The Sadducees’ Question (Part 1 of 2)

In Mark Chapter 12, we read about a group of religious hypocrites who tried to trap Jesus with a complicated question.

In essence, they concocted a hypothetical case about a widow who lost several consecutive husbands and remarried multiple times. They wondered which man would be recognized as her husband in heaven. Today on Truth for Life, Alistair Begg helps us understand Jesus' careful and masterful response. Well, I think there is little doubt that the response of Jesus to this particular question fails entirely to meet the contemporary standards of political correctness.

If you were following along carefully, you would notice the distinction. The politically correct answer to an approach like this would be to have said that there are, of course, a variety of views concerning the resurrection and perspectives on the resurrection, and would also have gone on to say that all of those views are equally valid. And because they're equally valid, there is no real reason for us to fall out with one another and so on.

We will all be tremendously happy. In direct contrast to that, Jesus is very direct in pointing out that his questioners are flat-out wrong. And you will notice he says that on two occasions in the passage that we read. Verse 24—"Is this not the reason you are wrong?"

he says. And then in verse 27—"You are quite wrong." What we have here is a succession of approaches by the religious leaders and their friends to try and unnerve or trip up or thwart in some way Jesus of Nazareth. The game that they're playing is essentially Stump the Rabbi. They're coming with a series of questions for the teacher, and in every instance it's just an attempt to make him look foolish or make the ideas and the concepts seem quite ridiculous. How difficult it must have been for these folks, given that they were the credentialed ones. They were the ones with the diplomas.

They were the ones with the right kind of background. And this Galilean carpenter, this upstart fellow, had none of what they had. He didn't come from the right kind of background.

He hadn't gone to the proper schools. And yet—surprise, surprise!—it was to this individual that the people were paying attention, and not to them. At the end of Jesus' talks, the people actually responded. They went out saying they were amazed by his teaching. Many of them became his followers, in a way that people were falling off from the religious establishment of the time.

And as we've noted, there is more than a little jealousy that is in the heart of these individuals as they come to challenge him. Now, I would like to assume that we all knew everything about everything, but it's clear that we don't, and therefore we need to ask the question, Who were the Sadducees? And the origin of their name is somewhat foggy.

It's unclear. But in terms of their position, their status in the society of the time, the historians record for us the fact that they were the aristocratic party. They were made up of the high priestly caste and also of lay family members of the leading individuals in Jerusalem.

They were socially influential on account of their wealth and their status. They were notoriously arrogant and harsh in their execution and administration of justice. And they were at the same time on the theologically conservative end of the spectrum of Judaism and of their doctrines—so much so that they rejected the innovative ideas that the Pharisees brought to the table—not least of all, this idea of the resurrection. And really, at the top of their list of things to be refuted was this matter of the resurrection. And that's why Mark says in verse 18, "...and Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection."

This was the defining feature of these individuals. Now, their question, as was true in the previous couple of questions, is not asked out of a desire for instruction, but in order, once again, to try and show just how absurd the idea of, in this instance, the resurrection proves to be. It's important for us also to know that the Sadducees really only dealt with the Pentateuch—that is, the first five books of the Bible—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

They operated out of the Pentateuch. And it is from the Pentateuch that they then quote in order to seek to give substance to their question, which is really a trick question. Don't be misled by the fact that someone says, Well, they were quoting from the Bible, you know. Yes, but what were they doing when they were quoting from the Bible? Here you have these individuals, the Sadducees, and they have their Bibles open, as it were. They're here, they come to Jesus, and they said, We want to speak to you about an issue that you know is found in the Bible Moses wrote for us.

Very clever. Now, let's just turn back for a moment and make sure that we understand that to which they're referring. Deuteronomy chapter 25 and verse 5. And you'll notice, if you have the same version as I do, that it says, laws concerning levirate marriage. Levirate marriage. The word lever, the noun lever—r-e-l-e-v-i-r—is Latin for brother-in-law. Brother-in-law. So these are laws that relate to marriage, and particularly to the role of the brother-in-law in the loss of his brother to death.

Anyway, here we have it. If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband's brother shall go into her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And the first son, verse 6, whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.

That's why this is taking place. That's why she doesn't go and get married outside the framework of the family, because the concern is for the name of the family and for the heritage of the one who has died. Verse 7. And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me. Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. And if he persists, saying, I do not wish to take her, then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother's house. And the name of his house shall be called in Israel the house of him who had his sandal pulled off. And at the heart of it is the issue that these Sadducees now bring before Jesus in an attempt to set the law of God in the Pentateuch against the reality of the promised resurrection, which, if they actually had their heads on, they would realize is also there in the five books of the law—all of the anticipation of what there is going to be.

But because they're fixed in their desire to oppose this, they present themselves in this way. And so, look at how they pose it, supposing a situation has arisen, they say, where a married man has died before his wife has a child, and his brother has married the widow, and then that brother died before producing an heir, and it went on all the way through to the death of the seventh brother, and then, finally, the death of the sevenfold widow—which in her case would be a relief by that point, presumably. And then they say, verse 23, in the resurrection, when they rise again, not… You see?

See? So they're there with one another. In the resurrection… In the resurrection, when they all rise again… Yeah? In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as a wife.

Gotcha! The levirate law is so clear. There can't be a resurrection. Because if there was a resurrection, it would be complete chaos.

People would be running around heaven all the time trying to figure out who was married to who. It'd be absolutely ridiculous. The whole idea is absurd. That's what they're saying. And the argument that they're using is a reductio ad absurdum, which some of you remember from your logic classes, and some of you imply routinely in law courts all around Cleveland. But we won't talk about that for now. In other words, taking something that is true and reducing it to a level that is absolutely absurd, whereby we then use it as a mechanism to refute the reality of the premise.

That's what they're doing. What they're saying is, to believe in the resurrection is just ridiculous. Verse 24, Jesus responds.

And you will notice he responds with two questions of his own. First question is, in verse 24, is this not the reason you're wrong? Because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.

For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels of heaven. That's the first question. And then in verse 26, the second question, and as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him? Okay?

Very straightforward. To the first of the questions about the issue of marriage, which is not really the question—the underlying question is the fundamental issue of the resurrection—but to the first question, he says, if you want to think about the first question as you have mentioned it here in the absurd argument that you have used, then isn't the reason you're wrong because you don't know the Scriptures and you don't know the power of God? What a stinging rebuke that is, isn't it? These are the boys. This is the religious aristocracy. These people are from the high priestly families.

These are the ones who are meticulous in relationship to the Pentateuch. They are the ones who are come quoting the law of God to Jesus. And Jesus says, You know what your problem probably is? You don't know the Bible. You don't know the Scriptures. And you don't know the power of God. If you knew the Scriptures, you would know not to ask this question. If you knew the power of God, you would realize that in the purposes of God there are dimensions that we have not yet seen but into which we will inevitably enter. And in relationship to the second question, have you never read your Bibles? That's what he says to them.

That's a rebuke as well. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses? What's the book of Moses? What do we have as the book of Moses? They're five books! He says, If you want to quote the Pentateuch, let's quote the Pentateuch.

Didn't you read it? You could imagine how uncomfortable these characters must feel in their clothes, how they're squinted. I could see their toes curling in their shoes as they realize again and again. First, the group comes and challenges his authority, and he absolutely decimates them. Then they come with a question about Caesar, and he produces the denarius, and now they're dumbfounded. Now the next group have lined up, and they're ready, and they fire their great volley against him with this wonderful scenario that they have contrived and how clever they must have thought it was. And now he's actually saying to them, Have you never actually read this thing that you keep coming here with and want me to comment on?

It's amazing. So I want to say to you again, we think to examine Jesus intellectually, and he turns things around and examines us spiritually. He turns the searching gaze on us. Jesus turns the tables on them. And in verse 25, when he introduces this, you will notice that the resurrection is a nonnegotiable. Remember, in verse 23, when I was trying a vain attempt at humor there in verse 20, the in the resurrection, when they rise again. In the resurrection, when they rise again. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Jesus says, verse 25, For when they rise from the dead… You might think that's funny.

I'm telling you it's not a joke. For when they rise from the dead is a nonnegotiable. The resurrection from the dead is absolutely foundational to the unfolding story of God's purposes from all of eternity. What he says immediately is that life in heaven is going to be significantly different from anything on earth. The resurrection life, he says, is comparable to the life that is enjoyed by the angels.

For when they rise from the dead—and they will rise from the dead—they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. I don't think there's any question that Jesus knew exactly what he was doing as he raised the issue of angels. Because the angels were also part of what the Sadducees didn't believe. And for your own follow-up, you can go to Acts chapter 23, where Paul is defending himself against his accusers, and in the course of his monologue, he explains that he is a Pharisee, and that as a Pharisee, he believes in the resurrection, and he actually says it is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.

Very cleverly. Because what then breaks out in the company is an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. For the Sadducees say, says Luke, that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. So Jesus says, When they rise, they won't be marrying in this way, but they will be like the angels. Well, that would just make their toes curl some more.

We don't believe in angels either. Now, when you look at this, when you seek to think this out, then it raises all kinds of both fascinating questions and interesting notions of what yet awaits us in the resurrection. But let me finish in this way, by just giving us, if you like, both the close to the morning and the introduction to the evening. And this came to mind as I was finishing my studies, because during the week we had occasion to do a Q&A in one of the American cities for Truth for Life. And in the course of the conversations, as people stood up and said who they were and their background, a young lady stood up at one point, and she introduced herself to me and to the group. She said that she was a new believer, that she had recently come out of the New Age movement, and that she had come to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. But what she had discovered—at least what she thought she was discovering—was that she had now entered a world that was much darker and gloomier than the world out of which she had come. Because, she said, her New Age world was full of optimism, it was full of expectation, it was full of positive energy, and now she had entered into a world that apparently—and I don't know where she'd been worshipping—but she'd entered into a world that she said now was dark, it was gloomier, and it was not filled with these dimensions that had marked her life before. And she said, How do I deal with this?

And how do I get beyond this? Or is this right? Or whatever it might be. And I responded by saying, One of the ways that you will come to terms with this and clarify it in your own mind is by getting hold of a good hymnbook. And I explained to her that a good hymnbook will help you understand so many of the doctrines that are foundational to Christianity, not least of all our understanding of the present world order and our understanding of the world order that is yet to be. I'm not sure just how much she made of that.

I had no occasion to speak with her afterwards. I did have a number of people come and ask me what hymnbook they were supposed to get. And I told them, actually, a very ancient Methodist hymnbook would be a good start.

I think some were surprised by that, but I actually believe that. The hymns of Wesley and so on are all there, and you won't suffer from them. And I tried to show to her that this is the reality of present Christian experience, that C. S. Lewis said, I believe in Christianity as I believe in the rising of the sun, not simply because I can see it, but because by it I can see everything else. And I said, So our view of the world recognizes that on the brightest days, the shadows fall into the reality of our expanding universe of understanding in Jesus. Darkness has come, and thorns remain, and so on. And I said, And that is because we're actually being prepared for a dimension into which we will come—that what we enjoy now in Christ is the new that is fashioned in the context of the badness of a fallen world. But one day we will be free not only from the power of sin and from the penalty of sin but from the very presence of sin. And I said to her, And here is a verse for you to take away, 1 Corinthians 2.9, Eye has not seen nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for them that love him.

In other words, we are ushered into a dimension in Christ that has a fulfillment in the resurrection that is actually beyond us. Eye has not seen. It is invisible. Nor ear heard. It is inaudible. Neither has it entered into the heart of man.

It is inconceivable. But it's not in doubt. And the reason it isn't in doubt is because of the reality of the resurrection. And that's why Jesus says, And so, fellas, you've got to understand, God is not the God of the dead. He's the God of the living.

To this we will return. You're listening to Truth for Life, a message from Alistair Begg called The Sadducees Question. To give you some context, this message falls in a larger study of Mark's Gospel.

There are 13 complete sermons in volume 6 of Alistair's study of the Gospel according to Mark. Today's original presentation contains far more teaching than we've been able to include on this program, so keep in mind you can download messages from this study using our mobile app or when you go to truthforlife.org. This affordable access to clear and relevant Bible teaching is made possible by monthly Truth Partners and those who give one-time donations.

Today we want to say thanks for your financial support by providing you a fascinating documentary. It's called Puritan, All of Life to the Glory of God. This is a beautiful film that sheds light on the legacy of the Puritans and their influence on Christians today. You'll find yourself grateful for the witness of these believers and challenged by their faithfulness in the midst of some very difficult seasons. To give a donation and request the documentary on the Puritans, tap the Puritan DVD image on the mobile app or visit truthforlife.org.

You can also call us at 888-588-7884. Though it sounded like a question concerning a widow's marital status, what we're learning in our current study of Mark's Gospel is there was far more behind the question the Sadducees asked Jesus. I'm Bob Lapine hoping you can join us again tomorrow as our study in Mark chapter 12 continues. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.