The Gospel of Matthew Study Help (Matthew 22:23-33)

Jesus’ final week of earthly ministry

Questions to be answered in this study

1. How did Jesus upset the Herodian’s belief that giving to Ceasar was idolatry?
2. What was the heresy of the Herodians?
3. What is the difference between the resurrection of Lazarus and the resurrection of the saints at the second coming?
4. What did the Sadducees believe concerning the saints that go to heaven?
5. How did the Herodians try to prove their heresy about the resurrection? 
6. What is our assurance that we will one day be resurrected? 
7. What proof do we have that Jesus had the power to raise the dead?
8. What does this verse mean: “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known?” 
9. Why do some believe in Evolution?
10. What is the one thing that proves resurrection more than anything else?

Introduction

Matthew chapter 22 is about the resurrection, the capstone of Christianity. Without the resurrection, there would be no gospel. The Eastern religions have no gospel because their prophets are still in their graves.

Today’s study continues the events onTuesday before the crucifixion of Jesus; Jesus is again teaching and being challenged by the religious leaders. One group after another has come to Jesus to try to discredit Him and trap Him into saying something so they could charge Him before Pilate. In the previous study, we saw the Herodians trying to trick Jesus over a question concerning the poll tax paid to Ceasar. Their question was aimed to get Jesus to either upset the crowds that followed Him or upset the Romans. If Jesus said they should pay Ceasar his taxes, it would upset the crowds, or if He said they should not pay the tax, it would upset the Romans. Jesus upset their plan by showing that paying the tax would not be idolatry as they had supposed because the Roman money, the denarius, was worthless to the Jews; so, in giving back to Ceasar, what was useless to them was not worship because true worship requires a sacrifice, the giving of something of value. These men were failing because they did not give God what belonged to Him, His tribute. Their problem was not giving Ceasar too much honor; it was giving God too little honor or no honor at all. 

So, after that battle, we come to the next fight concerning the resurrection:

Matthew 22:23–28, “The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27And last of all the woman died also. 28Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.”

The Sadducees come to Jesus the second time. Matthew opens with an introduction. In Matthew verse 23, Matthew reveals the heresy of the Sadducees who said there was no resurrection. To the Sadducees, the belief in a future resurrection of the body was a fairy tale.

To understand the Herodian’s resurrection heresy, we need to define what resurrection is and what it is not. Resurrection is literal like that of Lazarus when Jesus raised him from the dead; it is a dead body coming back to life. However, the resurrection Jesus teaches is different; it is not resurrecting the body to its original state, which was only temporary eventually returning to dust forever; it is a new glorified body fit for lasting through all eternity. That is the body Jesus gives believers to live in the kingdom He sets upon earth that will last 1000 years.

The Sadducees believed that saints lived in heaven spiritually, not in a body. They believed the body was for earth only, and saints in heaven were in an ethereal state or ghostly state. They did not accept that there would be a literal kingdom on earth with Jesus ruling and reigning. So, this was an ongoing debate between the Pharisees and the Herodians.

To try and prove their heresy about the resurrection, the Herodians come up with a ridiculous story based on a misinterpretation of a provision in the law of Moses, Deuteronomy 25:5, where a widow was to carry on the family name. The law stated that if she had no son to become a family heir, one of her late husband’s unmarried brothers would take her to be his wife to continue the family name, and the first son born to the couple would be considered her heir. The Sadducees used this law of Moses to prove that there was no bodily resurrection of the dead. In their story, six brothers took her as their wife totaling seven marriages altogether, and all six died before she did. Now they are all in heaven together; so, the Herodians ask Jesus which one of the brothers will be her true husband.

Their point was, after the resurrection of the body, life was resumed again as it was before they died, creating serious problems, especially in marriages, to figure out who was whose. They thought they had Jesus cornered, and it would be impossible for Him to untangle such a mess. In turn, they could tell the crowds following Jesus that He was teaching them falsely. 

The resurrection is the capstone of the gospel, and without it, there would be no gospel. So, it was a critical issue because upon this doctrine is the hope of believers. The Apostle Pual spoke on hope 44 times in his writings. For example, In Gal. 5:5 (KJV): “For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.” 1Thessolonians 4:13 (KJV); “But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope;” Col. 1:27 (KJV); “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In these verses and others, Paul is specifically referring to the resurrection. The promise of Scripture is that one day, we will have a new glorified body suitable to live on earth that will last all eternity, and based on Galatians 5:5, it is for those who have received the righteousness of Jesus through faith in Him.

What is our assurance that we will one day be resurrected? It is a rational, well-founded belief because of Jesus’ resurrection. It is also based on Scripture: John 5:21 (KJV), “For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.” John 6:40 (KJV), “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” Jesus promised those who believe in Him will be resurrected on the last day. The last day is when Jesus returns to earth just before the kingdom. 

Does Jesus have the power to resurrect the dead? He proved it by raising several from the dead during His earthly ministry, including His friend Lazarus. His ultimate proof of the ability to resurrect the dead came when He foretold His resurrection: Luke 9:22 (KJV), The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. Again, in John 10:17 (KJV), “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.” Again, in John 10:18 (KJV), “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment I received from My Father.” After His resurrection, His disciples and some 500 people saw Jesus.

Jesus endowed some of the apostles to raise the dead at times. The resurrection is essential because there would be no hope without it, and our faith would be in vain. One day in the future, all believers will have a new body similar to the one they have now, except it will be eternal. You will never be sick, suffer, shed tears, ever age, nor shall experience death ever again. If you like to fish, I can visualize you walking down a country road to the lake to go fishing during the 1000 year kingdom on earth.

As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19-20 (KJV), “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. 20But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

Jesus shows how the Sadducees had again misinterpreted Scripture:

Matthew 22:29-33, “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 31But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. 33And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.”

Jesus is very clear that the Herodians were mistaken; they had assumed too much and denied the power of almighty God. Their big mistake was assuming that resurrected life would be just a continuation of the present life. Kingdom life will be different but, in some ways, the same. We will still have the same identity and experience life in similar ways, but the big difference is that we do not sin. Also, Jesus explains that there will no longer be institutional marriage, which stands to reason since there will no longer be reproduction among the resurrected. Believers will live like angels and have different desires from their earthly body. There will be plenty of opportunities for relationships but of a different kind; They will all be brothers and sisters in Christ.

There are plenty of ways we can assume wrong things about God and the Kingdom, and that is what the Herodians were doing without any proof from Scripture, and when Jesus revealed the truth to them, they were amazed. It proved that they were the ones that were foolish and not the doctrine of resurrection. We can’t always understand the details of Scripture. The Bible says, “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known,” 1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV). That means after the resurrection; our understanding will be complete. Presently, by faith we accept even the things not seen or presently seen through a glass darkly.

The Herodians failed to accept one of the greatest truths of Scripture because they imagined that marriages still existed in heaven. They believed in their assumptions rather than in what the Bible teaches. Isn’t that also true today with some of the world’s leading religions? For example, a church in America practices many things that cannot be found in Scripture. I won’t name the church because you probably already know which one it is.

We accept the truths of the Bible by faith because we believe it is the inspired word of God and not because we can harmonize it with our assumptions. We know and accept it is true even if we can’t explain why.

The second mistake the Herodians were making was, they failed to accept the power of God to do as He pleased. God’s power goes beyond our ability to understand. He can do anything He pleases. We can’t understand the creation, how Jesus spoke it into existence. Science is still trying to understand the details concerning childbirth, and at the same time, they have concluded that all the things we see with our eyes came from absolutely nothing and evolved to their present state. It is totally beyond all understanding that so many would accept such a foolish theory when is has no scientific support and the evidence points in a different direction. For example, how did something as complex as the eye evolve from nothing, or how did males and females evolve differently with the ability to reproduce? Evolution is the only alternative for those who deny the existence of God. They go as far as to believe in evolution that they know cannot be true. If there was any other alternative other than evolution, no one would believe such a ridiculous explanation for creation.

I find it takes less faith to believe the Bible’s account of creation. Ny faith takes me even further: I think there is a kingdom coming that will be a wonderful life for those who believe. We do not know all the details about what it will be like or when it will come, but we can be assured it will be beyond our wildest imagination and that it is coming sometime in the future. 

The Herodians thought their rules were more valid than those of God. Ironically, today the world, specifically the United States, says it can overturn God’s control of His universe and reverse the climate. God rules the world, and He brings about change and not puny man. God brought the flood and destroyed the world except for Noah and his family and the animals that were on the ark. It was God who parted the Red Sea and delivered His people and destroyed the enemy simultaneously as they assayed to follow Israel and drowned in the sea. The Bible is clear that God is in control and can do what is impossible to us. God established the laws that govern the universe and the one who decides the course it will take.

The Sadducees didn’t understand God. They interpreted the Bible according to what they wanted it to say, and their intellect demanded. Jesus gave further proof in the final verse on the resurrection by referring to Exodus 3:6, which identifies God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who were long since dead but are now alive in heaven awaiting their resurrected body when Jesus returns to earth. Jesus used Scripture to prove that God is not the God of the dead but the living God. 

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob represent God’s covenant given to Israel, which was the basis for God’s blessings on Israel. God promised Israel that they would receive the inheritance of the land as an everlasting possession. None of those living at the time saw God’s promise fulfilled. Nevertheless, those who believed will one day be resurrected to enjoy the promise of God forever. They needed to live one day again to receive the fullness of God: Genesis 17:8 (KJV), “I will give to you and your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”

The author of Hebrews forwards that truth: Heb. 11:13 (KJV), “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.;” this means the resurrection is true and necessary, and Jesus would bring further proof very soon by His resurrection from the dead.

How can each of us today receive this hope? How can we be sure that our death is not the end and there is life after death? The answer is found in Romans 10:9-10 (KJV): “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” We can only believe in Jesus and receive His promise of forgiveness when we believe in His resurrection.