ACC ~ Luke 20 v27 - 40
THE SADDUCEES CONSIDER THEMSELVES JUST
EPHREM THE SYRIAN: “The Sadducees came and were saying to him, ‘There is no resurrection of the dead.’” [1] They are called Sadducees, that is “the just,” because they say, “We do not serve God for the sake of reward.” They do not await the resurrection, and for this reason they call themselves “the just,” since they say, “We should love God without a reward.” COMMENTARY ON TATIAN’S DIATESSARON 16.22. [2]
[1] Mt 22:34; Mk 12:18.
[2] ECTD 254*.
THE JEWISH UNDERSTANDING OF THE RESURRECTION
AUGUSTINE: The Sadducees were a particular sect of the Jews that did not believe in the resurrection. When the Sadducees posed this problem, the Jews were uncertain, hesitant and could not really answer it, because they assumed that flesh and blood could possess the kingdom of God, that is, the perishable could possess imperishability. Along comes Truth. The misguided and misguiding Sadducees questioned him and posed that problem to the Lord. The Lord, who knew what he was saying and who wished us to believe what we did not know, gives an answer by his divine authority which we are to hold by faith. The apostle, for his part, explained it to the extent that it was granted him. We must try to understand this as fully as we can. SERMON 362.18. [1]
[1] WSA 3 10:254-55**.
NO MARRIAGE IN THE RESURRECTION
AUGUSTINE: What did the Lord say to the Sadducees? He said, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures or the power of God. For in the resurrection they marry neither husbands nor wives; for neither do they start dying again, but they will be equal to the angels of God.” [1] The power of God is great. Why do they not marry husbands or wives? They will not start dying again. When one generation departs, another is required to succeed it. [2] There will not be such liability to decay in that place. The Lord passed through the usual stages of growth, from infancy to adult manhood, because he was bearing the substance of flesh that still was mortal. After he had risen again at the age at which he was buried, are we to imagine that he is growing old in heaven? He says, “They will be equal to the angels of God.” He eliminated the assumption of the Jews and refuted the objection of the Sadducees, because the Jews did indeed believe the dead would rise again, but they had crude, fleshly ideas about the state of humanity after resurrection. He said, “They will be equal to the angels of God.”…
It has already been stated that we are to rise again. We have heard from the Lord that we rise again to the life of the angels. In his own resurrection, he has shown us in what specific form we are to rise again. SERMON 362.18-19. [3]
[1] Mt 22:29-30; Mk 12:24-25.
[2] Much more succinct in the Latin: ibi enim sucessor ubi decessor.
[3] WSA 3 10:254-55**.
THE SAINTS ARE CHILDREN OF GOD
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: Let us also see what Christ said to them. He says, “The children of this world that lead worldly, fleshly lives full of fleshly lust marry and are married for the procreation of children. Those who have maintained an honorable and chosen life, full of all excellence, and have been accounted worthy of attaining to a glorious and marvelous resurrection, certainly will be raised far above the life which people lead in this world. They will live as is suitable for saints who already have been brought near to God. They are equal with the angels and are the children of God. Since all fleshly lust is taken away and no place whatsoever is left in them for bodily pleasure, they resemble the holy angels, fulfilling a spiritual and not a material service suitable for holy spirits. They are at the same time counted worthy of a glory like the angels enjoy. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 136. [1]
[1] CGSL 542**.
NO MARRIAGE AND NO PHYSICAL DESIRE IN THE RESURRECTION
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: If anyone ponders over this answer about the resurrection of the dead, he will find that the Lord is not rejecting marriage but is purging the expectation of physical desire in the resurrection. The words “the children of this age” were not spoken in contrast to the children of some other age. It is like saying, “those born in this generation,” who are children by force of birth, being born and engendering themselves, since without the process of birth no one will pass into this life. This process of birth is balanced by a process of decay and is no longer in store for the person who has once been cut off from life here. STROMATEIS 3.87.2-3. [1]
[1] FC 85:311*.
VIRGINITY GIVES A FORETASTE OF THE GLORY OF THE RESURRECTION
CYPRIAN: Virgins, persevere in what you have begun to be. Persevere in what you will be. A great reward, a glorious prize for virtue, and an excellent reward for purity are reserved for you. Do you wish to know from what misery the virtue of continence is free and what advantage it provides? “I will multiply,” said God to the woman, “your sorrows and your groans, and in sorrow you will bring forth your children, and your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall have dominion over you.” [1] You are free from this sentence. You do not fear the sorrows of women and their groans. You have no fear about the birth of children, nor is your husband your master, but your master and head is Christ, in the likeness of and in place of the man. Your fortune and condition are in common. The voice of the Lord says, “The children of this world give birth and are born. Those who will be found worthy of that world and of the resurrection from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage. They will not die anymore, for they are equal to the angels of God since they are the children of the resurrection.” What we shall be, you already have begun to be. You already have in this world the glory of the resurrection. You pass through the world without the pollution of the world. While you remain chaste and virgins, you are equal to the angels of God. THE DRESS OF VIRGINS 22. [2]
[1] Gen 3:16.
[2] FC 36:50*.
JESUS CITES MOSES TO AFFIRM THE RESURRECTION
CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA: The Savior also demonstrated the great ignorance of the Sadducees by bringing forward their own leader Moses, who was clearly acquainted with the resurrection of the dead. He set God before us saying in the bush, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” [1] Of whom is he God, if, according to their argument, these have ceased to live? He is the God of the living. They certainly will rise when his almighty right hand brings them and all that are on the earth there.
For people not to believe that this will happen is worthy perhaps of the ignorance of the Sadducees, but it is altogether unworthy of those who love Christ. We believe in him who says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” [2] He will raise the dead suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, and at the last trumpet. It shall sound, the dead in Christ shall rise incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [3] For Christ our common Savior will transfer us into incorruption, glory and to an incorruptible life. COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 136. [4]
[1] Ex 3:6.
[2] Jn 11:25.
[3] 1 Cor 15:52.
[4] CGSL 542-43**.
LIVING TO CHRIST BY THE GRACE OF BAPTISM
PHILOXENUS OF MABBUG: The prophet’s words are applicable to those who sin without perceiving their sin. A sinner who has received baptism, although he may be dead toward his soul because he does not perceive his sin, he is alive to God because of the grace of baptism that he possesses. This agrees with the words “God is not of the dead but of the living, for they are all living in him.” ON THE INDWELLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 1. [1]
[1] CS 101:124*.
Lk