THE QUESTION OF THE SADDUCEES.
By W.
"The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren; and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother; likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in Heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto 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. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine [teaching]." Matt. 22:23-33. Well might the multitude be astonished at the wonderful readiness with which the Master put to silence the cavilings of the infidel Sadducees. The reply of Jesus was simple, as was all of our Lord's teaching—so very simple that people who are looking for a great display often misunderstand it. First of all, it must be premised that Jesus exactly and completely answered the objection which the Sadducees raised. They denied the resurrection, and brought a hypothetical case to show, as they supposed, that the doctrine of the resurrection could not be reconciled with the teachings of Moses. Thus they hoped to put Jesus to confusion before the multitude, who revered Moses as a prophet of God. The first thing that Jesus said to the Sadducees was, "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." This was said in view of their denial of the resurrection. The same may with propriety be said to all who deny the resurrection, or who, while professedly believing in the resurrection, hold theories which are virtually denials of it. They who know the Scriptures, know that the dead will be raised, for the Scriptures are full of this doctrine; scores of texts which do not speak directly of the resurrection, prove that doctrine most conclusively, when, like the one with which our Saviour silenced the Sadducees, they are correctly interpreted. And they who know the power of God will never cavil at anything which his word declares shall be done. Since the Sadducees denied the resurrection, and asked their question in order to prove that there could be no such thing, we must conclude that the reply of Jesus was positive proof that there will be a resurrection. Let us read his proof again: "As touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto 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." From the expression, "God is not the God of the dead, but of the living," many have supposed that Jesus taught that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were then living, and that Jesus met the caviling of the Sadducees by proving to them the immortality of the soul. But if that were the case, their objection would not have been answered. They were denying the resurrection of the dead. Now if Jesus had given them a discourse on the immortality of the soul, and had claimed that the essential part of man, the man himself, can never die, he would not have touched their objection, nor proved anything about the resurrection of the dead. On the contrary, if he had proved that the patriarchs and all others never really died, he would have denied the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead as much as the Sadducees did. If there be no death, there can be no resurrection. Therefore we must conclude that since Jesus effectually silenced the Sadducees in their denial of the resurrection, he did not assume that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had never really died, and were then living. To make this more evident, we quote Christ's words as recorded by Mark. Jesus said: "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in Heaven. And as touching the dead, that they rise; have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?" Mark 12:25, 26. Here it is evident that Christ based his argument on the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were dead; for he says that the words of God at the bush (see Ex. 3:1-6) are proof that the dead rise. Such an argument could not have been made if the patriarchs were then alive in some part of the universe. Christ's answer to the Pharisees proves that the dead are not in existence, as fully as it proves that there will be a resurrection of the dead; for he could not prove the resurrection of the dead if there were no dead. Those, therefore, who say that Jesus here taught that the soul of man never dies, not only occupy the Sadducean ground that there can be no resurrection, but they do so in the face of Christ's positive argument showing that the dead shall rise. If we turn to Luke's account we shall find still more light on this matter: "And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage; but they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; neither can they die any more; for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush," etc. Luke 20:34-37. Here we learn that Jesus was speaking of those who are dead, as were the Sadducees themselves. The resurrection is spoken of as something future, for "they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead," cannot "die any more." It seems impossible that anyone should carefully read what Jesus said to the Sadducees, as recorded by the three evangelists, and still claim that he held to the idea of the conscious existence of those who are called dead. Such an idea is not reconcilable with his words; for he speaks of the dead, which he could not do if there were no dead; and he says that the dead shall rise, which he could not say if they had already risen, not from the dead, but from this life to a higher one; and he says they who are accounted worthy to obtain the resurrection from the dead, cannot die any more, which would be nonsense if nobody had ever died. If Jesus had held the theory that "there is no death," as professed theologians of this day often claim, he could only have said, "Moses showed that there are no dead, but that those whom you call dead are living;" but in that case he would not have touched their anti-resurrection theory, neither would he have shown the folly of their supposed case of the woman and the seven brothers. What he did show was that those who are dead have not perished beyond the hope of recovery; God does not call himself the God of creatures which exist for a brief space and then become as extinct as the crumbling leaf. But he is God "both of the dead and living," for the dead are having only a temporary sleep; God's thoughtful care for them does not cease when they die; but he marks the place where they lie, and at the last day "he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather his elect," and the dead in Christ shall come forth from their graves. See Matt. 24:31; John 5:38, 39; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. They rise to immortal life, and the little time they have unconsciously slept is as though it were no break in their lives. It will be worth while to notice more particularly how completely the objection of the Sadducees was met and answered. Jesus said that they erred because they did not know the Scriptures; and then he showed wherein, by stating that in the resurrection there would be no marrying nor giving in marriage, because, being children of the resurrection, they could not die any more. The arrangement to which the Pharisees referred (see Deut. 25:5-10; Ruth 3:11-13; 4:1-6) was made so that a man's inheritance in the land of Canaan might not pass out of his family. If a man died without an heir, his property would pass into other hands; but if his brother should marry his widow, the first-born was to be counted as the heir of the one who died, and thus the homestead would be retained. But all this will be unnecessary for those who "shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead," for the Scripture says that "they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat; for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands." Isa. 65:21, 22. They cannot die any more, therefore there is no need of any arrangement for keeping the inheritance in the family. The new earth, the inheritance promised to Abraham, will after the resurrection and its restoration be portioned out to all who are Christ's and consequently Abraham's seed. Gal. 3:29. The whole earth will be thus divided, and then each man's inheritance will remain unimpaired throughout eternity. Thanks be to God, who has devised means "that his banished be not expelled from him," and who, though the dead are "as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again" (compare 2 Sam. 14:14 and Job 14:10-12), can call himself their God, through his power to quicken the dead, and call "those things which be not as though they were." Rom. 4:17. W.