Twisted Scripture

 

And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.            --2 Peter 3:15-16

According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, there are over 200 Christian denominations in the US, and over 45,000 different denominations worldwide.  These include mainline denominations, such as Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, various Protestant groups, as well as some non-traditional groups that most Christians would think of as heretical in their beliefs.  For example, Jehovah's Witnesses have their own translation of the Bible which denies the Trinity (the belief that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one).  Another example is the Mormons, who have added a third Testament to their Bible, in addition to the Old and New Testament read in most mainline denominations.

With all these disparate ideas of what Christianity means, it is no wonder that the non-believing world is confused.  It was no different in Jesus' day.  Judaism had many different sects, the main divisions being Pharisees, Scribes, Sadducees, Essenes, and Zealots.  In our Scripture passage today, we are introduced to the Sadducees.

According to Danny Akin's commentary Mark: A Christ Centered Exposition (2014):

A small sect of the priestly families, the Sadducees were wealthy aristocrats with significant political and temple influence. They dominated the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:17). They were sympathetic to Hellenism, the Herods, and Rome. They considered only the books of Moses (the Pentateuch) as authoritative. In a sense this made them theological conservatives. They also had a strong doctrine of human free will and did not believe in angels and demons (Acts 23:8). They did not believe in the immortality of the soul or in a future bodily resurrection. Josephus said, “The doctrine of the Sadducees is this: souls dies with bodies”…Because of their truncated Scriptures, they were not looking for a Messiah King from David’s line. With the total destruction of their center of power—Jerusalem and the temple (AD 70)—their political influence came to an end, and they vanished from history.

It is important to note that since the Sadducees did not view the rest of the Old Testament as authoritative (other than the books of Moses), they did not believe the prophetic writing of Isaiah, especially what we have categorized as chapter 53, the Messianic chapter.  Nor did they hold to the writings of the Psalms, so they did not recognize Psalm 22 as a Messianic psalm. 

Given that background, let's see what they had to say to Jesus:

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying: "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leave no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brothers.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."

Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."  --Mark 12:18-27

 Let's first look at the Sadducees argument, which encompassed some history, some theology, and some logic.  Deuteronomy 25: 5-6 says, "If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband's brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her.  And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel."  In historical context, women had no claim to property or inheritance.  Also, if a man died without a son to inherit his goods and his name, then the family would have no descendants.  His name would not be carried on to the next generation, and his possessions would be distributed to others outside the immediate family.

This concept described in Deuteronomy, called Levirate marriage, may sound strange to our modern ears.  In historical context, however, it made sense.  It was showing kindness to the widow, who would have nothing and belong to no one.  It also was a way to keep the memory of the dead man alive in this world.  The Sadducees, however, had used this example to show that the afterlife was a logical fallacy.  If all seven brothers had the wife and were without a male heir, and all of them died, which of the men could claim her as his wife in the afterlife?  Assuming there was no scripture condoning polyamory, the scenario they described made no logical sense.

Jesus told them that other assumptions they had made were wrong.  He said that people in heaven do not have marital relationships.  In our New Testament understanding, we know that the Church is the bride of Christ, so in heaven our allegiance will be to Him, not to a spouse or child or any other family member other than Christ.  Jesus also made a dig at their belief system, in saying that men and women in heaven will be like the angels.  We know from history that the Sadducees didn't believe in angels, so Jesus said this assumption was also incorrect on their part.

Then Jesus made an interesting assertion using their own logic.  Citing the writing of Moses, which they claimed to believe as Scripture, He reminded them of the burning bush.  This is where the ministry of Moses began, for without this encounter with God, Moses would have died in the wilderness, a shepherd in exile from Egypt.  When Moses asked, "Who are you?", the answer came, "I AM the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob."  We know that Abraham was the patriarch of Israel through his son Isaac and his grandson Jacob.  In fact, Jacob's name would be changed to Israel.  But this is more than a historical reference.  God did not say, "I WAS the God of Abraham."  This is an I AM statement that even the Sadducees should have recognized.  God is eternal.  Therefore, men who are made in the image of God, are also eternal.  Abraham died, yes, but God did not speak of him in the past tense.  God continues to be the God of Abraham, because Abraham still lives, as do Isaac and Jacob and all their descendants.

If they had really studied the Scriptures, and left out their own assumptions and presuppositions, they would have seen that.  Friend, beware of bringing your own assumptions into your search for truth.  The world says that what is true for you may not be true for me.  Jesus said, "I AM the way, the TRUTH, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but by me."  Do not be led astray by false theologies that sound good but are based on false assumptions: "God is love" sounds good, but assumes that God will only give you good things all the time, and ignores all other scripture that describes God's wrath.  Beware of denominations that emphasize only one part of the Scripture (similar to what the Sadducees did) to the exclusion of others.  Beware of religious leaders like those that seek after spiritual gifts (tongues, prophecy, and the like) while downplaying righteous living, or that preach grace to the exclusion of God's sovereignty.  

Above all, do not twist scripture to fit your own assumptions or world view.  Instead, unwind your assumptions to fit with scripture.  God's word is eternal, and will not be re-written to condone your lifestyle, philosophical fads of the day, or even societal mores.  Deuteronomy 4:2 says, "You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I commanded you."  Revelation 22:18-19 says, "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:  If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."  Matthew 18:6 says, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depths of the sea."  See how important the proper teaching of scripture is?  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."