Introduction. Many colleges offer a course called “Logic” to help students learn the principles of inference and deduction. They define logic as “the science of reasoning, ... called inferring... The reasoning process may be thought of as beginning with input (premises, data, etc.) and producing output (conclusions).” These principles are fundamental to not only science, but most disciplines. When all facts (input) are gathered, inferences and deductions drawn from them will always be true. Doctors are trained in logical deduction to create a diagnosis. Lawyers use logical inferences and analysis to create their defense. Detectives use logical inferences and deductions to find the guilty. In this article we will explore how Christians must also use logic, inferences and deduction to find the truth.
The Sadducees needed a course in deduction. They had formed a conclusion based on faulty and incomplete data. Using a single scripture (Deut. 25:5-6), they had made an inference and drawn a conclusion. Wanting each tribe to remain intact, God had made a law that when a man died childless, his brother should take her as his wife and raise up a child for his dead brother, “that his name be not blotted out of Israel.” Using this law, they created a hypothetical situation where a woman ended up with seven husbands from among the brothers. They reasoned that since a woman could not have seven husbands after the resurrection, there was no resurrection (Mk. 12:18-27). They thought they could entrap Jesus with this reasoning and conclusion.
Jesus destroyed their conclusion by showing them true logic. He began by rebuking them for their ignorance of Scripture. First, He revealed that in the resurrection, everyone raised will be like angels and marriage will cease. This made their conclusion false and wrong. Second, He used the passage about Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3. When God told Moses “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” He was also revealing they were still alive. Since God can’t be “the God of the dead but of the living,” there was no dispute. As recorded in Genesis, their deaths centuries earlier only ended their earthly life. A new life awaited them and had begun. This unassailable logic amazed the multitudes and put them to silence. He then rebuked them again: “You are therefore greatly mistaken.” Jesus could have inferred the same thing from Enoch being taken (Heb. 11:5)
The Sadducees needed a course in deduction. They had formed a conclusion based on faulty and incomplete data. Using a single scripture (Deut. 25:5-6), they had made an inference and drawn a conclusion. Wanting each tribe to remain intact, God had made a law that when a man died childless, his brother should take her as his wife and raise up a child for his dead brother, “that his name be not blotted out of Israel.” Using this law, they created a hypothetical situation where a woman ended up with seven husbands from among the brothers. They reasoned that since a woman could not have seven husbands after the resurrection, there was no resurrection (Mk. 12:18-27). They thought they could entrap Jesus with this reasoning and conclusion.
Jesus destroyed their conclusion by showing them true logic. He began by rebuking them for their ignorance of Scripture. First, He revealed that in the resurrection, everyone raised will be like angels and marriage will cease. This made their conclusion false and wrong. Second, He used the passage about Moses and the burning bush in Exodus 3. When God told Moses “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” He was also revealing they were still alive. Since God can’t be “the God of the dead but of the living,” there was no dispute. As recorded in Genesis, their deaths centuries earlier only ended their earthly life. A new life awaited them and had begun. This unassailable logic amazed the multitudes and put them to silence. He then rebuked them again: “You are therefore greatly mistaken.” Jesus could have inferred the same thing from Enoch being taken (Heb. 11:5)