Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother. "There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. "The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. "In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her." Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. "But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken."
One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?" Jesus answered, "The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ "The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to Him, "Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.
My thoughts -
Too often I fall into the same line of thinking as the Sadducees. The logistics of resurrection are too daunting for this mortal mind. The situation they proposed was ludicrous, and they proposed it to Jesus for dishonest reasons, but still, weird things happen in relationships in this life. As we deal with the idea of a next life we get pretty comfortable with the idea that these relationships, in some way, travel with us.
That begs the question of the logistics. How does what we do on earth translate into eternal life in heaven? How does who we love on earth translate into eternal life in heaven? When I was a child my grandfather, whom we all loved, passed away. My grandmother remarried to a wonderful man who was also a widower.
My young Christian mind was blow by how this might affect all of our relationships in heaven. Who would "really" be my grandmother's husband there? Who would "really" be my grandfather? Would I lose my "new" grandfather to his first wife and family? Would they all have to choose? Could I get to keep them both as my grandfathers? The logistics were impossibly daunting for me.
Jesus answers the Sadducees in a way that almost laughs off these childish questions. We don't understand. We have no idea what is in store. Our ideas of heaven are off base if we think that things like who is married to who will matter much there. Our heads are stuck in this mortal world. We just don't get it.
But we better believe that God is the God of the living and not the dead. The saints will be raised. When we are raised we will live with God like the angels do. This ought to be good enough for those of us who worship God. Our Creator can handle the logistics.
Hearing Jesus answer the Sadducees without getting bogged down in their ridiculous speculation and dishonest questioning impressed one of the scribes. He figured this Jesus fellow must really have some insight, so he asked Jesus another question. What is the most important commandment?
Jesus tells him that the most important commandment is to love God with everything you've got. Love God with all of your heart. Love God with all of your soul. Love God with all of your mind. Love God with all of your strength. In everything you do, with everything you are, love God. But also love other people like you love yourself. To love God is to love others.
The scribe likes this answer and affirms it. To love God and to love others is more important than giving offerings. To love God and to love others is more important than any sacrifice. To love God and to love others is more important than any kind of strict adherence to any part of the law. Would good would even the strictest legalistic adherence be without love? Jesus tells the scribe, based on this line of thought, that he is not far from the kingdom of heaven.
This gets me back to my wonderings about our relationships and what carriers over into eternity. I had been wondering about titles. I had been wondering about labels. I had been wondering about relationships in more of a formal sense. I've been bogged down in labels and formalities. I've been bogged down in legalism and logistics. Maybe this was the problem the Sadducees had when it came to the resurrection. Maybe they couldn't believe because they were concerned with all of the wrong things.
What matters is love. All that really matters is love. Love God. Love others. We can do that here. We can do that in heaven forever. God can handle the logistics and labels and formalities. We can be free to just love God and love each other in the way that we have always been intended to be.
And we can get a head start on heavenly living right here and now. All we have to do is love God and love others.
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