Observation: Some Sadducees (part of an elite religious ruling class) take issue with Jesus' proclamation about the Resurrection of the Dead. Jesus was not alone in preaching this. In fact, this was one of several things about which he and the Pharisees agreed. But it may be strange to the modern ear to hear that in Jesus' time, the more conservative position among Jews was that there simply is no such thing as life after death. The idea of a bodily resurrection--or of any other kind of an afterlife--was considered subversive. Jews who expected to receive life after death were more likely to take risks in protest against Rome and its puppet rulers. Jews who had no such beliefs, and believed they had only this one life to live, were easier to control.
Application: Resurrection of the dead is still a controversial concept, but not necessarily for the same reasons. It seems like every single year as Easter approaches, I manage to shock a few lifelong Christian believers by saying that "the resurrection of the dead" we profess in the creeds applies to all the dead, not just to Jesus. Many Jews of Jesus' time, as well as the first generations of Christians, went to their graves believing not in an immortal soul which will "fly away" to a separate heavenly realm after death, but rather that at the appropriate time, God would raise them, body and soul, to experience eternal life right here on a renewed earth. The New Testament seems unclear on exactly what happens to our consciousness between the day of our death and that day. Some texts seem to indicate that we do have some kind of peaceful, disembodied existence with God as we await the last day. Others seem to say we are just gone: ceasing to exist except in God's memory, to be raised in the future.
The idea of an immortal soul is more common to Greek philosophy than first-century Jewish or early Christian thought. To the extent that Jews did believe in a soul which is "the real me", apart from my body, they were influenced by Greek thought, whereas Jewish thought was much more earthly. They were more inclined to say our bodies were ourselves.
In the end, it's a mystery. Obviously, nobody's ever successfully come back to tell us what the real deal is (apart from Jesus, but he isn't telling!). But I will just say this: I think the idea of an immortal, indestructible soul that is the essence of who we are, is so attractive because it gives us control. It makes us feel stronger, more independent, less fragile. Whatever awful thing may befall your body, nobody, not even God, can destroy your soul. It will always survive, always remain, no matter what. In short, if you have an immortal soul to fall back on, you do not have to entrust your whole existence to God. It's like having an extra copy of yourself saved "in the cloud." Your earthly hard drive can crash, but nothing can happen to the back-up copy.
The resurrection, on the other hand, is doubling down on God's will to save you. It's saying what Jesus said--"Into your hands I commend my spirit"--and really meaning it, because you honestly aren't sure whether you'll exist, or in what form, after you die and before God decides to raise you again. It's radical, outlandish trust in God's promises:
"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;
and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see on my side,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another."
Job 19:25-27
Again, that it requires more trust in God doesn't necessarily mean it's "right" and the hope in an immortal soul is "wrong." Either way, we're betting on God, all the way, and we trust however it all goes down, God won't disappoint.
Prayer: God, thank you for our bodies and our minds. Thank you for the Spirit of life that keeps us awake and breathing while we walk this earth. Help us entrust all that we are--whatever we are--to you. Amen.
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