Luke 20 Explained: Sadducees, Marriage, and New Hope

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This video from Triumphant Cross Lutheran Church features a sermon centered on the Gospel of Luke, particularly the interaction between Jesus and the Sadducees concerning the resurrection and the concept of marriage in the afterlife [00:10].

Key Points of the Sermon

1. “Making All Things New”: The sermon introduces this theme with a powerful, albeit non-biblical, scene from the film “The Passion of the Christ” where Jesus tells his mother, “See mother, I make all things new” [02:53]. This idea of renewal is a central message of the sermon.

2. Luke’s Gospel Context: The sermon highlights that Luke’s Gospel was primarily written for a Jewish audience. It includes details familiar to Jewish tradition, such as Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem and his genealogy, to convey that God’s message is for everyone, not just the Jews [04:48].

Jesus and Jewish Factions: The sermon points out that it was the leaders of the main Jewish factions—Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees—who rejected Jesus, not the other way around [07:52].

1. The Sadducees’ Challenge: The Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, posed a hypothetical question to Jesus about a woman who marries seven brothers, all of whom die. They asked whose wife she would be in the resurrection, intending to mock and trap Jesus [11:28].

2. Jesus’ Teaching on Resurrection: Jesus uses their question as a teaching moment. He explains that in the resurrected life, marriage as we know it will not exist because there will be no death or decay. Relationships will be perfected to a new level of intimacy, transcending earthly concepts [14:18, 14:45].

3. Resurrection of Body and Soul: The sermon emphasizes that the biblical concept of resurrection includes both body and soul, citing Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances as evidence [18:18, 18:48].

4. The “New Hope”: The sermon concludes by explaining that Jesus offers a “new hope” – a certainty that in the resurrection, all earthly divisions and distinctions will vanish, and there will be a perfect relationship with God and one another [19:46]. This message of hope, offered with patience and understanding, ultimately wins over the cynical Sadducees [21:19].