Word@Work 141 - Mark 12:18-23
Published: Tue, 06/10/08
Word@Work from BeaconLight
Read Mark 12:18-23 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?" (NIV)
Very few people ask honest questions. The quest for learning with an open mind is rare. Like the questions by a cross examining barrister in court, which are designed to prove a point; so those with an axe to grind ask questions that will vindicate them and condemn their opponents. Until now, the religious Pharisees had been in the spotlight, but now Mark takes us behind the scenes of the Sadducee mind. They did not believe in a resurrection - the life you saw was the whole story: no afterlife for them.
So why did they ask a question about life beyond the grave? Had they heard that Jesus said he would rise again? Were they competing with their rivals, the Pharisees? They were trying to trap Jesus. But the question would inevitably rebound on them, because they had no understanding of heaven or hell. They could only assume that the life-to-come was the same as this life - one of human relationships with jealousies and rivalries. They had no other information other than to extrapolate the present into the future. Had they listened more carefully to Jesus, they would have asked a better question.
It is not a thirst for knowledge that brings us to God (Paul describes such people as 'always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth' 2 Tim 3:7). Unless our starting point is informed by God's Word, there is little hope of arriving at His truth. And that was the point Jesus was going to make. It is the same with our friends: discussion about God can only reach the truth if it starts with His revelation. That is why it is important to tell out what God's Word says - they will never know otherwise! However many questions and comments may transit a coffee table, the truth will only emerge when we start with what God says! That is our daily challenge.
Prayer: Dear Lord. I know that human discussion cannot arrive, unaided, at Divine truth. Help me to present what You have said, clearly and winsomely, so that my friends may be able to know the truth, and the truth will set them free. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
Very few people ask honest questions. The quest for learning with an open mind is rare. Like the questions by a cross examining barrister in court, which are designed to prove a point; so those with an axe to grind ask questions that will vindicate them and condemn their opponents. Until now, the religious Pharisees had been in the spotlight, but now Mark takes us behind the scenes of the Sadducee mind. They did not believe in a resurrection - the life you saw was the whole story: no afterlife for them.
So why did they ask a question about life beyond the grave? Had they heard that Jesus said he would rise again? Were they competing with their rivals, the Pharisees? They were trying to trap Jesus. But the question would inevitably rebound on them, because they had no understanding of heaven or hell. They could only assume that the life-to-come was the same as this life - one of human relationships with jealousies and rivalries. They had no other information other than to extrapolate the present into the future. Had they listened more carefully to Jesus, they would have asked a better question.
It is not a thirst for knowledge that brings us to God (Paul describes such people as 'always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth' 2 Tim 3:7). Unless our starting point is informed by God's Word, there is little hope of arriving at His truth. And that was the point Jesus was going to make. It is the same with our friends: discussion about God can only reach the truth if it starts with His revelation. That is why it is important to tell out what God's Word says - they will never know otherwise! However many questions and comments may transit a coffee table, the truth will only emerge when we start with what God says! That is our daily challenge.
Prayer: Dear Lord. I know that human discussion cannot arrive, unaided, at Divine truth. Help me to present what You have said, clearly and winsomely, so that my friends may be able to know the truth, and the truth will set them free. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
You can read more of this Bible passage online - in English and other languages - share the Bible with your friends!
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