Sermon

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November 18, 2007
C-Saint Triumphant (End Times 3)
Luke 20:27-38
Pastor Robert Raasch

Is There Life After Death?

1. Many deny it
2. Jesus describes it
3. Scripture teaches it

It’s a question that everyone has to wrestle with sooner or later—whether it’s as you struggle to find the words to tell your daughter that her grandmother has passed away, or as you stand at the casket of a loved one and wonder whether you’ll ever see this person again, or even as you draw near to the end of your life and realize that each day could be your last, the question begs to be asked, “Is this it?  Is there any kind of existence after a person breathes his last?  Is there life after death? 

My friends, that’s the question that our text for today takes up, namely:

Is There Life after Death?
As we take a closer look at our text, we’ll see that:
I. Many deny that fact
But, II. Jesus clearly describes it
And III. The Scriptures certainly teach it

You realize, that even though the Apostles’ Creed clearly states, “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” the fact is, that is not a universally held belief.  For example, in our world today, over 700 million Hindus reject the idea that they will some day come back to life with their own bodies.  The Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that billions of non-believers will be sent to Gehenna and never be raised from the dead.  Even within mainline Christian churches there are those who reject the resurrection of the body.  Last year a survey was taken in which over 1000 adults were asked the following question, “Do you believe that, after you die, your physical body will be resurrected some day?”  How many do you think agreed with that statement?  36% said, “Yes, I believe in the resurrection of the body.”  Almost two thirds said, “No, I don’t believe that my body will be raised to life.”

But you know, that skepticism regarding the resurrection of the body is not something new.  Already back in Bible times, people were calling into question the reality of a bodily resurrection.  When St. Paul preached to the Greeks in Athens, they were more than happy to listen to him—until he brought up the resurrection.  Then they turned up their noses.  “Nah, we don’t believe that.”  Even among the Jews, there were people who rejected the idea of the resurrection of the dead.  They were called the Sadducees.  In fact, we meet some of them here in our text.  Luke tells us, “Some of the Sadducees who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.”  And from there they go on to describe this hypothetical situation where a married man dies without children and then each one of his six brothers marries the same woman and they all die without having any children.  Their question: “In the resurrection, whose wife will she be, considering they were all married to her?”

Now, we need to understand that the example that the Sadducees bring up is based on an Old Testament law of Moses known as the Levirate law.  “Levir” is the Latin word for brother-in-law.  It basically states that if a married man dies without a male heir, his brother is to marry his widow to produce offspring that will bear the name of the deceased man.  In this way, every family line in the nation of Israel would remain intact.

Well, here in this situation, the Sadducees take that biblical principle and stretch it to the nth degree.  “What if it that happens like 6 times in a row?”  Their purpose is not to get an official ruling from Jesus, but rather to point out the problems that would be created by a resurrection of the body.  I mean, if all these men come back to life along with this woman, what a mess that would be.  Certainly God wouldn’t be pleased with a woman who is married to 7 different men—at the same time!  Therefore (the Sadducees conclude) there can’t be a resurrection.

Now, at first glance, you’re maybe thinking to yourself, “Yeah, what a ridiculous example those Sadducees conjure up.”  But on second thought, maybe you’ve found yourself wondering, “Yeah, what if my spouse were to die, and I were to get remarried.  How would that work in heaven?  Would I be married to both of them?  Or what if I were to get divorced and then remarry?  If both of my spouses were Christian, would I have two wives or two husbands in heaven?

Fortunately for us, Jesus answers our questions and well as the Sadducees’ question by: II. Describing what life after the resurrection will be like.  Listen to Jesus’ explanation, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels.”  With these words, Jesus gives us some interesting details about what life in heaven will be like—and at the same time, dispels some popular misconceptions about the after-life. 

First, there will be no marriage in heaven.  Marriage is something that God instituted for the people of this world.  That means that even though your marriage is “made in heaven,”  that doesn’t mean it’s “made for heaven.”  Or to put it another way, the marriage bond does not extend beyond the grave.  How does St. Paul put it in Romans 7?  “By law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.”

Now, I realize that for those of us who are happily married, Jesus’ words may be a little disconcerting.  Maybe you’re thinking, “Wait a minute.  I want to see my husband with me in heaven.  Not having my wife with me will make me sad.  In fact, I know that’s what Grandma’s waiting for—to go to heaven to be with Grandpa.”  But please, don’t misunderstand.  It’s not that we won’t be with our Christian spouse in heaven.  It’s not that we won’t recognize them.  It’s not that we won’t rejoice in a blessed reunion with them in heaven.  We will.  But rather than celebrate that we had this physical and emotional connection with another human being during our life here on earth—a connection that was still fraught with sin and heartache—we’ll be busy celebrating the perfect connection we have with Jesus.  Rather than looking around for our bride, we will in fact be Christ’s bride.  We’ll be part of the Communion of Saints, dressed in white around the throne of God.  Far more important than the fact that we were once husband and wife is the fact that we are now and forever will be children of God.  Isn’t that the point Jesus makes here in our text?  He says that those who through faith in him are worthy of taking part in the resurrection from the dead “are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.”

But notice that Jesus tells us something else about what life after death will be like.  He says about those who are raised from the dead, “They can no longer die; for they are like the angels.”  Again, please don’t misunderstand those words.  When believers die they don’t become angels.  My dear Grandma Raasch, who has long since gone to heaven, is not my guardian angel, watching over me, and protecting me from all harm.  No, God has real angels to do that.  When believers die, Jesus tells us, they become “like angels.”  In what way?  Well, Jesus tells us, “They can no longer die, for they are like the angels.”  In other words, the point of comparison here is immortality.  Just as the angels in heaven will never die; so also the souls of believers will never die.  And after the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day, neither will the bodies of believers!

You and I will get our unique bodies back—minus any of the effects of sin, minus any of the aches and pains that we experience here on earth, bodies that will flat out live forever.  In the children’s lesson a couple weeks ago we heard that the Energizer Bunny keeps going and going and going.  Well, compared to how long our bodies will last, that bunny is just a flash in the pan.

Now, the question is, how do we know all this?  On what do we base our belief in the resurrection of the body?  Is it just wishful thinking?  Is this all pure conjecture on our part?  Why do we confess in the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting?”  The answer:  Because III. The Scriptures teach it.

Maybe you can think of some of the references to the resurrection of the body in the pages of Holy Scripture.  You think of Paul’s words to the Thessalonians.  “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.  After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. (1 Th 4:16-17).  Jesus himself speaks of the final resurrection with the words, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned” (John 5:28-29).  And lest we think that the concept of a resurrection of the body was something taught only in the New Testament scriptures, remember the confession of faithful Job, hundreds of years before Christ: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes.” (Job 19:25-27).

Of course, all these references to the resurrection are ultimately tied to—and therefore guaranteed by—one critical event, and that’s the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  I mean, if Jesus’ body is still lying in some hole in the ground, what reason would you or I have to believe that our fate will be any different?  But the fact is, Jesus’ body is not still in the grave.  There are few events in ancient history that have better documentation than the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Hundreds of eye-witnesses of the resurrected Christ, in different places and at different times, believers and skeptics alike—all testifying to one undeniable, historic fact.  Jesus of Nazareth physically died and then after three days came back to life and now lives with a glorified soul and body forever.  As the Scriptures say, he is now “the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:20).   In other words, because he lives, so will we.

Obviously, the Bible clearly teaches the resurrection in a number of places.  There is one passage that is often overlooked.  Jesus refers to it here in our text.  Jesus reminds his listeners about the account of Moses at the burning bush.  In that account, recorded in Exodus chapter 3, the Lord identifies himself with these words, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob” (Ex. 3:6).  Jesus points to those words as proof that there’s life after death.  How so?  Well notice that God doesn’t say, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”  He says, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”  The implication there is that these three patriarchs are still alive.  Let me give you a modern day example.  If I say that so and so is an avid stamp collector, you’d undoubtedly assume that he’s still alive.  On the other hand, if I say that he always was a stamp collector, the assumption is, he’s no longer here.  He’s dead.  That’s the point that Jesus and his Father is making here in our text.  By saying that heis the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he’s basically saying that those people are still alive.  As Jesus puts it, “The Lord is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”  In other words, the souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are alive right now—even as they await the Last Day when their bodies will be reunited with their souls and they will be joined with all the saints in glory.

In fact, isn’t that the picture which God’s Word paints for us on this day we call Saints Triumphant?  God gives us his word that all of our loved ones who have died in Christ are in fact not dead.  They are alive.  There are in the arms of their Savior today.  Mel and Leone Knoke, Art Klemp, Cindy Ermers, Ian Mack, Don Plamann, Floyd Abendroth.  They’re all alive—not because they were such good people during their lives.  They’re alive because they all had a Savior.  A savior who lived and died in their place.  A Savior who in fact went to hell in their place, all so that they could live forever with him in heaven.  They’re all saints triumphant!