I.        INTRODUCTION

A.      Many times during the Lord’s ministry on earth, His opponents attempted to "trap Him in what He said” (Matt. 22:15).  Of course, every attempt they made resulted in utter failure.

B.      Presently, let us consider an attempt made by the Sadducees to disprove Jesus on the subject of the resurrection.

                                                             1.      This event happened in Jerusalem during the final week before Christ’s crucifixion.  Specifically, the day was Tuesday (as we now name days).

                                                             2.      We will focus on Matthew’s account (22:23-33), but this event is also recorded in Mark 12:18-27 and Luke 20:27-40.

II.      AN EXPOSITION OF MATTHEW 22:23-33

A.      The Sadducees, who questioned Jesus, did not believe in the resurrection of the dead (v. 23).

                                                             1.      Little is known of the Sadducees outside of the New Testament (they left no written records), but we do know that they rejected the ideas of a resurrection, a judgment, and an afterlife.  They believed that the life of man was limited to this world only.

                                                             2.      Notice the following comments about the Sadducees.  These come from The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus, who wrote during the first century.

"The Sadducees are those that compose the second order, and take away fate entirely, and suppose that God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is evil; and they say, that to act what is good, or what is evil, is at men’s own choice, and that the one or the other belongs so to every one, that they may act as they please.  They also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades.”

                                                             3.      From a practical standpoint, these ancient Sadducees had a similar outlook on life as the modern humanists, for both groups have believed that there is no accountability or consequence for man’s actions beyond whatever he may receive during his brief time on earth.

B.      The Sadducees asked a question about marriage to prove their disbelief about the resurrection (vv. 24-28).

                                                             1.      They described a complicated situation that was governed by the law of Leviratic marriage.

a.       The custom of Leviratic (meaning "husband’s brother”) marriage required that when a man died without leaving a male heir, his nearest relative should marry his widow.  The widow’s firstborn son would then take the name of her deceased husband and continue the family name.

b.       This custom is exemplified in the stories of Tamar (Gen. 38:6-26) and Ruth.  The custom was codified into the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 25:5-10 (verse 5 was quoted by the Sadducees in their question to Jesus).

                                                             2.      The Sadducees believed that the situation they had described would disprove Jesus on the subject of the resurrection.

a.       They believed that if there was a resurrection, then the fictitious woman would be bound to seven husbands, which would violate God’s law of marriage (Gen. 2:24).

b.       This was the conflict that the Sadducees thought they needed to trap Jesus.  In their minds, Jesus would have to deny either the resurrection or the Law.

C.      Jesus answered their question about marriage and taught the truth about the resurrection (vv. 29-33).

                                                             1.      Jesus dismissed the entire premise of the question, for marriage does not endure beyond life on earth.

a.       The Sadducees had an unscriptural concept of the resurrection (see v. 29; more on this later), for they had no spiritual understanding.  They could not understand that marriage, which is a worldly institution, would not continue in a spiritual life after the resurrection.

b.       Notice Luke’s record of Christ’s answer in Luke 20:35-36 – "Those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”

c.        The apostle Paul later affirmed the limitations of marriage, saying, "For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband” (Rom. 7:2).

                                                             2.      Jesus declared the truth of the resurrection and proved the existence of spirits and life after death by citing the writings of Moses (Ex. 3:6).

a.       The fact that God was still the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were all dead, proved that the dead still exist and live.  Christ said, "But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed…” (Luke 20:37).

b.       It was especially significant that Christ quoted Moses, for the Sadducees accepted only the five books of Moses as the law of God.

c.        The result of Christ’s answer was that the multitudes were astonished.

III.   LESSONS FROM MATTHEW 22:23-33

A.      Lesson 1: Every man, woman, and child who has every lived exists somewhere even now, and God has dominion over them all.

                                                             1.      Jesus affirmed this truth clearly when He stated, "Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him” (Luke 20:38).

                                                             2.      Those who have died now wait for the resurrection and judgment in a place called Hades.

a.       The most descriptive passage of Scripture pertaining to Hades is the Lord’s parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.

b.       Hades (or "Sheol”in Hebrew, meaning "the grave”) is partitioned into two places.  One is Paradise, which is a place of comfort for the righteous (see Luke 23:43), and the other is Tartarus, which is a place of torment for the unrighteous (see 1Pet. 3:19-20; 2Pet. 2:4, 9).

                                                             3.      Consider that we view death as a grievous separation from our loved ones, but God sees it a Christian’s crowning moment.

a.       From God’s viewpoint, death is merely a transfer from one place to another.  "All live to Him.”

b.       After death comes the judgment in which the faithful and righteous will receive their reward from God (2Tim. 4:6-8; Heb. 9:27).

c.        For this reason, the Scripture says, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones” (Ps. 116:15).

B.      Lesson 2: Asking complicated, hypothetical questions in order to "stump the teacher” is not an honest way to determine truth.

                                                             1.      It is foolish to pursue truth as if it is a contest to be won.

a.       Obtaining truth is not a matter of wits, but rather it is a matter of honesty, sincerity, logic, and godly fear.

b.       The Lord said, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32).

                                                             2.      The Lord rebuked such an attitude, saying, "You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matt. 22:29).

a.       The Sadducees’ question was based on false, unscriptural premises.  Their reasoning also attempted to limit God’s power and deny His ability to raise the dead.

b.       Today, many false teachers use similar tactics to promote their false ideas.  This is often done in connection with the subjects of obedience to the gospel (for example, the "thief on the cross” argument) and divorce/remarriage (for example, the "waiting game” and
"mental divorce” arguments).

C.      Lesson 3: Certain false teachings are easily refuted in this passage.

                                                             1.      The Mormon doctrine of celestial marriage is clearly disproved.

a.       The Mormons teach that marriage ceremonies performed in a Mormon temple result in the husband and wife being sealed to one another for eternity.

b.       In contradiction to this doctrine, Jesus said, "Those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage…” (Luke 20:35).

                                                             2.      The Watchtower doctrine concerning death and the spirit is also disproved.

a.       The self-designated "Jehovah’s Witnesses” (who witness contrary to Jehovah) teach that no one has a soul, that the unrighteous will not suffer a penalty after death, and that no one has consciousness after death.

b.       The Lord’s teachings to the Sadducees prove that men and women do have souls and do exist after death.  Other teachings of Christ prove that the unrighteous will suffer eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46; 2Thess. 1:9).