In the Star Trek movie, Into the Darkness, Captain Kirk, much to the objection of Spock, enters in league with Khan, Kirk’s mortal enemy, to save the Enterprise and its crew from destruction at the hands of Admiral Marcus of the USS Vengeance. After Kirk, with Khan’s help, takes control of the Vengeance, Khan overpowers Kirk and the others of his team.
During World War II a very uneasy alliance was developed between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union in an attempt to stop Hitler and Nazi Germany. The combined pressure of the Allies from the west and the Soviets from the east proved more than Hitler could manage and resulted in his defeat. But the end of the World War lead to the beginning of the Cold War with the Soviets. And the rest is history.
In today’s Gospel, we see another example of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This occurs between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The two were the ruling religious parties in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus and Jesus’ entry into the city before His passion ramped up the tensions between all parties. The Pharisees and Sadducees were not best of buds. Hearing about them both in scripture when I was young (about two years ago now, I think) I had always viewed them both as essentially equal. Same ideals, same beliefs, same goals. Nope. They were more like McConnell and Pelosi, Cruz and AOC, Tom and Jerry.
The Sadducees were believed to be descendants of the high priests of King David. Their beliefs rested squarely on what was in the Torah, the five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy). And since nowhere in the Torah was there a mention of the resurrection, the Sadducees did not believe it was real.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, also followed the books of the prophets and the Psalms. As such they did hold that there was another life after the current one. A life after the life they were living and because of this their focus at the time of Jesus was a bit different. Remember that the Jews during this time were under the very large thumb of the Romans. The likelihood of them getting out from under their rule was remote, so making nice with the ruling class could have its advantages. For the Sadducees this was especially critical since, in their view, this life was all they had and making the best of it was paramount. While the Pharisees were more likely to resist Roman rule since even the Romans could not touch them in the next life.
Add Jesus to the mix. Jesus obviously held in the validity of the resurrection. So this view put Him somewhat in line with the Pharisees’ teachings. But Jesus challenged ALL the ruling class and both the Pharisees and the Sadducees had a lot to lose if Jesus’ teachings took hold. As a result, these enemies join up in order to eliminate Jesus as a threat. Initially by trying to discredit Him and then, ultimately, by crucifixion. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Leading up to the altercation in today’s Gospel, Luke has led us through other confrontations between Jesus and these Jewish leaders. We saw it in the questioning of Jesus in terms of if it is right to pay taxes to the Romans. In Jesus implicating the two groups in His parable of the killing of the son of the owner of the vineyard by the evil tenants. And in the questioning of Jesus’ authority by the chief priests and scribes (who were primarily of the Pharisee class).
Now in the scene in today’s reading we see the Sadducees posing a very absurd riddle for Jesus that is based in the concept of Levirate marriage. This aspect of Mosaic law says that if a man dies leaving a widow then the nearest kin, often a brother, has the responsibility of marrying the widow and the first child from the union is the heir of the deceased brother. This law functioned to keep the brother’s lineage alive as well as giving family support to the widow. The Sadducees aimed to use this familiar and accepted law (for the times) to trap Jesus by carrying the concept to an illogical extreme. What if there were 7 brothers who married the widow and they all died without an heir. Whose wife would she be in the afterlife?
Jesus’ response gives us a picture of life after resurrection. Marriage as a means of preserving lineage is no longer needed since lineage is not a heavenly concept. Women are not managed as property in the afterlife as is the case with Mosaic law.
And Jesus adds another nail in their argument by using the very set of books that the Sadducees use as the basis for their original question…the Torah. This time he focuses is on the story of Moses and the burning bush from Exodus. God tells Moses that He is the God of the living. He IS the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He does not say that He WAS the God of these patriarchs. So if they are in fact living then there must be a resurrection.
So what is really on trial in this exchange in Luke is not only whether there is a resurrection…a life after death. But also how does holding the belief that there another and better life effect how you live this life. The Sadducees would spend much of their time placating the Romans since, in their view, this is the only life they get. The Pharisees, on the other hand, would focus on truth and therefore less likely to abandon beliefs they hold closely. And what about us today? Do you believe that this is not our true home? Or do you believe that you need to go for all the gusto you can because when it is over it is truly “lights out”? This life gives us the opportunities to gain profit, fame and power. Or it can provide a chance to gradually conform our lives to match the model Jesus gave us. The choice is ours. Live a life as a disciple of Jesus or one that is bound to leave you “Sad-You-See.”
