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Showing posts with the label Sadducees

Will it Matter Anymore?

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The text for this sermon is Luke 20:27-38a . This is my initial draft.             The Gospel of Luke continues to challenge us. Wed. morning as the pastors’ group gathered for text study, we discussed what we thought it might be like in the afterlife. What are we expecting? It was certainly different from what Jesus’ challengers anticipated. One member’s response was, “I just want some answers. I want to ask questions.” Maybe you feel the same way. The Sadducees had questions as well. Though their example seems extreme, it appears innocent enough, but we need to understand a bit of the cultural and religious dynamics of the groups Jesus encountered. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were generally at odds with each other. The Sadducees only believed in the written law in the first 5 books of the Old Testament. They did not accept the oral traditions that went along with it. Nor did they believe in the resurrection from the dead or in angels. The Pharisees on the other hand, believ