Dr Paul Allen

Luke 20:27–40 . The Sadducees, the heretics of the time, approached the Lord with a difficult question they felt was based on the word of God. Their aim, however, was to justify their false doctrine rather than to learn the truth. Like the devil when trying the Saviour in the wilderness, they resorted to quoting scripture, choosing a passage that deals with levirate marriage, Deut. 25:5, 6. They thought they could debase the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. It was obvious that the case they put before the Lord was factious, yet they felt they could silence Him. Their hopes, however, were soon dashed when they heard the Master’s reply. He told them that the root of their opposition to the truth was simply their ignorance; firstly, their ignorance of the status of human beings in the other world, beyond death; secondly, their sheer ignorance of the scriptures. The Lord in His answer explained how there is a clear distinction between the situation here on earth and that whic...

The resurrection of the dead by Michelangelo Buonarroti (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” ( Isaiah 26:19 ) Some have argued that the doctrine of a bodily resurrection was unknown to the Israelites of the Old Testament . In fact, this denial was a cardinal doctrine of the sect of the Sadducees at the time of Christ ( Matthew 22:23 ). Our text, however, makes it clear that this promise has always been known to the people of God. Long before Isaiah’s time, Job had said: “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And . . . in my flesh shall I see God” ( Job 19:25-26 ). After the time of Isaiah, the promise was still known. “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” ( ...

Curses Against the Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 22:23-33 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraha...

Woe unto You, Scribes and Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 22:23-33 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of A...

Duccio di Buoninsegna - Christ Accused by the Pharisees - WGA06801 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Sadducees and Pharisees were no dummies. They just weren’t as smart as their enemy. As we read through the gospel accounts, it seems their strategy was simple: they would put an end to Jesus by forcing Him to destroy Himself.  They would silence Him by forcing Him to put His own foot in His own mouth. They posed trick questions: Should we pay taxes to Caesar ? At the resurrection, who will be the husband of a woman who went through six levirate husbands after her first husband? In the first instance, they wanted Jesus to run afoul of the Romans; in the second, to run afoul of His own people. In both instances, Jesus escaped the trap. He who is the Word, who spoke the world into existence, is never at a loss. It may well be that the most challenging question Jesus received, however, came neither from the Sadducees nor the Pharisees but from Pontius Pilate . Having been de...

Deutsch: Christus im Hause des Pharisäers, Jacopo Tintoretto, Escorial (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 16:1 –4 “You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times” (v. 3). The Pharisees and the Sadducees are like the emperor and the townspeople in that they have a gift for refusing to accept the obvious. Coming to test  Jesus , they request a special sign (Matt. 16:1), which some of Christ ’s other enemies also looked for once (12:38). The Pharisees and Sadducees are strange bedfellows because they hold different theological and political views. For instance, the Sadducees are willing to adopt the ways of the Romans, and, unlike the Pharisees, they deny the future resurrection of the dead. Still, both parties have representatives on the Sanhedrin , the religious governing body of the Jews, and can unite behind their opposition to this Nazarene, whose popularity threatens their own power. As John Calvin tel...

Dispute of Jesus and the Pharisees over tribute money (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 16:5 –12 “ Jesus said to them, ‘Watch and beware of the leaven of the  Pharisees and the Sadducees ’” (v. 6). At this point in His life, Christ begins to encounter greater and greater opposition from the religious leaders in Jerusalem . The Pharisees and Sadducees who ask Him for a sign in Matthew 16:1–4 are likely a delegation from Jerusalem sent to spy on Jesus. These two groups are usually at odds, but they can easily set aside their theological differences when they meet a common foe, just as they earlier did with John the Baptist (3:7). Matthew 15:39 locates Jesus’ meeting with these religious leaders in Magadan, west of the Sea of Galilee . The conversation with His disciples in 16:5–12 occurs on the eastern shore, or “other side” of the water. His clash with the Jerusalem officials and feeding of the four thousand (15:32–16:4) sets the...

Icon of the Pentecost (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Acts 5:12–42 “But the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees ), and filled with jealousy they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison. But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ‘Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.’ And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.” Acts 5:17–21 According to the World Watch List , there are twenty-seven countries in the world today where Christians experience “severe” to “extreme” persecution. Most of us in the western world have never experienced opposition of this magnitude, but being challenged for speaking the truth of the gospel is hardly uncommon, even for those of us who enjoy laws protecting our religious freedom. Whether it’s workplace policies that prohibit talk of Jesus , ridicule from friends and f...

Saint John the Baptist and the Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 3:7 –10 “ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for the baptism, he said to them, ‘... Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance’” (vv. 7–8). After centuries of silence, the covenant Lord spoke to His people again through John the Baptist . Beginning around 27 A.D., John prepared the way for the Messiah to inaugurate God’s kingdom , calling Israel to repentance because the nation as a whole had not shown contrition for the sins that led to exile from Palestine. In John’s day, the people were not ready for the kingdom to come. John’s call is laid on all of us throughout the Bible. “ Repentance ” is the English translation of the Greek term metanoia, which literally means “change of mind.” Repentance expresses sorrow for the ways in which we have offended God (Ps. 51:4), but it is also much more. Repentance i...