The Question About The Resurrection

Jesus’ Life: Chapter 13 – Jesus’ Final Ministry In Jerusalem

I watched the court proceedings from the balcony. The Legal Expert seemed to be slowly dismantling the evidence of a court witness. She was a mother of two and had observed two teenage boys from her front window break into her neighbour’s house in broad daylight. The house was opposite her own home, a mere 20 metres away. Although the two boys were well-known to her, the legal expert was adamant that she could not have positively identified their physical stature or features. She was mistaken, he blatantly announced. The woman remained unmoved.

On the second day of the trial, both boys finally admitted to committing the offence but only because, by doing so, they would get a more lenient custodial sentence. Sadly, no apology was given to the mother by the Legal Expert; such accusations against witnesses were part of his daily court procedures.

Like the Legal Expert, a group of Sadducee’s wanted to undermine Jesus’ teachings. They didn’t believe in the resurrection of their own body after death, but they still chose to question and challenge Jesus.

They asked Jesus, in the next life whose wife will a woman be who married, in turn, seven brothers each dying and leaving no children?

Jesus bluntly told them that they neither knew their own Biblical scripture since it proclaimed the resurrection of the body nor did they understand the power of God in heaven where people “neither marry nor are given in marriage… because they are equal to angels”.

“You are badly mistaken”, Jesus told them.

The startled Sadducee’s commended Jesus on his answer and, “They no longer dared to ask him anything”. (Matthew 22:23-33, Mark 12:18-27, Luke 20:27-40)