Matthew 22:23-46

Matthew 22:23-46 (New International Version)

Marriage at the Resurrection

 ²³That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ²⁴"Teacher," they said, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. ²⁵Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. ²⁷Finally, the woman died. ²⁸Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"

 ²⁹Jesus replied, "You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.³⁰At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. ³¹But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, ³²'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living."

 ³³When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.

The Greatest Commandment

 ³⁴Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. ³⁵One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:

 ³⁶"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" ³⁷Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ³⁸This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'^[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Whose Son Is the Christ

 ⁴¹While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, ⁴²"What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" 
      "The son of David," they replied.

 ⁴³He said to them, "How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him 'Lord'? For he says, 
 ⁴⁴" 'The Lord said to my Lord: 
      "Sit at my right hand 
   until I put your enemies 
      under your feet." ' ⁴⁵If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son?" ⁴⁶No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions

Devotional
This is one of my favorite exchanges in the Bible between the "religious elite" and Jesus.  First of all, the Sadducees try to stump Jesus by asking Him about the resurrection.  You see, the Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection, so they were trying to think of one of the biggest questions they had about resurrection and try and make Jesus at a loss for words.  I love how Jesus clearly answers their question and then takes them a level deeper.  He knew that the main point here was not if people are to be married after the resurrection, but the big picture was resurrection itself in this question. So he took their question, found the key issue within that question, and then addressed that key issue. 

Again the Sadducees got together with the Pharisees and tried to come up with a way to stump Jesus with another question.  This time it was about the commandments.  You see both the Sadducees and the Pharisees made up lots and lots of rules based off of the ten commandments and what they thought would lead to a more holy life.  Knowing their love of their many rules, Jesus quickly narrowed down their whole written law to just two simple principles.  And these two principles clearly cover all of the other laws that God had put into place. 

The thing I love about Jesus is that He isn't a question dodger.  He doesn't just talk around the issues, but He gets right to the heart of the matter.  He's not running for a popularity contest with the Pharisees and Sadducees here, He's just into telling the truth.  That's how I want to be. 

Prayer
Lord, please help me to be more like You.  Help me to be upfront and honest with people and help me to hold the truth higher than popularity or wanting to be liked.  God, thank You for Your Son and the things that You've taught me through His life.