Gospel in Art: Some Sadducees put this question to him

Isaac, Abraham and Jacob fresco in Orthodox rock church Abuna Yemata Guh, Gheralta region, Tigray, Ethiopia, 6thC © Alamy Stock

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 19 November 2022
Luke 20:27-40

Some Sadducees - those who say that there is no resurrection - approached Jesus and they put this question to him, 'Master, we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man's married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Well then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now, at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been married to all seven?'

Jesus replied, 'The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.'

Some scribes then spoke up. 'Well put, Master' they said - because they would not dare to ask him any more questions.

Reflection on the Ethiopian fresco

The Saducees are guilty of interpreting the scriptures and laws too rigidly. To test Jesus they present him with a hypothesis that borders on the extreme. But Jesus does now want to be drawn in. He sees what they are up to, and simply insists that the next life after this earthly life, will be completely different in nature. Jesus reminds us that God's realm is must vaster than we can ever imagine or comprehend.

The question asked in today's reading by the Sadducees was not asked to seek clarity, but to trick Jesus. They wanted to sow division. But in His answer, Jesus wants to lift them from their very earthly views of religion to an almost cosmic vision. Jesus takes them to a place which transcends space and time… a space which not only holds Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, but also our our own deceased family members and friends who we remember especially during this month of November.

Our painted fresco depicts Isaac, Abraham and Jacob in the Orthodox rock church Abuna Yemata Guh in Ethiopia. Abuna Yemata Guh is a monolithic church located at a height of 2,580 metres and has to be climbed on foot to be reached. It is notable for its dome and wall paintings dating back to the 5th century and its architecture. To reach the church, visitors have to cross a natural stone bridge with a sheer drop of approximately 250m on either side, and thereafter a final narrow wooden footbridge. The paintings on the walls and domes of the church are preserved in a reasonable state (even though our fresco has largely been restored) and date back to initial traces of Christianity in Ethiopia. I have never been there myself, but I hope to one day...

LINKS

Gospel in Art: https://christian.art/
Today's reflection: https://christian.art/daily-gospel-reading/luke-20-27-40-2022-2/