Part 3: of 5 Marriage for life vs. the Sadducee’s Gambit: continuing from "The P.O.P.E. in the Pulpit"
- Thomas Power
- Mar 8
- 3 min read
Updated: 9 hours ago
For examples of the P.O.P.E. in practice we have not far to look. I will start with my favorite subject, marriage for life. Approaching Jesus the word like a child, we can easily see and accept that marriage is for life. Look no further than Luke 16:18. 18Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
III. The Sadducee’s Gambit
It is difficult to understand how we can navigate around such clear text. Many today seem to wish Jesus had never spoken these words, choosing instead to ignore them or hope their congregations aren’t reading the Bible too closely for themselves. When cornered, the common retreat is to the 'exception clause' of Matthew. I’ve written before about the hermeneutical gymnastics required to make this 'clause' negate the absolute nature of Christ’s command.
Think of the logical weight here: If we believe there is an 'exception' to Jesus saying 'Whosoever' in Luke 16:18, are we prepared to apply that same logic to John 3:16? If 'whosoever' is conditional in one breath of the Master, how can we be sure it is absolute when He speaks of our salvation? We cannot afford to be disingenuous with the text just to 'run the clock out' on a difficult question. Another common technique is to throw a monkey wrench into the gears of truth—a strawman argument using extreme examples to distract from the rule. It is a tactic not unlike the one used by the Sadducees in Matthew 22:
23The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, 24saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. 25Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: 26likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. 27And last of all the woman died also. 28Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. 29Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. 30For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. 31But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, 32I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.
When confronted with the hard sayings of Jesus, many today reach for the 'exception clause' or construct a strawman argument—much like the Sadducees did with the woman married to seven brothers (Matthew 22:23-32). Their goal wasn't to understand the resurrection; it was to use a 'what if' to make God's design
look ridiculous. Jesus’ response remains the standard: 'Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.' When we use extreme trauma or tragic circumstances to justify a permanent departure from God’s commands, we aren't being more compassionate than God; we are suggesting that His Word isn't powerful enough to handle real-world brokenness.
In the next section, Part 4, "Saul's Rebellion," we will look at how this same spirit of "selective obedience" destroyed a kingdom. Just as Saul spared the "best" of the Amalekite spoil under the guise of a future sacrifice, many modern pastors today tolerate "tainted tithes" and persistent compromise, convincing themselves that the utility of the gift justifies the disobedience of the giver. We have traded the "fear of the Lord" for the fear of the "exit interview," and as we shall see, the Bible has a very specific, unsettling name for this kind of rebellion: Witchcraft.
What’s coming in this 5-part series:
The P.O.P.E. in the Pulpit: Confronting the Crisis of Christian Unbelief ✅
Part 3: Marriage for life vs. the Sadducee’s Gambit. ✅
Part 5: Christian unbelief, hermeneutics, and the purity call.
