Why the Sadducees Were Sad (Matthew 22)

The religious leaders have a problem. They hate Jesus. They want Him dead. But the crowds love Jesus. They are not likely to stand idly by while Jesus is dragged away to His death. Luckily for the religious leaders, crowds are fickle. The one who is popular today is forgotten or reviled tomorrow. In Matthew 22, the religious leaders try to speed up the process of Jesus' descent from popularity. By asking Jesus a series of loaded questions, they hope to undermine Jesus' status as a spiritual guy. Living in a media age, we know it only takes one dumb statement to remove someone from power. The religious leaders are hoping to egg Jesus into that statement.

One of the groups of religious leaders that tries to bring Jesus down is the Sadducees. The Sadducees were the religious liberals of their day. They were not popular with the crowds because generally speaking they were a rich group. They were known for their merciless exploitation of the very poor people who would have been a part of the people massed in the Temple court for the holidays. But it wasn't only wealth that made the Sadducees hated. They were also hated because they did not stick to the old-time religion. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did not believe that the whole Old Testament was inspired of God. They accepted only the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses. In addition, the Sadducees did not believe in the existence of spiritual beings like angels and demons. They accepted only what their eyes could see. And finally, the Sadducees denied the reality of the resurrection. They thought death was the end. If you died before the Kingdom of God came, too bad for you. God did not bring people back to life.

That is why the Sadducees ask Jesus the question that they do in Matthew 22:23-33. Based on a provision of the Old Testament Law (too obscure to explain quickly here), the Sadducees try to show that Jesus isn't as smart as the crowds say that He is. They try to show that Jesus is dumb to believe in the resurrection.

There are lot of people who are cynical about the possibility of life after death. Those people make the same error as the Sadducees. First, they don't know the promises of the Word of God. Jesus tells the Sadducees that they are in error because they do not know the Scriptures. The Old and New Testaments are full of promises of resurrection for the believer. The Bible is clear that the one who trusts in Jesus does not have to fear death. Second, they don't know the power of God. God created this world. He formed us just by speaking. He split the Red Sea. He made the sun stand still. He fed 5,000 from a sack lunch. If God could do all of that, he can certainly raise us from the dead.

As Christians, we have great confidence in the face of death. Unlike the Sadducees, we know the Word of God. And unlike the Sadducees, we know the power of God. And so we have a sure and certain hope of eternal life.