Read the passage: The Message or The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
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It is important to remember the context of this passage: Jesus has entered Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-40) and a series of confrontations with the authorities begins. After telling the parable of the wicked tenants (Luke 20:9-19), Luke comments:
So they watched (Jesus) and sent spies who pretended to be honest, in order to trap him by what he said, so as to hand him over to the jurisdiction and authority of the governor.
Luke 20:20 (NRSV)
This passage is intended to be one of those traps. The question asked by the Sadducees is not an honest, "good faith," question; it is an exaggerated "mind game" intended to trap Jesus.
"Moses wrote for us" ... see Deuteronomy 25:5 and following. In a culture where identity comes through the father; and where provision for old age and preservation of name, honour, and possessions for future generations is through the son; it was crucial for a man not to die without first having sired a son. (And subsequently, it was also imperative for a woman to bear a son.) Hence the teaching in Deuteronomy 25.
The concept of resurrection is not well developed in the Bible. In fact, it was hotly debated in Jesus' time. The Pharisees supported the idea; the Sadducees denied it.
Jesus' response supports the idea of resurrection, but corrects the absurd - and mocking - question of the Sadducees.
It is probably best not to try and describe too concretely what resurrection is. Personally, I've always thought that if there is no sex in heaven, I'm not going. (Just kidding. Sort of.) However, every preacher had better have a good explanation of what Jesus could possibly have meant when he said, "Though we die, yet shall we live." And remember, in a couple of days, "resurrection" is going to be a life and death question for Jesus - not a merely tricky mind game. If your life depended on it, what will you say now about resurrection?
It helps if you can imagine that there is more to life than the eye can see.
David Ewart
www.holytextures.com
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