The Astonisher

And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

Matthew 22:33

This crowd was astonished about how Jesus put the technically-detailed, self-proclaimed, liberal legal experts, the Sadducees, in their place with His masterful answer to an impossible hypothetical question. The Sadducees were the minority religious group among the Jews in charge of copying scripture. They were comparable to academic university elites of today. They were the religious party of the professional scribes. They also had their own brand of theological and legal experts. They were horribly non-biblical and secular for being so “into” their scriptures. They denied miracles and the possibility of life after death. They taught that the Law was for “this life” and rejected a future resurrection.

Yet they came to Jesus in mock suspension of their own beliefs, hoping to stump him in front of the crowds. They desperately wanted the attention. They created a scenario of a woman widowed seven times who then herself died. Their question: “Which of the seven husbands would be hers in heaven?” They thought this would trick Jesus into a theology where sin would exist in the resurrection. But they were foolish to try to corner the wise God Who wrote the book!

Jesus decimates their argument with three powerful assertions:

1) They deny scripture and the power of God so they have absolutely no authority to speculate on the nature of the resurrection (Matthew 22:29).

2) Resurrected people do not marry as their relationships are complete in the presence of God. Their is no need for one flesh relationships in heaven (Matthew 22:30).

3) Denial of resurrection rejects the very core of Judaism. God is the God of the living: “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” The scriptures attest that the patriarchs are very much alive with a God Who is presently in relationship with them (Matthew 22:31-32).

This is what led the crowd into appreciation of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus had authority as shown in His grasp of the Word of God and the miraculous display of the power of God. Jesus knew what heaven will be like because He came from there and would return there. Jesus knew the profound theological implications from even the most foundational aspects of God’s covenant with Israel. As such He is a great Revealer, a great Savior, a great Teacher, and the great Astonisher!