Exposing Hypothetical Arguments: Luke 20:27-40
“27) Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection),” Luke 20:27
With the failure of the chief priest, scribes and elders of the people to publicly trap Jesus, the Sadducees stepped in and took their turn. The Sadducees were a sect of Jewish religious leader who did not believe in a resurrection or life after death.
They were often in conflict with the Pharisees. Acts 23:6-10 is a good text to understand the division and animosity between the Pharisees and Sadducees.
During Paul’s trial before the council, he appealed to the Pharisees saying he was on trial for the hope of the resurrection from the dead. That one statement divided the council and threw the whole ordeal into chaos.
When it came to seeking occasion to discredit and destroy Jesus, every Jewish religious sect and theological persuasion took its turn. In the text before us, the Sadducees were going to take their best shot at trapping and discrediting Jesus.
As we shall see in the next section, their trap involved a well crafted hypothetical situation of one woman surviving the successive marriage to seven brothers who each in turn died. In their minds this constituted irrefutable proof against a resurrection.
Before moving into the lengthy discussion, let me give a warning. Critics of the Bible, Jesus and the gospel build on hypothetical arguments. This is also true of secular philosophers and atheists.
Follow the example of Jesus and avoid this trap. Don’t waste time or mental energy on what Paul called fruitless discussions. (1 Timothy 1:6) The religious leaders of the day wasted hours in this kind of debate.
I have known many Christian young people who have gone to secular colleges and had their faith destroyed by this scheme of the enemy. Hypothetical arguments are baseless but can lead to the ruin of the hearers.
Build your faith on the solid word of God and don’t be pulled into empty hypothetical arguments. They might sound rational but they are laced with deception.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global.
Sent from my iPhone
“27) Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection),” Luke 20:27
With the failure of the chief priest, scribes and elders of the people to publicly trap Jesus, the Sadducees stepped in and took their turn. The Sadducees were a sect of Jewish religious leader who did not believe in a resurrection or life after death.
They were often in conflict with the Pharisees. Acts 23:6-10 is a good text to understand the division and animosity between the Pharisees and Sadducees.
During Paul’s trial before the council, he appealed to the Pharisees saying he was on trial for the hope of the resurrection from the dead. That one statement divided the council and threw the whole ordeal into chaos.
When it came to seeking occasion to discredit and destroy Jesus, every Jewish religious sect and theological persuasion took its turn. In the text before us, the Sadducees were going to take their best shot at trapping and discrediting Jesus.
As we shall see in the next section, their trap involved a well crafted hypothetical situation of one woman surviving the successive marriage to seven brothers who each in turn died. In their minds this constituted irrefutable proof against a resurrection.
Before moving into the lengthy discussion, let me give a warning. Critics of the Bible, Jesus and the gospel build on hypothetical arguments. This is also true of secular philosophers and atheists.
Follow the example of Jesus and avoid this trap. Don’t waste time or mental energy on what Paul called fruitless discussions. (1 Timothy 1:6) The religious leaders of the day wasted hours in this kind of debate.
I have known many Christian young people who have gone to secular colleges and had their faith destroyed by this scheme of the enemy. Hypothetical arguments are baseless but can lead to the ruin of the hearers.
Build your faith on the solid word of God and don’t be pulled into empty hypothetical arguments. They might sound rational but they are laced with deception.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global.
Sent from my iPhone
