Into the Unknown

By Alessandra Velsor

“That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, right on down to the seventh. Finally, the woman died. Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?’ Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.’ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.”—Matthew 22:23–33 (NIV)

When digesting today’s passage, I couldn’t help but think about one of the most popular songs in the Disney film Frozen 2. Our heroine, Elsa, sings it to a voice she hears while pretending it’s just a whisper and nothing more. She sings:

Everyone I’ve ever loved is here within these walls

I’m sorry, secret siren, but I’m blocking out your calls

I’ve had my adventure, I don’t need something new

I’m afraid of what I’m risking if I follow you

Into the unknown . . .

Doesn’t that sound like a song the Sadducees would sing?

Just to give you a brief background, the Sadducees could be easily compared to our modern liberal theologians as to how they interpreted Scripture. They only followed the Torah (or the first five books of the Bible), and they didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, or angelic beings. They denied the immortality of the soul, and they suppressed the power of God, which made them anti-supernaturalists. Because they didn’t believe in bodily resurrection, it didn’t make sense why they even posed this question since they didn’t care about the answer anyway. Sadducees were already expected to reject the Messiah. Similar to the Pharisees, the Sadducees simply wanted to trap Jesus and find Him guilty of false teaching. Pharisees and Sadducees disagreed on almost everything, but when it came to Jesus, they fully agreed He was a threat to their distinctive agendas.

Although the Bible has given us some glimpses of what heaven could be like, there’s still so much that’s left a mystery, which forces us to heavily lean on our faith and take a leap into the unknown. Because of the Sadducees, we learn our relationships in heaven will look different than they do on earth, and these verses serve as confirmation.

The glory of heaven is all about our connection with God, which will surpass any earthly relationship we ever had (Revelation 21:22–23). Particularly, we’ll be captivated with such awe and amazement at the glory of God that we’ll not be thinking of our spouse (or spouses for some people), which answers the question the Sadducees had for Jesus. Therefore, Glynn Wolfe, who was a Baptist minister and is best known for having the most marriages in this lifetime (31), is not worrying about which one of his wives is his one and only wife in the afterlife!

Jesus isn’t debating the actual law found in Deuteronomy 25 (the Levirate marriage), which calls a widow, who never got a chance to have any children with her deceased husband, to be impregnated by her brother-in-law and count the child as her spouse’s descendant. In fact, He’s answering their questions directly by showing them He knows what they mean, and He certainly means what He says! There’s no doubt Jesus believes in the Law, in heaven, in the resurrection of the body, and in all the supernatural things they vehemently reject.

The beautiful part of heaven is that we’ll still remember our loved ones! In Luke 16:27–28, Jesus describes a rich man in the afterlife who is aware of his family. It’s difficult to grasp at this moment, but we’ll finally love differently and, most importantly, perfectly! The only perfect love we know is His because we receive it every day, but we’ll ultimately be capable of loving others as He loves us.

Pause: What comes to mind when you think of heaven?

Practice: God loves our questions! When we ask them with a pure heart, without any agendas, and they bring us to His feet, He desires to give us an answer . . . in His time, of course! Although some questions may not be answered in this lifetime, what are some questions you’d ask God about the mysteries of life? Don’t be afraid to ask Him!

Pray: Heavenly Father, I don’t know why I often have so many questions and doubts circling my mind, but I submit them all to You today. There’s nothing You haven’t heard of, Lord, but here I am waiting to receive what You have to say. Prepare my heart, Jesus, to accept Your will in Your time. Help me to be ready for what the day will bring with humility and adaptability. For those questions that remain unanswered, help me to be at peace with the unknown, but confident that You are present and trusting Your authority in all. Thank You for Your unconditional love. I trust You because I know You love me and want the best for me. Amen.