SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
11-05-2012
My Worship Time Focus: Biblical
Ignorance in High Places
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Mark 12:18-27
Message of
the verses: “18 ¶
Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to Jesus,
and began questioning Him, saying, 19
"Teacher, Moses wrote for us that IF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES and
leaves behind a wife AND LEAVES NO CHILD, HIS BROTHER SHOULD MARRY THE WIFE AND
RAISE UP CHILDREN TO HIS BROTHER. 20
"There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died
leaving no children. 21 "The second
one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise;
22 and so all seven left no children.
Last of all the woman died also. 23
"In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will
she be? For all seven had married her." 24
Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that
you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 "For when they rise from the dead, they
neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 "But regarding the fact that the dead
rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the
burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ’I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE
GOD OF ISAAC, and the God of Jacob’? 27
"He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly
mistaken.’”
I suppose that another good title for this section
could be “The One’s Who Tried to make Jesus a Fool became Fool’s,” for this is
exactly what happened to these Sadducees.
In the last SD on Mark 12 we learned that there were
three different groups of people in the Sanhedrin, which was the “Jewish
Religious Leaders” that were suppose to teach the Jews about the
Scriptures. The three different groups
were the Pharisees, whom we saw in the last SD, the Sadducees whom we see
today, and then the Scribes whom we will see in the next SD from Mark 12. I am sure that all of you have heard the old
story of the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection, and so that is
why they are “sad you see.” (Sorry about
that.) The Sadducees did not did not
believe in the resurrections, nor angels, and the reason that they did not
believe in this is because they could not find it in the first five books of
the Bible, books that were written by Moses.
The Pharisees did however believe in the resurrection, but it was not a
proper view according to the Scriptures.
They would argue whether or not when a person was resurrected if they
would have clothes on. They also believed
that when people were resurrected that they would be just like they are now, that
they would marry and continue to have children.
The Sadducees believed that when a person died that they would now exist
any longer, not go to heaven or hell, just not exist.
The story that they bring
to Jesus is a hypothetical question about a woman who had married seven
brothers from the same family, and all of them died without giving her any
children. Who then would be her husband
in heaven was their question. They got
their question from the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25:710 and at this time I
want to place a quote from John MacArthur’s message on this section of
Scripture. “Now let’s go back to Deuteronomy 25, because we’re
going to learn a lot by doing that and will return to our text in just a couple
of minutes, but I want you to see this pattern here and explain a little bit about
it to you. We can pick up in Deuteronomy 25 at verse 5. “When brothers live
together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall
not be married outside the family to a strange man.” Did you get that? Okay.
Brothers are living together in nearness to one another, the family is in some
sense still intact, one of then dies, has no son, the wife of the deceased
shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother
shall go in to her, take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a
husband’s brother to her. “It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall
assume the name of his dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out
from Israel. But if a man doesn’t desire to take his brother’s wife, then his
brother’s wife shall go out to the gate, to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s
brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel. He’s not willing
to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ Then the elders of the city shall
summon him and speak to him and if he persists and says, ‘I don’t desire to
take her,’ then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders
and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face and she shall declare, ‘Thus
it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house. In Israel his
name shall be called the house of him whose sandal is removed.’” And you don’t
want that on your door. That means you don’t take up the responsibility to have
a child and an heir so that the family estate can continue.”
There are a couple of
places that we see this happening in the OT.
One of them is in the book of Genesis where the son of Judah is
involved, (Gen.38). The other is a bit
more famous and that is found in the book of Ruth. In this story Ruth is from Moab and she is
married to a son of Elimelech and Naomi.
They had traveled to Moab due to a famine in the land and while there
Naomi loses her husband her two sons.
Ruth comes back to Bethlehem with Naomi and will eventually marry a
close relative of Elimelech named Boaz.
There is a closer relative than Boaz, but he does not want to marry
Ruth. Here is what happened, “7 Now this was the custom in former times in
Israel concerning the redemption and the exchange of land to confirm any
matter: a man removed his sandal and gave it to another; and this was the
manner of attestation in Israel. 8 So the
closest relative said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." And he removed
his sandal.” (Ruth 4:7-8)
You can see from the
story and the Scriptures where these Sadducees got their hypothetical question
for Jesus. Now we must remember that the
Sadducees only read the first five books of the Bible, and also that the
Pharisees had a convoluted belief about the resurrection. Another point to remember is that it had not
been very long ago that Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, and so we know
that Jesus believed in the resurrection for He says in John 11: 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes
in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’”
Now here is how Jesus
shows the Sadducees and for that matter the Pharisees that they are wrong. He goes to the OT book of Exodus for his
answer to the, the very section of Scripture that they were supposed to be expert
in, and talks about the passage where Moses comes to the “Burning Bush.” Dr. Wiersbe states, “God did not tell Moses
that He was (past tense) the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ The
patriarchs were alive when God spoke
those words to Moses; therefore, Moses does teach that there is life after
death.” When we look back at the story
of the transformation of Jesus on the mountain we see that He was speaking to
Moses and also to Elijah while up there and so this is another reason that
shows that Moses was alive along with Elijah
In closing here are some
verses that the Apostle Paul penned about what we call the “rapture” which is
also a big part of the resurrection of the dead, but also the changing of those
who are alive when it happens from one body form to another.
“51 ¶ Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all
sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable must put on the
imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But when this perishable will have put on the
imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come
about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.
55 "O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY?
O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?" 56
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; 57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ (1Cor. 15:51-57).”
“13 ¶ But we do not want you to be uninformed,
brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the
rest who have no hope. 14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those
who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For
this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend
from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet
of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so
we shall always be with the Lord. 18
Therefore comfort one another with these words (1Thes. 4:1 3-18).”
Two more from the OT: “Job 19:26 “Even after my skin is destroyed,
Yet from my flesh I shall see God.” “2 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of
the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace
and everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2).”
When Jesus said that the resurrected
would be like angels, He did not say that they would be angels. Angels do not have families like people do
here on earth, but when people are resurrected they will no long have children
and in this sense they will be like angels.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: It is so
good to be reminded of the resurrection of the dead from this passage. It was not long ago that my family had to
burry my mother. She lived a long life
of 90 years and at her funeral I quoted something that D. L. Moody stated
shortly before he died and that statement was, “Someday you will read in the
paper that Moody is dead; don’t you believe it.
For on that day I will be more alive than I have ever been.” Moody hoped in the resurrection and so did my
mother and they are both in heaven now enjoying the Lord in a wonderful and new
way.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Continue to learn contentment, continue to
seek what Romans 12:2 states, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will
of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
Memory verses for the week: Psalm 130:1-3
1Out
of the debts I cried to You, O Lord. 2
Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my
supplications. 3 If You, LORD, should
mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
11/5/2012 11:36:20 AM
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