For those who like
baseball: first out -- the Pharisees; second out -- the Herodians; and the next
up to bat…
The Sadducees.
Wealthy. Influential.
While not the largest of the Jewish sects, they "were an aristocratic
party who observed the written laws of the Torah only and not the
traditions of the elders as the Pharisees did, and also differed in denying
resurrection." [i]
Rabbinic oral
interpretations had no binding force for them. The greatest authority was
placed on the five books of Moses -- the
Pentateuch (Genesis - Deuteronomy).
Did You
Know…?
"Resurrection of the
dead was not a belief in early Israel; life was believed to continue after
death in the form of children and lineage." [ii] It was imperative therefore
to continue the family name and to keep property within the family unit.
Where did
"resurrection" first appear? In Isaiah
26:19 (also known as the "Isaiah Apocalypse") and in Daniel
12:2-3. Those verses aren't in the
five books of Moses.
As for this powerful sect,
"all of the High-Priests, chief priests, and the majority of the Sanhedrin
were Sadducees. …They controlled the temple business." [iii]
Consider the role of the high
priest -- the only one who could enter the Holy of Holies. It would be "a
lucrative office, limited to a handful of noble families who pass the position
between them like a legacy (the lower priests generally come from more modest
backgrounds)." [iv]
'As head of the Sanhedrin
and "leader of the nation," the high priest was a figure of both
religious and political renown with the power to decide all religious matters,
to enforce God's laws, and even to make arrests, though only in the vicinity of
the Temple. If the Romans wanted to control the Jews, they had to control the
Temple. And if they wanted to control the Temple, they had to control the high
priest.' [v]
Pontius Pilate -- one of
the longest serving Roman governors in Judea -- and Joseph Caiaphas -- wealthy
high priest -- worked closely together. Rome and the religious hierarchy,…
hand-in-hand. Can you imagine how that went over, especially with those who had
less than? Jesus was a huge threat to Temple authority -- thereby tying in
the role of the Sadducees in this unified plan to get rid of him.
So we have the absurd
story, concocted by some Sadducees, of a family with seven brothers. One
brother marries a woman, but before they have a son, the brother dies. Stepping
up to the plate, the second brother marries the woman, but before they have a
son, he dies, too. By the time it's all said and done, not only do the seven
brothers marry the woman and die -- without a son being born -- the woman dies.
"So, at the resurrection, whose wife is she? All seven were her
husband."
Why is "son" is
written above and not "child"? Since the Sadducees evoked Moses' name
in this ludicrous test case, I believe they would have followed what is written
in Deuteronomy
25:5-6.
One may think this group
of wealthy aristocrats was poking fun at Jesus. Goading him. Nevertheless,
there had to be more than that for the author of MARK to include this incident. Incorporating the custom of a levirate marriage into their story, the
Sadducees wanted Jesus to deny resurrection or to renounce Mosaic law.
How would the rejection of
Mosaic law come into play? Because of what Jesus had previously stated. "Don't
think I've come to abolish the law or the prophets; I haven't come to abolish
but to fulfill."[vi] The Sadducees figured
Jesus would play right into their hands.
Jesus, however, pulls a
"Oh, no, he didn't." First, marriage isn't perpetuated for eternity.
"You don't know how God works! Rising from the dead, like angels in
heaven, we will be with God." How so? Well,…now for the strikeout pitch.
Notice Jesus didn't
reference scripture from Isaiah or Daniel. He shares what would be recognized
as authoritative by the Sadducees, using an important moment with Moses at the
burning bush: Exodus 3:6 -- "I
am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob." Jesus points out the idea of eternal life is within the Pentateuch and with three patriarchs
no less!
Imagine jaws dropping.
"I am." Not "I was." "I
am." God is the same God whether you're alive or dead. The bond isn't
broken. God's love is unceasing.
"The Sadducees no
longer dared to ask Jesus another question." [vii]
"When the crowd heard
this, they were astounded."[viii]
Some of the reflections
from the study group:
* Marc -- "Jesus
completely took this out of time, for there had been a static view of a deity."
* C.J. -- "This was a
big theological statement."
* Bev -- "In all of
these things that have occurred at the temple, with Jesus teaching, it is the
great centering. Jesus makes them think -- what is their purpose, what is God's
purpose."
* Gene -- "This is a
God who meets the people and isn't separated from them."
* Norma -- "They
realized God is with them always."
Unceasing love. The
"I am" that lives within us, and us within the "I am." With us always.
NEXT
The most important
commandment
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