The Argument

One way to prove one's point is to create an argument that my opponent cannot refute.

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’ Jesus said to them, ‘Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’ Then some of the scribes answered, ‘Teacher, you have spoken well.’ For they no longer dared to ask him another question. - Luke 20:27-40

The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so they decided to come up with a challenge for Jesus, since he did believe.

The challenge was simple, based on the relationships we have here on earth while alive.  If two are married on earth, are they still married in the resurrection?

This life has an end, so after a loved one dies, one can have a relationship with another.  But what if relationships no longer mattered in the resurrection?  The argument would fall apart.

Simply put, the argument is designed to cause people to react emotionally, once Jesus says the relationship no longer matters.  So Jesus talks about the transformation we undergo in the resurrection, becoming like angels, children of God.

Instead of going down the emotional path, talking about the relationship between husbands and wives, Jesus talks about Moses, who spoke of the Lord as the God of both the living and the dead.  To God, all are alive, so there is no difference in our relationship with God.

How could the Sadducees argue against Moses?

So, the lesson for us in this may be to think of the other person's position before raising a challenge.  If they had been open to how Jesus sees the world of living and dead, they would have known not to challenge him.

More to come...