Why do they call it a “Television Set” when there’s only one?
How fast do you need to cook for it to be considered “Fast Food”?
Why do they imply the ‘birds and the bee’s’ get up to something together?
Why aren’t Blueberry’s blue?
Do Butterfly’s make Butter?
Does the Queen Bee have a King?
Can you carry a Kangaroo on your back?
Is a gold knife and fork still considered Silverware?
Why isn’t Chocolate considered a vegetable if it comes from Cocoa Beans?
Recent posts have been focused on the silly, stupid, dumb questions that the religious leaders were giving to Jesus in an attempt to trip him up.
First the Pharisees challenged him: “Who gave you the right to do what you are doing and say what you are saying?” BY WHAT AUTHORITY…?
Next came scribes and teachers of the law: “Is it lawful to pay your taxes?”
Neither question was aimed at learning, exchanging ideas, or even engaging in an honest-to-goodness debate. Oh no, they just wanted to trick Jesus into a verbal exchanged in which they shame and embarrass him.
Now comes the Sadducees. It’s their time to shine. Let’s see what they come up with.
Hey Jesus, here’s something we’d like to get an answer about.
“If 7 brothers die in succession & each had married the same gal, one after another, who is her husband in heaven?”
Come on, Sadducees: Really? Really? Is that the best you got? Is that the best you can come up with?
Here’s what’s odd about this entire exchange. The Sadducees were ultra-orthodox / conservatives of the day. They held that only the Pentateuch (the first five books in Bible) we truly inspired by God.
Since the Pentateuch did not teach the RESURRECTION, they did not believe in the resurrection.
So, from their perspective, this was a completely absurd question. Any answer would be absurd and they would trap Jesus in a no-win situation.
Jesus was much more like the Pharisees than the Sadducees, especially when it came to the doctrine of the resurrection. The Sadducees would convinced that their question would reveal the lunacy of Jesus’ teaching about resurrection – and the lunacy of the entire doctrine.
For the Sadducees, the basis of their HOPE was based not on the resurrection, but rather on the continuity of Israel. So their hope was based on marriage, having children, grand-children, and a multitude of descendents.
So, this notion of the resurrection was a threat to the continuation and continuity.
The way they phrased the question, they thought that the whole idea was an alternative to their doctrine of continuation – and not a good one. Put another way, they saw the resurrection as the same-old-same-old.
But that’ not the doctrine of the resurrection. That’s not the doctrine of heaven, the afterlife, etc.
Heaven is NOT about more of the same, only better.
Heaven is NOT about reunion with old loved one
Resurrection is about being in GOD’S immediate presence
Resurrection is about fully experiencing union WITH God.
Remember what Jesus said as the cross drew near? “I am the resurrection and the life…”
What does it mean to relate to this God?
It means LIFE!
What does it mean to relate this Jesus?
It means LIFE!
So, then, resurrection is not something we wait for and look forward to. Rather it is something that has already begun in Jesus.
Here’s how Jesus put it in Luke 20:
Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the burning bush, 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, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
There own accepted canon of scripture illustrated the lunacy of their dumb question. Jesus points out that the God of the Bible is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and to God, all these are alive.
Jesus again puts the religious folk in their place. The text says: “They no longer dared to ask…”
Next post, we will talk about the kinds of question Jesus likes and always accepts, no matter who they come from.
Jesus shows he has little time or patience with dumb questions; with people trying to trick, trap, and trip-up; with people who play mind over God’s word and way; with people who have a “holier than thou” type attitude.
But there were (there are) some questions Jesus always has time to hear. We’ll talk about that in our next blog.
Grace Walk: What You’ve Always Wanted in the Christian Life
by: Steve McVey
publisher: Harvest House Publishers, published: 2005-05-01
ASIN: 0736916393
EAN: 9780736916394
sales rank: 28415
price: $5.12 (new), $0.01 (used)
Now with a fresh cover! The over 250,000-selling Grace Walk has helped thousands of believers leave behind the “manic-depressive” Christian walk: either running around trying to perform to be acceptable to God–or thinking they’ve failed Him again and wondering if they’ll ever measure up.
Living the grace walk gets Christians off this religious roller coaster. Using his own journey from legalism into grace, Steve McVey illustrates the foundational, biblical truths of who believers are in Jesus Christ and how they can let Him live His life through them each day.
As they experience their identity in Jesus Christ, Christians will come to know “Amazing Grace” as not just a song but as their true way of life.
