–40ESV

      • Luke 20:27ESV

      • Acts 23:8ESV

      • Luke 20:28–33ESV

      • Luke 20:34–38ESV

      • Matthew 22:29ESV

      • Luke 20:39–40ESV

      • 1 Corinthians 15:42–55ESV

  • Doxology (Amen)
  • How Deep The Father's Love For Us
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