Text: Luke 20.27-40
Still reeling from the first debate, the Pharisees let the Sadducees attempt a different tactic. If they can get Jesus to teach heresy or look foolish, this “Jesus movement” may just fizzle out. So the Sadducees use an obscure part of the Old Testament Law to force Jesus to explain marriage after the resurrection.
Jesus reframes every part of their argument with great tact. He says marriage and death are things of this age and all who are worthy to take part in the age to come are already alive to him.
Obviously, the life to come is different from the life now, but we—like the Pharisees and Sadducees—live with “tunnel vision,” focused on this life.
Because much of the “life to come” is unfamiliar to us, it’s easier to live like there’s no tomorrow and “Carpe Diem” (“Seize the Day”). However, resurrection is real and it matters! When we come to Jesus, he shifts our focus from topics of this age to the reality of the resurrection and something settles in our hearts as we realize we can spend eternity with God.
Today, write out 2 Corinthians 4.16-18 in the New Living Translation, carry it with you, and use it to remind yourself of the reality of eternity.
