Cutting through the clutter

I love the exchange between Jesus and his "intelectual opponents" in Matthew chapter 22. Jesus demonstrates a profound understanding the scripture and a solid faith in their clear teachings. This passage should serve as a pattern for dealing with misunderstandings and false teachings for us.

Consider the Sadducees' challenges in Matthew 22:23-28. They had the perfect hypothetical situation that demonstrated the absurdity of a resurrection. A woman had seven husbands. Which one would be her husband in the afterlife? Their argument appeared to be unanswerable.

Jesus cuts through the confusion and clutter of their hypothetical situation by pointing out the fatal flaw -- they assumed there was marriage after the resurrection. Christ simply asserts that this is not so. He doesn't cite any scripture simply because there is no scripture to cite. It should have been obvious to them on two grounds. First, there is no mention in the scriptures of any marriage relationships in the heavenly realm. So any assumption that there was is without authority. Second, their hypothetical situation points to the probability that marriage is an earthly institution, else remarriage in the event of the death of a spouse would not lawful. It is interesting to me that an objection often provides its own explanation if you just shift your point of view.

Then Jesus nails the issue with the simplest of arguments:

'But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was spoken to you by God, saying, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'

Christ's argument was unanswerable.

I'd like to look Christ's words in detail briefly. His use of scripture tells us volumes of His repsect for and confidence in God's word. First, the entire argument rests on the tense of the verb "am". God didn't say "I was the God of Abraham". He said "I am the God of Abraham". The tense of that verb leads to His conclusion that Abraham was still, in spirit, living. Jesus believed that the word of God, written over 1500 years earlier, had been accurately preserved to the degree that He could confidently rest His whole argument on the tense of one verb.

Furthermore, look at how He talks about this passage. "Have you not read that which was spoken to you by God?". In context, God spoke to Moses and through Moses to Israel. But Jesus was telling people who lived 1500 years later that when they read that passage God was speaking to them. Jesus believed that God's word is relevant and His message IS to all generations, not just the generation to whom it was given.

Finally, it is reasonable to consider more contemporary applications. We need to be very wary of theological views based on complicated logical arguments -- particularly when numerous passages need "special handling" to be harmonized with such teachings. When faced with the choice of a seemingly logical systematic theology and a passage of scripture that seems to contradict it, I'll go with the plain reading of the passage every time.

-PG