The Age To Come

Luke 20:27-38, the gospel lesson appointed for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost, puts us in the place of those who overhear a dispute between the Sadducees and Jesus regarding the resurrection.  It is a prime example of those who live by the Law and One who lives by the Gospel.  It shall be the preacher's task to bring this dispute to light and turn one's hearers to the Gospel.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions available to exegetes.  These questions attempt to wrestle with some of the fundamental issues for Law and Gospel preachers regarding the function of the Word.  For more on Law and  Gospel preaching see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock. com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  One needs to look past the initial dispute to see how the Word is functioning here.  In his reply to the Saduccees' question, Jesus speaks about an age yet to come where the children of God "cannot die anymore because  they are like angels... and are children of the resurrection."  This announcement is certainly the Word functioning as Gospel as Jesus announces to us a coming reality of the age to come.  His announcement that even Moses knew God to be a God of living is also a gospel word.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  At first glance there seems to be little evidence of the Word functioning as Law, i.e. exposing our need for a Savior.  Indeed it is true that Jesus condemns no one in this passage.  The statement by Jesus found in the other synoptic accounts, "You know neither the scriptures nor the power of God" is omitted from this Lukan version, and in fact, added to the Lukan account in verse 39 is a report that some of the scribes answered Jesus, "Teacher, you  have spoken well," indicating  a certain receptivity to this Word.  Having said all this, it is yet true that the Sadducees, as strict followers of the Pentateuch only, are prime examples of religious folk who live by the Law.  That, St. Paul reminds us, leads to a dead end.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  As always we need to identify with those to whom the Word is addressed, in this case the Sadducees.  We are like them in that the Law holds a certain appeal to us.  We like rules, boundaries, and certainty.  We naturally find the freedom of the Gospel problematic, and the mystery of the resurrection untenable.  We long for a faith that is packaged neatly and tidily in ways we can understand.  Jesus refuses to give us this, but instead simply points us to the age to come.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The Word functioning as a call to obedience always invites us to live a certain way in response to the Gospel.  The Word is not functioning in this way in the text.  The second reading for this Sunday, in II Thessalonians 2, is a good example of this, calling us to live courageously as we anticipate the age to come.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  We can imagine several couplets that might fit well using the words from this text:  law of Moses/gospel of Christ; dying/death is no more; death/resurrection.

6.  Exegetical work:  An extended article in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible regarding the Saduccees is helpful background for this text.  One brief passage will suffice to show it's helpfulness:  "The NT and Josephus agree that the Saduccees denied the doctrine of the resurrection of the body; Josephus adds that they denied all future punishments and rewards, holding that the soul perishes with the body.  According to Acts (23:8), they also denied the existence of angels and spirits.  Josephus tells us that they also denied fate.  The reason for these denials probably was that the foregoing doctrines were not found in the law." (Vol. 4, p. 162)  As other writers note, the Saduccees regarded the Pentateuch alone as authoritative.  Knowing that, Jesus makes the point that even Moses argues for the resurrection when he speaks of "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob", who are regarded by Moses as alive.  Jesus knows to whom he is speaking.

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  I like the simplicity of Chris Repp's analysis of this text.  He sees the clear dichotomy present here between "this age" and "that age", i.e. the age to come, with all of the relevant characteristics of each.  See his entire analysis archived under the text at crossings.org/text-study.

Blessings on your proclamation!