Wedding Question

^{Questions, questions… people kept coming to Jesus with questions.  Where, when, why, how?  But, there were others who were not coming with the idea of seeking and gaining wisdom or understanding.  It came in the form of questions to put out the enthusiasm of the people, questions to build a case against Jesus, to find a fault or flaw.}

^{The Sadducees came to Jesus, “‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him.  Now there were seven brothers among us.  The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother.  The same thing happened to the second and the third brother, right on down to the seventh.  Finally, the woman died.  Now then, at the resurrection, whose will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?’” (Matthew 22:23-28).}

^{Okay, leaving behind the flair up of feminism and equality that might be expressed at the moment, let’s figure out the question’s purpose.  Why were the Sadducees asking this?  Did they really want to gather information for a friend or to ease their minds?  Of course not – it was a power trip.} 

^{“Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.  At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” Jesus answered the question there it seemed.  No marriage, instead we have many references in the Bible to the Lord as the bridegroom.} 

^{Now, I will admit I left something out in the beginning.  You see, the wedding question was really just a cover.  The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection.  Remember the end of the question, “at the resurrection…”}

^{Jesus knew the truth about their question, the potential of the trap and answers, “but about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said to you, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?  He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matthew 22:31-32).}

^{What a great answer, a true comfort for those who have lost someone to death.  God is a god of the living – and referencing men who had long died.  These men would find the truth in the near days about the resurrection.}

“When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.”

It is amazing – a God of the living, a God who came and is willing to listen to the questions.