That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.’ Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow. But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them. Last of all, the woman also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.” Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven. “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.” When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching. But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They replied, “He is the son of David.” Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Matthew 22:23-46 NLT
These verses show Christ answering every question brought by different groups of people. He answered every question well, then asked a question they could not answer—though the answer holds a powerful truth. The Sadducees were very involved politically, held many positions of power, and only believed in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). They did not believe in the resurrection. They asked Christ a hypothetical (and slightly ridiculous) question about a woman who married seven brothers. Christ answered their question by teaching that there is no marriage in eternity. He also quoted from Exodus 3:6 to show that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive now (I “am” their God, not I “was” their God), thus proving the resurrection from the Torah.
The scribes academically studied and taught the Old Testament and rabbinical writings. They loved to debate, and this scribe brought a common debate, attempting to trap Christ. He was trying to trap God using His own laws! Jesus answered by citing the Shema from Deuteronomy 6, which was the daily prayer and creed of all Jews. He added on Leviticus 19:18—to love your neighbor as yourself—bringing this law to a place of priority as well. You can’t do one without the other.
Christ asked the Pharisees a closing question: How can the Messiah be David’s son, if He is David’s LORD? The Pharisees understood that the Messiah was David’s son and expected the Messiah to be a conquering king. They didn’t understand the Messiah would also be the Lord. Even when Jesus showed it clearly written, they refused to believe.
Jesus has the answers to our questions. What are some hard questions you have for Jesus? How are you pursuing the answers? What hard questions is God asking you?
