Preaching and the Land - Luke 20:27-38

Model of the Second Temple with Its Teaching Porticoes

In our text for November 10, Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem for Passover and the final days.  According to one understanding of the events of Holy Week, it was now Tuesday.  The week-long journey up to Jerusalem culminated on Sunday.  Jesus cleansed the Temple on Monday.

Here's what else we know about the "day of teaching" from the customs and practices of the day:

• as was customary with the rabbis, Jesus taught in the porticoes of the Temple
• the eastern porticoes were known as Solomon's
• in keeping with the teaching methods, Jesus answered the questions of his audience
• among the crowd were "spies" (Luke 20:20), who sought to entrap Jesus
• previously they had questioned Jesus' authority and raised the issue of taxes and one's highest loyalty
• now some Sadducees asked Jesus his position on the resurrection
• in doing so, they gave the preposterous example of one woman who had married successively seven brothers upon the death of each previous husband
• thus the question was "in the resurrection therefore, whose wife will the woman be"
• with this question, the Sadducees sought to establish their position for they did not believe in the resurrection
• Jesus believed as the Pharisees in the resurrection
• he quoted Exodus 3:6 in declaring that the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the God of the living

Jesus' teaching carried the day.  The spies "no longer dared to ask him any question."  Some scribes declared that Jesus had spoken well.