Read Luke 20:27-40 with your family.

Jesus was often challenged by those who were part of the Temple. They wanted to prove that Jesus didn’t understand God or the scriptures, but Jesus rarely answered their questions directly, instead Jesus would talk about something else, showing that the person asking the question was the one who really didn’t understand God.

In this story Jesus is challenged by a Sadducee. The Sadducees were from very rich families and liked to have their say in anything that happened in the Temple or in the Hebrew justice system. They liked their power. They also did not believe in an afterlife and resurrection, something that the Pharisees and Jesus did believe in. The afterlife was hope that the Hebrew people would have a second life with God, one that was fair for everyone and no one would be too poor or too rich. The Hebrews especially liked the idea of living a life where the Roman Empire was not controlling everything. In addition, the Sadducees only believed that the first five books in the Bible were important (Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, the books of Law in the Bible). The Sadducees did not think the Psalms or books of the prophets, or anything else was important. They liked to say “Moses says” about everything because Moses was the only one who mattered as far as they were concerned.

Jesus knew all of this about the Sadducees, so when one asked a question trying to get Jesus to say something against Moses, Jesus was ready. Jesus told a story of Moses as his response, so that the Sadducees would either have to agree with Jesus or say something against Moses. Jesus was smart that way.

Jesus knew that our God is the God of the living. It doesn’t matter who we are or how we live, we all have a place in God’s family in this life and in the next life. So it didn’t matter who the woman in the Sadducee’s question married, in the next life marriage wasn’t a concern for anyone.