WE HAVE heard much in the story, of the Pharisees, who were looked upon
as leaders of the people in religion, because they regularly went to
church, paid the church dues and obeyed all the rules, foolish as some
of those rules seemed. These Pharisees, as you know, were bitter enemies
of Jesus, and everywhere stirred up the people against him.
But there was another party among the Jews, the Sadducees, whom we have
not mentioned up to this time. These people were equally opposed to the
Pharisees and to Jesus. They were easy-living men, not paying much
attention to the church rules; and in fact not going often to the
church, which you know was called "the synagogue." But although they
cared little for the churches in the different towns, they cared greatly
for the Temple in Jerusalem, for most of the priests in the Temple were
Sadducees, as also were many of the rulers in the great council of the
Jews.
The Sadducees did not believe that there was any soul in man, nor any
life after this life, nor any angels, nor any rising from the dead
hereafter, nor any heaven or hell. They believed that when a man died
and was buried, that was his end forever.
Some of these Sadducees tried to puzzle Jesus with a question. They came
to him in the Temple that Tuesday while he was speaking to the people.
"Teacher," they said to him, "you remember that in the law of Moses it
is ordered that if a man should die without any children, but leaving a
wife, then the man's brother shall take the widow for his wife, and
raise a family for his brother. Well, there were living seven brothers.
The oldest of these married a wife, and after a time died, leaving no
children. Then the second married her, and he too died without a child.
The third took her and died, the fourth also, and all the rest of the
seven died, leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now,
you have been teaching that there will come a day when the dead shall
rise to life. When that day comes, and these seven men rise, all of whom
were married to this woman, whose wife out of them all will she be, for
every one of them in turn was married to her?"
"You make a mistake," answered Jesus, "because you do not understand the
teachings of the Bible; nor do you know how great is the power of God,
who can at a word call the dead up to life. In this world men and women
marry because they live on earth only for a time, and must have families
to live after them. But when the dead are raised up, they do not rise as
husbands and wives, nor do they marry in that world to come, for they
will have no need to raise up families to take their places. In that
land all live forever, like the angels of God. And as to the
resurrection, the rising from the dead, have you not read the words that
God spoke to Moses at the burning bush?
"'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
"Now God is not the God of dead men, but of living men. For in the sight
of God all men are alive, even after they have died on earth."
While Jesus was answering these questions--that of the rulers of the
Temple about his right to drive out those that were buying and selling;
that of the Pharisees about the paying of taxes; and that of the
Sadducees about the resurrection, the rising from the dead--the people
were standing around, listening. Although the rulers were enemies of
Jesus, the common people were friendly, and heard him gladly. They saw
how ready and how apt his answers were, and they were greatly pleased to
find the enemies of Jesus put to confusion before him.
[Illustration: The tomb of David as shown to-day in Jerusalem]
The Greatest of All the Commandments