1659. The Sadducees Say That There Is No Resurrection

The Sadducees Say That There Is No Resurrection

The Sadducees denied the resurrection because they believed in nothing beyond the physical, material world.

This denial undermines the foundation upon which the whole fabric of the Christian faith is builded.

If there is no resurrection of the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ is not the Son of God; He is not the Saviour of men; He is not the promised Messiah of Israel.

1. He is not the Son of God. When Christ was asked for a sign setting forth His claims to oneness with God as His father, He said, "As Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Mat_12:40).

Christ staked all that He was; the truth of every statement that He ever made; the Deity which He claimed, upon His resurrection.

The Sadducees would rob us of the resurrection, and in robbing us of the resurrection, they would rob us of the Living Christ. It was doubting Thomas who said, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe" (Joh_20:25). Thomas would have left Christ in the grave, and would have left the world without a Saviour. He took the position of the Sadducees.

To deny the resurrection is to deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ. To deny the resurrection is to assert that Jesus Christ is no more than a man whose existence is relegated to history.

2. He is not the Saviour of Men. A Christ who lived and then died upon the Cross; a Christ who was buried and passed into oblivion, could not be a Saviour to men.

Paul put it this way, "If Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins." Again Paul said, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable" (1Co_15:17, 1Co_15:19).

The leaven of the Sadducees would make us false witnesses of God. It would leave us without any message to those who are fallen asleep in Christ.

Salvation goes far beyond the life which we now live, it includes the life to come. If the Lord Jesus Christ does no more than mark out the way of sobriety and social equity in this world through ethical teachings, He gives us no hope of the days to come, no resurrection, we are the exponents of a religion which is but little better than the religion of Confucius.

The saving power of Jesus Christ reaches far beyond this vale of tears, it passes on into the eternity. The Cross makes possible that precious Scripture: "That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus" (Eph_2:7).

If the Sadducees are right, and Jesus Christ is dead and never to be raised from the dead, then the saints who die, die never to rise again. If there is no resurrection we had better close our churches, burn our Bibles and cease forever to preach the story of saving grace.

3. He is not the promised Messiah of Israel. The reign of Christ upon David's throne is assured to us by His resurrection.

"Because He hath appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Act_17:31, \1911 Bible).

David understood fully the necessity of the resurrection, for David saith himself, "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit Thou on My right hand, until I make Thy foes Thy footstool" (Act_2:34-35).

God had sworn to David with an oath that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on His throne. David knowing that Christ was to die, spake beforehand of His resurrection saying, "That His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did see corruption."

To deny the resurrection makes the faith of David void; and robs God of faithfulness in the promises.

To accept the resurrection places Christ at the right hand of God anticipating, expecting until His foes are made His footstool; until He reigns on David's throne.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR