29 But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.” (Matthew 22:29–33 (ESV)
Confronting error is not an unloving thing to do. It may be the most loving behavior a believer in Christ can display towards those engulfed in heresy. When doing so, remember Proverbs 15:1 (ESV): “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
I recently had to confront biblical error held by a professing brother in Christ. I say “professing” because the doctrinal error he believes contradicts the Gospel. Therefore, my concern is not to win an argument but rather to lovingly lead him to biblical truth.
Jesus did not hesitate to tell the Sadducees they were wrong. To be wrong (Πλανᾶσθε; panasthe) means to lead astray, to be deceived or to wander from the truth. The divine truth standard required to protect oneself from deception, and to confront error, is Scripture.
Jesus told the Sadducees they neither understood the Scriptures nor the power of God. Had they, they would not have devised such a ridiculous scenario or denied the resurrection (Matt. 22:23-28).
Frist, Jesus said there was no marriage in the resurrection. Second, Jesus then quoted from the Pentateuch to prove the Scriptures taught the resurrection. The Sadducees were in awe.
“The Sadducees denied the reality of angels, and Jesus probably intended to address this point as well in His answer to their question (Matt. 22:23–30). He affirmed the existence of angels, who do not marry, when He said we will be like them — functionally — when resurrected (Matt. 22:23–30). The idea here is that marriage itself, as a God-ordained institution to be fruitful and multiply, will be rendered irrelevant in a renewed world without death. Remember that the Sadducees’ question was not about affection and companionship in the resurrection but about fulfilling the mandate to keep the family line going (Deut. 25:6),” explains Dr. R. C. Sproul.
“Jesus then gives the theology of resurrection that underlies His comments thus far. He bases this doctrine in the Pentateuch, specifically Exodus 3:6, to refute the Sadducees who believe the five books of Moses teach nothing about the resurrection. Our Lord’s argument in Matthew 22:31–32 seems to be based partly on the use of the present tense; God said, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” not “I was the God of Abraham Isaac, and Jacob.” When Yahweh appeared to Moses hundreds of years after the patriarchs died, He remained their God, implying that after death they lived on to worship Him and, most importantly, will be bodily raised in the future. As an aside, this appeal to the tense of one word is important for our doctrine of biblical inspiration, for we see in it that the entire Bible is God-breathed. Not even one word is expendable.”
Death does not have the last word. God is the God of the living by sovereign grace alone, through faith alone in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.
Soli deo Gloria!
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