Broken Assumptions

Hi sisters,

A few friends and I read the book of Matthew together a few months ago. (Quick note: do you have Bible-reading companions? I hope you do!). I was reading through some of my notes and came across a day that stood out to me. I can’t believe I never posted about it! Well here it is:

The story is a familiar one found in Matthew 22. Jesus is approached by some Sadducees and is asked a question:

“Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her” (Matthew 22:23-28).

The point of this question was to ask Jesus about His theology on resurrection. How could resurrection be possible under the hypothetical scenario they presented? They thought Jesus would be stumped. So remember that’s the main point of the question.

Under the surface, I noticed something interesting in their question. It seems readily assumed by the questioners that the woman will belong to one of these men. A possession. It’s almost like they were asking, “Who will get the inheritance?” It struck me that this undertone reduced the woman to an object that someone will possess.

Of course, Jesus has a crushing reply:

“You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God” (verse 29).

(Ouch. What an opener!)

“For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living” (verses 30-32).

Jesus doesn’t open His reply with His evidence for resurrection. He FIRST addresses the undertone: the woman in their hypothetical question will not be possessed by any human in the resurrection. Men and women both will be like the angels in regards to marriage. In one sentence, Jesus de-objectifies women, elevates them as equals in the new heavens and new earth, and gives them dignity.

This is a pretty big deal when we consider the time period: women were not even allowed to testify in court because their voice wasn’t considered a valid testimony. Furthermore, there are places in the world today that this is still a reality for women – they are defined as literal property in the eyes of the laws and culture.

The Gospel always breaks through cultural blind spots. The question is, what blind spots do we have due to our culture? There’s no way around it, we will be wrong about some spiritual matters because we are blind to their realities due to cultural bias. However, we can take steps to mitigate the risk of cultural bias.

One, we should become aquatinted with the Scriptures. Jesus rebuked the Sadducees for not knowing the Scriptures. So we should probably start there! Jesus also said they didn’t know the power of God. Therefore, the reading can’t be “learning” only, but should also be applied.

Two, we can read books like Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes or How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. The reason I suggest these is because we probably won’t read the Bible on our own and suddenly become aware of our bias. By definition, we are unaware of blind spots! Therefore, we need to read the Bible in community AND read material that will expose our bias.

I hope you feel honored by Jesus in this story as He clearly gives women dignity. I hope it also challenges you to be in God’s Word consistently as you investigate your own bias.