Daily Devotional For Friday, January 30, 2026
Good morning Southside and I pray all is well with all of you. If the meteorologists are right this time, we are supposed to get quite a bit of snow starting Saturday evening all the way through Sunday morning. If this happens, we will not have church for people’s safety. We are making our way through the Gospel of Matthew and today we come to Matthew 22:23-33:
“On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, (24) asking, ‘Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ (25) Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; (26) so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. (27) Last of all, the woman died. (28) In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” (29) But Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. (30) For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. (31) But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: (32) ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (33) When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching” (NASB).
This story involves a hypothetical. Skeptics often love to use these. Such as, “If God is all powerful, then can He make a rock that He cannot lift?” The main lesson we learn here from Jesus is that He did not engage in hypotheticals but went straight to Scripture. We should do the same. Hypotheticals are a diversion tactic to draw us from the truth and we must be perceptive to realize this. This is why Jesus tells the Sadducees that they did not know the Scriptures. So, our response to hypotheticals should be the following;
- Do not attempt to deal with all questions. Cut to the chase. Get quickly to real issues, which includes motives and hidden agendas.
- Never attempt to embarrass the person who poses the hypothetical to you. Be kind and gentle with them. Address the issue with compassion and gentleness.
- Stay with Scripture. The Bible has our answers and does not waver from it.
Jesus showed where the Sadducees were wrong. God was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but God is the God of a dead Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God is not the God of dead people, but living ones. Jesus referred to Exodus 3:6. These 3 patriarchs had been physically dead for centuries but they were very much alive in heaven. Jesus said that God is able to resurrect us back as non-sexual beings, just as the angels are this. Lack of marriage or sex does not in any way diminish the bliss of heaven.
We tend to think that heaven is nothing more than an extension of living here. It is not that at all. In heaven all marriage relationships here will be severed there because there is no longer any need for procreation. One reason the Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead is found in the crazy hypothetical – if a woman had multiple husbands here, then in heaven, then which husband would be her husband. Their point was marriage relationships would be all messed up.
Jesus shut them up with one statement. The resurrected life is not an exact counterpart or continuation of life here. When it comes to marital love and unity, it is not romance that holds it together – but worship. As we worship God with all our heart, sound mind and strength, can we really love our spouse the way God wants here. As long as God is first in our relationship, and we keep it that way, then that keeps our marriages strong.
We get so caught up in Hollywood’s version of romance such as, “You’ve Got Mail” or “Sleepless in Seattle.” These distort God’s view of marriage. Instead, we should be watching “You’ve Got God” or “Sleepless in Scripture.” The Sadducees twisted Scripture to their own interpretation and Jesus twisted it back to God’s. When we look at Jesus’ answer, as God in human flesh, He could have given a long theological treatise on this but He didn’t. He spoke directly, bluntly and truthfully.
We see the same thing with His answer about Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God’s covenant is with the living, not the dead. The Sadducees' theological belief that at death we cease to exist makes God the God of the dead, not the living. Just like with the Pharisees in the verses prior to this one, the Sadducees found themselves muzzled with silence and were left astonished with His answer. New Testament scholar Daniel M. Doriani writes this about atheist Carl Sagan:
“Skeptics and proponents of naturalism have often voiced their doubts about life after death. Carl Sagan, the author of Cosmos, and a catalyst behind the search for extraterrestrial life, including the Voyager probes, was perhaps the most congenial atheist of the late twentieth century. Before he died he said: “I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But … I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking.” When Sagan died, his wife described the inspiration she received from the cartons of letters his fans sent to her. “They allow me to feel, without resorting to the supernatural, that Carl lives” (Source: Daniel > Doriani, Reformed Expository Commentary, “Matthew,” pp. 300 – quotes from Carl Sagan, Billions and Billions, p. 214-215).
Reflection Assignment: What astonishes you about God? About Jesus? About the Holy Spirit? About Scripture? What concerns you the most about death, the afterlife and heaven? When you get there, which person in the Bible besides Jesus do you want to have a conversation with first? Go to the letters in Scripture to get your truth and like Jesus, stand by it.
Scripture To Meditate On: Mark 12:26-27, “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ (27) So He is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error” (NLT).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, I need to know Your word more than I know movies and movie lines. I want to know You personally, deeply, intimately and relationally. I do want to be able to cut to the chase if and when someone throws a hypothetical to me. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly