Articles
How to Avoid Error
“For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.” (Acts 23:8)
How could the Sadducees be Israelites and deny the resurrection, angels, or spirits? They possessed a materialist worldview based on the concept that only the first five books (Pentateuch) were from God. They denied any doctrine outside of it. They denied the resurrection because it is not overtly mentioned in the Pentateuch.
In Mark 12:18-27, the Sadducees attempt to ensnare Jesus in his words. They ask a question based on the levirate law of marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5-10. They present to Jesus what they believe is a conundrum for believers in a resurrection. The dilemma presented is a hypothetical situation of one poor woman who marries seven different brothers and never gives birth to an heir. The Sadducees ask Jesus, “In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” (Mark 12:23). Jesus responds to the question, saying, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24). Their dilemma is based upon a false premise because they do not know Scripture and deny the power of God. Jesus began his answer by saying they were wrong and closed by saying, "You are quite wrong."
Jesus said the Sadducean error rests upon two flaws. First, they failed to know the Scriptures, and Jesus demonstrated their ignorance by quoting from Exodus: "have you not read...'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?'" Clearly, the text is in the present tense, and common-sense reading asserts the patriarchs are still in existence. Not understanding the text led to a second error, they did not know the power of God. Their materialist view limited God to the present. The Pharisees' believed earthly relationships continued in eternity. The Sadducees believed their question demonstrated such a resurrection is ridiculous. Jesus proves both parties wrong, teaching, “For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” (Mark 12:25). From Jesus' answer, we learn that eternal life is fundamentally different than the present.
Jesus' answer reveals how to avoid such errors. I must be more than familiar with Scripture; I must know it. Paul told Timothy, "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Tim. 2:15). Correctly understanding Scripture keeps us from error and reveals the truth about God. That is why Paul prayed the Ephesians would know "the immeasurable greatness" of God's power toward us. It is also why Paul tells us to do our best to handle the Scriptures accurately, so we know the truth and avoid false doctrines.
