Unlimited: The Resurrection Trap

Jun 16, 2024 2220

Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third.In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrectionwhose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her” (Mark 12:18–23, NIV)?

Jesus was surrounded by his enemies and by traps on every side. The religious elite of Jerusalem were looking to discredit him in the eyes of the people.

In the time of Jesus, the Jewish people were split into many different sects and religious factions, and there were many different views about what happened after death.

The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead at the last day, but the Sadducees, who controlled Jerusalem and the temple, didn’t believe in the idea of resurrection of all.

So, the Sadducees decided to trap him on this point, putting to him a far-fetched scenario of a woman who successively marries seven brothers. On the day of resurrection, whose wife would she be?

If Jesus nominated any of the seven brothers, the Sadducees would then be able to ridicule him in front of the people. It wasn’t that they wanted to know. They were just out to get him.

The religious leaders of Christ’s day loved to have an answer to everything: to have everything worked out.

They endlessly discussed issues that at the end of the day weren’t the most important thing.

The most important thing was that in a few days’ time the Saviour of the World would provide salvation for humanity from sin and overcome all evil and death.

– Eliezer Gonzalez

Eli’s Reflection: Think carefully about your own life. What are the issues that have taken your eyes off Calvary?

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