Luke 20.27-38 The world's great religions often record controversy stories, where people come to the spiritual leader intent on putting his wisdom to the test, or even to outsmart him and prove that he isn't as enlightened as he makes out. Christianity is no exception and the Gospels contain a number of stories where Jesus is put to the test like this. Today’s story is one of them. The Sadducees were an aristocratic group of rather sceptical people who did believe in God but put definite limits on his power. They didn't believe in an infinite or absolute God, for they held that our relationship with God can’t continue beyond death. He is God only of the living, of the present order, not a God who - at least in terms of our relationship with him - was, and is and is to come. Their question about the unfortunate woman who was forced by custom and practice to marry one brother after another is not a sincere quest for truth, because they don't believe that either ...
A blog by a Methodist minister in the UK