Luke 20:27-40

Revelation 11:4-12

Psalm 144:1, 2, 9-10

Luke 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,

came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,

If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,

his brother must take the wife

and raise up descendants for his brother.

Now there were seven brothers;

the first married a woman but died childless.

Then the second and the third married her,

and likewise all the seven died childless.

Finally the woman also died.

Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?

For all seven had been married to her.”

Jesus said to them,

“The children of this age marry and remarry;

but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age

and to the resurrection of the dead

neither marry nor are given in marriage.

They can no longer die,

for they are like angels;

and they are the children of God

because they are the ones who will rise.

That the dead will rise

even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,

when he called  ‘Lord’

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;

and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,

for to him all are alive.”

Some of the scribes said in reply,

“Teacher, you have answered well.”

And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I am your child. I sit at your feet to learn from you. I play before you and look up to see your smiling face. Care for me and guide my steps. Correct me when I foolishly choose what is evil. Encourage me when I wisely do what is right and good.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Life in the Coming Age: When members of the Sadducees, who denied that there was a resurrection of the dead, approached Jesus with their theological question, they intended to undermine Jesus’ teaching authority. They were probably aware of Jesus’ position on the resurrection because of the parable Jesus told the Pharisees about the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). Jesus wasn’t befuddled by their question and easily responded to the Sadducees. He first showed them that they misunderstood what life in the coming age would be like. Life after death – life in the coming age – is not a mere continuation of earthly life. One of the purposes of marriage in this life is to transmit life by having and raising children (CCC, 2363). But since those who attain eternal life can no longer die, they no longer need to marry and procreate to maintain the human race or perpetuate their name and lineage.

2. The Resurrection of the Dead: The second thing Jesus did was to show that the Five Books of Moses – the only books of the Bible that the Sadducees accepted as authoritative – does teach the resurrection of the dead. Jesus points out that when God revealed himself as the Lord to Moses in the burning bush, he revealed and identified himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:15). The Lord identifies himself as being in a continued relationship with the three patriarchs long after their deaths. God is not the God of the dead but of the living! This means that the three patriarchs are still alive with God in some way and await their future resurrection. Jesus teaches that the children of God – and we have become children of God through our baptism – will be cared for and will be raised to new life by God the Father. 

3. The Death and Resurrection of the Two Witnesses: In the Book of Revelation, John contemplates the death of God’s two witnesses. The actions of these two witnesses recall Moses, who turned water into blood and afflicted Egypt with plagues, and Elijah, who sealed the sky so that no rain fell (1 Kings 17:1). Moses especially represents the witness of the Law, while Elijah especially represents the witness of the Prophets. The death of the two witnesses in Jerusalem, the city where “their Lord was crucified,” symbolizes all of the prophets who warned Israel to repent and were killed (Barber, Coming Soon, 141). The time of “three and a half days” refers back to Daniel (Daniel 7:25; 12:7) and symbolizes a time of persecution and tribulation before the day of salvation. It recalls the three and a half years of persecution by Antiochus IV (167-164 B.C.) and prophesies the three and a half years of tribulation by the Romans (66-70 A.D.). The death of God’s two witnesses is not their end. John sees the breath of life from God reenter their corpses. They, like the saints who were persecuted and murdered, will be raised from the dead and brought to heaven in a cloud.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Resurrection and the Life. Raise me up! You are the Bread of Life and the Good Shepherd. Nourish me and bring me to good pasture! You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You are the Sheep Gate. Let me in and keep me safe! You are the Light of the World and the True Vine. Enlighten my mind and unite me to you!

Living the Word of God: How am I preparing for eternal life? Am I ready for my definitive encounter with God? What sins do I still need to repent from? How can I grow in my relationship with God today?