Things To Come

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34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (Luke 20:34-38)

The Sadducees were an aristocratic, priestly group of faithful leaders who took a literal view of the Torah and didn't believe in resurrection. They also saw Jesus' message and popularity as a threat to their power. The book of Luke records that in an effort to discredit Jesus, they asked him a complicated question about marriage in the afterlife (which they didn't believe in). Jesus saw through their attempt and answered the question they didn't ask. He posited that the answer could be found right in the scriptures that they held dear: resurrection must be real because the scriptures acknowledge God as the God of their ancestors, and

God is God of the living not the dead.

The Sadducees were guilty of the same thinking that can still trip us up - attempting to use physical, earthly reference points to understand or explain eternity. Part of faith is mystery. If everything is known, there is no need for faith. We can be sure, however, that Jesus wasn't opposing marriage, he was simply acknowledging that, as a contract intended to bind and care for two families - particularly in the event of someone's death - that contract becomes unnecessary in the realm where there is no death. It's nearly impossible to imagine living without constraint, without worry, and without need for anything. Perhaps that's how difficult it was for the Sadducees to comprehend the possibility of resurrection. Additionally, if Jesus' view of a world where the first are last was intended as preparation for the life to come, it's understandable that those who see themselves as being first (having power and privilege) might not be excited for this new reality. Jesus continually reminded his followers not to exalt themselves but to allow God to do the exalting. Trusting God with the heavy lifting of justifying, defending and promoting us frees us from anxieties about God's provision in

the present and in the life to come.

13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-17)