The Pulpit Commentary — Luke — Volume 2 — Section 163

any resurrection; and they asked him, say- for instance, finds no place. Marriage ia, ing, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any accol'ding to our Lord's teaching, but a mnn's brother die, having a wife, and he temporary expedient to preserve the human die without ohildren, that his brother should race, to which death woul<l soon put an encl. take his wife, and raise up seed unto his But in the world to come there will he no brother. This is the only occasion related death and no marriage. We may assume In the Gospels where our Lord comes in from his words here that the difference direct conflict with the Sadrlucees. They between the ~xes will have ceasnl to exist. were 11 email but very wealthy and power- They are equal unto the a.igela. Equal ful sect. The high priests at this period with the angels in b~ing immortal; no and their families seem to have belonged death ; no marriage. Jesus in this plaro generally to this party. They acknowledged asserts that angels have a body, bnt are ex- 88 Divine the books of Moses, but refused empt from any difference of sex. The angel~ to see in them any proof of the resurrec- are here introduced because our Lord wa~ tion, or indeed of life after death. 'fo the speaking with Sadducees, who (Acta xxiii. 8) prophets and the other books they only denied the existence of these glorious beings. attach eel subordinate importance. Su per- He wished to set the seal of his teaching cilious worldliness, and a quiet indifference on the deeply interesting question of th,i to all spiritual things, characterized them existence of angels. at this period. They come, comparatively Vere. 87, 88.-Now that the dead are speaking, little in contact with Jesus dur- raised, even Moses showed at the bush. ing his earthly ministry. While the Phari- You Saddacees, in your own arbitrary see hated the Galilroan Master, the Saclclucee fashion, set aside the authority of the professecl to look on him rather with con- prophets and all sacred books eave the tempt. The question here seems to have Pentatench; well, I will argue with you been put with supercilious scorn, SS. on your own, comparatively speaking, Matthew and Mark preface the Lord's answer narrow ground-the books of Moses. Even with a few words of grave rebuke, exposing he, Moses, is singularly clear and definite the questioners' utter ignorance of the deep in his teaching on thfa point of the resur- things involved in their query, rection, though you pretend he is not. You Vere. 29-33.-There were therefore seven are acquainted with the well-known section brethren : and the fi.r8t took a wife, e.nd in Exodus termed 'the Bash : ' what read died without ohildren, And the seoond you there ? " When he ce.lleth the Lord took her to wife, and he died childless, the God of Abraham, e.nd the God of Isaao, And the third took her; and in like manner and the God of Jaoob. For he is not a God the seven also : and they left no ohildren, of the dead, but of the living; more ac- e.nd died. Last of e.11 the woman died also. curately rendered, not a God of dead Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of beings, but of living beings. The mean- them is she 1 for seven had her to wife. ing of the Lord's argument is, "God would The question here put to the Master was never have called himself the God of Abra- n. well-known materialistic objection to the ham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, if these patri- resurrection, and had on several occasions archs, after their short Ii ves, had become been naked by these shallow Epicureans- mern crumbling dust. God cannot be the H the Talmud calls them-to the great God of a being who does not exist." 80 rabbis of the schools of the Pharisees. Josephus-who, however, no doubt drew Their usual answer was that the woman his argument from these word~ of Christ, in question would be the wife of the first for this strong uud conclusirn nrgument husband. from the Pentn.teuch for the immurta.lity Vera. 34-36.-And Jesus answering said of man does not appear to have occurre·i unto them, The ohildren of this world marry, to rabbis before the time of our Lord-so and are given in marriage: but they whioh Josephus writes: "They who die for God's shall be aooounted worthy to obtain that sake live unto God o.s A bmham. Isaac, and world, and the resurrection from the dead, Jacob, and all the patriarchs." The ex- neither marry, nor are given in marriage : pression, "at the bush," should be rendered neither can they die any more. How dif- "in the Bush,'' that is, in tho.t division of ferent are the few rare pictures which our Exodus so named. So the Jews termecl ., Master draws of the heaven-life to those Sam. i. o.nd following verses "the Bow ; " painted by the great founders and teo.chers Ezek. i. and following section, " the Choriot." of other world-wide religions I In his world Vers. 89, 40.-Then certain of the soribes beyond the grave, while he tells us of a answering, said, Master, thou hast well said. continuing existence, of varied and ever- And after that they durst not ask him any increo.sing activity, ia oontrndistinction to question at all. "This prr,mpt o.nd suhlinu) the Nirvana of Buddhn, in these pictures of answer filled with admiration the scribes, Jesus the sensual paradise of Mohammed, who had so often sought this dc<.-isive won!  170 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. LUKE. [orr. xx.1-47.