Harbor Presbyterian Church - Uptown

Conflict and Community: 

Are You Living for Today or Tomorrow?

Luke 20:27-40

Introduction

This passage today is “Luke’s Gospel Meets Kung Fu Theatre.”  Have you seen an old kung fu movie?  If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen then all—because the plots are all the same.  Bruce Lee is destined to fight the head grandmaster martial artist.  But first he must fight the master’s lesser cronies.  He fights through successively tough battles until he finally comes face to face with his arch nemesis—the one who killed his father, the one who murdered his family, the one who thinks he’s better than him… whatever. 

This is where Jesus finally is in our passage today—he’s facing the Sadducees. 

This is the third and final round of the battle between Jesus and the religious leaders.  He fought the Pharisees in Chapter 19.  He fought the scribes and the chief priests and the elders earlier in Chapter 20. He fought them and then their spies as they tried to trap him.  Now, in our passage, he fights the final battle, the ultimate battle… against the Sadducees.

If you were alive during that time, when I said, “against the Sadducees,” you would have gone, <GASP>.  “ohh… the Sadducees!” 

As this conflict plays out, we’re going to see three things:

I. The Sadducees are Living for Today, II. Jesus is Living for Tomorrow, III. Tomorrow Has Begun Today.

1. The Sadducees are Living for Today

Since none of you gasped earlier when I said, “against the Sadducees”, I we should spend some time explaining who they were. 

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   1. What they believed
      1. No afterlife.  Our text says that the Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection.  Josephus was a historian in the first century, he said—Sadducees will have nothing to do with “the continuing of the soul after death, penalties in the underworld, and rewards.”  Sadducees hold that the soul perishes with the body.
      2. God only helps those who help themselves.  Your future is determined by how well raise your family and that they carry on your name. 
      3. They believed that only the first five books of the Bible were Scripture.  The rest were just peoples’ opinions.  Only the books of Moses—Genesis through Deuteronomy carried God’s authority. 
   2. What they Did
      1. They were the aristocrats of Israel.  They were the leaders of the nation, but they were appointed by Roman authorities.  The high priest was a member of the Sadducees (Acts 5:17; Josephus).  These were the elites of Israel’s religious leaders.  They were the wealthy, the influential.
      2. They were in cahoots with Rome.  There were many who wanted to throw Roman oppression off, but not the Sadducees.  They kowtowed to Rome to make sure they had Rome’s favor to keep their position of power.  Because of this, the people hated them.  John 11:48  “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."  These were the political elites of Jesus’ day. 
      3. Evaluation:  This is a love for power combined with no concern for the afterlife. 
         1. With no resurrection, there’s nothing to be worried about in the life to come, they put all their stock in this life.  They went after all the power, all the wealth, all the position, all the control that they could get. 
      4. They were living for power.  If you think back to the parable of the tenants a couple of weeks ago, these were tenants who wanted to be owners.  They wanted power and they connived and conspired with Rome to keep the status quo—because the status quo means that they are in control.
      5. We see this same corruption in leadership in our day.  The constant complaint about politicians is that they are too sold out to special interest groups—they are in cahoots with money and power and they don’t care about people. 
      6. Now, it’s easy to point the finger at others, but I think that this same dynamic is in all of our hearts.  This is the temptation to live for today.  There is a temptation in all of us to ignore the afterlife, to let our desire for power or comfort to crowd out our thinking.  When we live only for today, corruption creeps into our lives.

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   3. They come to question Jesus, wanting to restore their authority.  
      1. The Sadducees believed that “eternal life” meant living through your descendants.  That meant that if you provided for the well being of your children, you could die happy, knowing that your family would continue on.  The land promises to the families of Israel were consistent with this.  And this was the whole point of the law that they appeal to in their question.  Land and inheritance was important in Israel.  It was important to God.  God didn’t want families to die out, so he made provisions for widows to raise up children.  This is in Deuteronomy 25:5-10.  Deuteronomy 25:6  "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.
      2. Last week, the challenge to Jesus about taxes was designed to get him in trouble with Roman authorities.  But the Sadducees don’t want to stir up any attention with Rome, because they know that Rome’s involvement could upset their power.  They wanted to discredit Jesus, so he falls out of favor with the people.  If Jesus fails here, if he falls out of favor with the people, then they can kill him without the Romans.  So they come to Jesus wanting to show that he contradicts Moses and the Scriptures. 
      3. This was a long-standing debate between the Sadducees and the Pharisees.  

The Pharisees were the proponents of the resurrection.  They had actually said that the next life would be just like this life...same person, same features, same clothes, same weakness and strengths, same relationships.  God would raise up everybody—same as you died, and then when everyone recognizes everyone else, there would be a transformation.

The Sadducees thought this was absurd.  What if somebody had married multiple times in this life?  If in the next life you’re going to come back in the same clothes, in the same form, with the same defects, and in the same relationships, whose going to be your husband or wife?  And apparently this question had never been sufficiently answered because when it comes their turn to throw a question at the Master Rabbi, this is their best shot.  They are very good and very adept at defending their disbelief in the resurrection.  They’ve been doing it for a long time, they pull out their best shot. 

2. Jesus is Living for Tomorrow
   1. Jesus answers in two parts.  First, in the resurrection, there will be no marrying or giving in marriage (v34-36)
      1. They have brought up a scenario that doesn’t apply in the resurrection.  Relationships will be radically changed.  There will be no need for marriage in the resurrection age.
      2. This doesn’t mean that the companionship and affection shared between spouses will stop.  This doesn’t mean that people who find their greatest joy in their spouse will experience some sort of loss of that relationship in the age to come.  Quite the opposite.  In the resurrection, relationship will be even better!  Communication and companionship will be absolutely perfect!
      3. But what Jesus is telling the Sadducees is that then there will be no need for marriage to provide children to carry on the family name.  Why?  Because (v36) no one will die. No death in that day.  No disappointment, not destruction of life.  No worry that you won’t last forever.
      4. Sex is not ultimate.  It’s not eternal.  This is a strong word for us today—our sexuality is not who we are.  Our identity is not determined by our sexuality.  There are so many for whom sex completely controls them.  This is a dangerous pit to fall into.  If you are in this boat, you need help to get out. 
      5. Child bearing is also not ultimate.  Child bearing will also not be a part of resurrection life.  Our identity should not be determined by our children. 
      6. It’s interesting to remember, on this note:  Jesus had no kids.  Jesus is a celibate man, childless before those who will send him to his death.  If you’re struggling because you don’t have the children that you want, look to Jesus.

***Now you might say, “But that doesn’t matter, because he’s Jesus!”  “Well, what does that mean?”  “Well, it doesn’t matter because his spiritual influence on others was more important than him having children.”   “Hmmm…  interesting…  his spiritual influence on others was more important than having kids.”

This is a good word for people struggling with infertility, for couples who have decided they are not going to have children, and for singles.  Maybe God is calling you to something similar to what he called Jesus.  Maybe your spiritual influence on others is more important than you having children.

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   2. Plus, they are children of God, children of the resurrection.  Children share in the character and nature of their parents.  This means that those who participate in the age to come are share in the characteristics of the resurrection.  This means that you experience new life, you experience healing and newness.  The problems of life are finding solutions in your life.  And you are sharing this experience with others.  You are helping others to find out what resurrection is really life. 
      1. Children remind others of their parents.  If you are a child of God, a child of the resurrection, then you will remind others of both God and the reality that one day—everything will be made new.  New life—resurrection life will be infused into everything!

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   3. The second part of Jesus’ response:  Moses teaches the resurrection
      1. After undermining the wrong thinking of the Sadducees, Jesus going on to give them an answer from the Bible.
         1. There are passages throughout the OT that speak of resurrection:  Ps 16:9; Ps 49:15; Hos 6; Isa 26; Job 19:26; Dan 12:1-2. 
         2. But Jesus knows that the Sadducees don’t hold those books to be authoritative, so he answers their question about the resurrection in the way that they asked it.
         3. This is good for us, because we sometimes don’t listen to the questions that people ask.  Often we answer questions that people aren’t asking. 
         4. The Bible can answer any question that you ask.  The key is to make sure that your answering the questions that people are asking. 
         5. People say that the Bible is irrelevant—but it may be because we’re answering questions they aren’t asking.
         6. Maybe we’re answering questions that were asked 30 years ago.
         7. Jesus knew how he needed to answer the Sadducees’ question about the resurrection because he knew their questions—where in the books of Moses is the resurrection taught?
         8. Do you want to answer questions that people are asking today?  You have to know what the questions are that people are asking—sounds simple doesn’t it?
         9. Do you want to know what questions people are asking?  You need to ask them!!!
         10. Don’t know how?  Try this:  “You know, my pastor said something interesting on Sunday.  He said most churches are irrelevant because they’re not addressing the questions that people are asking today.  What do you think about that?  Would you agree?
         11. What questions would you love to see answered by God?
         12. Then you stop and listen.
         13. What’s scary about this?  What if they ask a question that you don’t know how to answer????  GOOD!  Don’t freak out.  This is the whole point, remember.
         14. Then you say, “Wow, I guess he was right.  You’ve got questions that I don’t think I’ve considered or asked.  I’d love to spend some time talking about that with you.”
      2. So what is Jesus’ answer? It’s fairly straightforward. 
         1. When God appeared to Moses at the burning bush, he identified himself as the God of A, I, and J.  The key point is the verb tense – it’s present tense: I am (still) the God of A, I & J (therefore, they are still living), not I was/had been the God, etc. (therefore, they are not living now).
         2. Ex 3:6—not just a proof text of the resrruection.  This is where God declared his desire to liberate his people.  Jesus brought about a new exodus—liberation, return from exile.  God is the freedom God.  New exodus is linked with resurrection.  Eze 37. 
      3. Jesus answer was so convincing that the pro-resurrection people among his enemies praised him!  V39—“Well said, Teacher!”  It’s like they were saying, “Yea, that’s it!  Finally we have an answer for the Sadducees!”
      4. Aside from this response, they all agreed that confronting Jesus in public was not the right way to proceed.  V40—they didn’t dare to question him anymore.

3. Tomorrow Has Begun Today
   1. The biggest problem with living for Tomorrow—it makes it sound like we shouldn’t care at all about today.
   2. They give up and decide they’re going to have to capture and kill him.  And they succeed.  Two days later, they’ll have this “resurrection teacher” on a cross, dying in agony. 
   3. But Jesus’ most convincing proof wasn’t to quote Scripture, it wasn’t to teach them the error in their thinking.  Jesus proved the resurrection by demonstrating it personally.  They didn’t believe him then, but they wouldn’t be able to deny it on Easter Sunday. 
   4. And in his resurrection, he doesn’t just show that life is possible beyond the grave, but he shows that this new life has already come—in the middle of history.  Resurrection was something that would happen at the end of time, but Jesus’ resurrection means that it has come already!  This is what he offers us.  If you believe in him today, you can begin to experience this today.  You can begin to feel his resurrection life in your life today.  Believing in him makes you experience his resurrection power in every area of your life.  The Bible says in Romans 6 that when we believe, we die and are raised together with Christ.  We have his power at work in us.  It brings newness, it makes all our sad things come untrue.  This is the power of the resurrection, and our tomorrow begins the day we believe.