In tonight’s text, Jesus deals with some Sadducees who were ignorant. ◦They denied the resurrection & asked Jesus about marriage and the resurrection.  “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her” (Deut 25:5).

“You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God” (Matt 22:29).

The Text Implies that the Scriptures are the Standard of Life

The Scriptures are the standard of life. ◦“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path” (Ps 119:105). ◦2 Tim 3: ◦“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Pet 1:3).

Two ways God reveals Himself to man. ◦One: Natural revelation.  The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork” (Ps 19:1).  “Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Rom 1:20).

Two ways God reveals Himself to man. ◦One: Natural revelation. ◦Two: Special revelation.  “God... at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets” (Heb 1:1).  God speaks to use solely through the revelation of Scripture: 1 Thess 2:13.

The Text Implies that We Err if We Deviate from the Scriptures

Scripture teaches us not to deviate from it. ◦“You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the L ORD your God which I command you” (Deut 4:2). ◦Rev 22:18-19.

People who deviated from Scripture. ◦Moses (Num 20:7-11). ◦Saul (1 Sam 15).

The Sadducees in This Passage Erred Because They Did Not Know the Scriptures

The Old Testament taught the resurrection. ◦“You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption” (Ps 16:10). ◦“I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25-26). ◦“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:2).

The Sadducees did not know God’s power. ◦“Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8). ◦God has all power.  “With God nothing will be impossible” (Lk 1:37).

The Sadducees also erred because they did not understand the nature of the resurrected body. ◦“In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven” (Matt 22:30). ◦Our bodies will be different in the resurrection.  1 Cor 15:  “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 Jn 3:2).

Many in biblical times erred because of ignorance. ◦“Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers” (Acts 3:17). ◦“None of the rulers of this age knew [the wisdom of God]; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8). Many in the modern world err because of ignorance. God no longer accepts ignorance as a valid excuse (Acts 17:30).

Some Who Know the Scriptures Also Err--Not for Ignorance, but for Other Reasons

Some err because of their own will. ◦Rich young ruler (Matt 19:16-22). ◦Jonah. ◦We must seek God’s will.  “Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).  “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matt 26:39).

Some err because of preconceived notions of what the Bible teaches. ◦The earliest Jews struggled with this (Acts 1:8; Peter & Cornelius). ◦Some err today in the same way.

Some err because they only know a fragment of Scripture. ◦Acts 20:27. ◦2 Tim 3:16-17.