Good morning boys and girls!
How many of you like riddles? I liked them when I was your age, and I still like them because they make you think. Jesus also like riddles. He liked it when people told him riddles, and he also used riddles called parables. He used these riddles to teach the people about God.
One day, Jesus was approached by a group of Sadducees — religious leaders who did not believe in the resurrection. They were trying to trick Jesus into agreeing that there was no resurrection. They asked him to answer this riddle: “The law of Moses says that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name. Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. So the second brother married the widow, but he also died. Then the third brother married her. This continued until all seven brothers had married the same woman. Finally, the woman also died. So tell us, who will she be married to after the resurrection since all seven were married to her!”
My, that is a tricky riddle, isn't it? Listen to Jesus' answer.
Jesus replied, "Marriage is for people here on earth. But in the age to come, those who are raised from the dead will not marry or be married. Not only that, but they will never die again. They will live forever as the children of God."
Jesus went on to say, "Even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, he is the God of the living."
After Jesus answered their riddle so wisely, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Now, you and I know that Jesus promised us that if we love him and trust in him, we will live forever in heaven with him. Isn't it sad that some people do not believe there is a resurrection and eternal life in heaven?
Let us bow our heads for a moment of prayer. Dear God, thank you for promising us eternal life in heaven. Help us to live the life you want us to live so that we can be with you in heaven. We ask this in Jesus’ name, AMEN
