22nd Sunday after Pentecost

Do we make the truth plain to understand?  The Bible passage appointed for this week is the story of the Sadducees’ question to Jesus about the resurrection.  The Sadducees only believed in the first five books of the Bible and did not believe in any form of resurrection as, they felt, it wasn’t found in the teaching of Moses.  Therefore, their question to Jesus about the resurrection wasn’t a real question.  Rather, it was an attempt to trap Jesus and ridicule the concept of any theology of resurrection.  Jesus’ reply is masterful.  Firstly, he points out that they had completely misinterpreted what resurrection is and, secondly, he explains how Moses himself believed in resurrection by what he wrote in Exodus – one of the first five books of the Bible!  What do we draw from this passage?  Yes, it underlines the reality of the resurrection that the risen will be like angels who are different from mortal humans, but there is more.  Jesus had the gift of answering questions in a plain and understandable way.  This is why other religious onlookers commented, “Well said, Teacher!”  For us, the challenge is to do the same.