PT-2 "The Approach" (Matt. 22:23)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/23/2023 10:14 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  PT-2 “The Approach”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                    Reference:  Matthew 22:23

 

            Message of the verse:  “23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him,”

 

            I want to continue to look at these Sadducees as I did not finish looking at who they are and what they represented in our last SD.  Now even though we are in the last week of our Lord’s life on planet earth there has been a lot of things happening such as Him coming into Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey, cleansing the Temple, preaching some very judgmental messages, and now talking to different Jewish leaders.  It was because the Sadducees had power and wealth that was founded in the Temple and its offerings, sacrificial system, and commercial enterprises, that when the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, the Sadducees, like the entire priesthood, ceased to exist.  Another thing was that I am very sure that they were greatly offended when Jesus cleansed the Temple, and I am also very sure that they wanted Him out of the way for good.

 

            MacArthur writes “Religiously, the Sadducees were in some ways extreme fundamentalists.  They interpreted Scripture with great literalism and consequently were even more absolutist and rigid on certain matters than the Pharisees.  Josephus reported that in rendering judgments in behalf of the people they were more vicious than any other sect (Antiquities, XX.ix.i).  They refused to acknowledge any worth, much less authority, in the oral or written interpretations of Scripture or in the rabbinical traditions.  They were fastidious in Levitical purist and prided themselves as being the preservers of the true faith.

 

            “But for some reason they gave unique primacy to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, almost to the exclusion of the rest of Scripture.  The other books were considered more or less as commentaries of the five books of Moses.  It is therefore because Moses taught nothing directly about the resurrection that the Sadducees denied its reality.”

 

            We will find out later on that there is truth about the resurrection in the book of Exodus as Jesus will quote a section of that book to them.  It is when I learn more about who these Sadducees were that I am very confused, and the reason is that if one does not believe in an afterlife then all they have is this life that they are living right here on earth. 

 

            There is a song that a woman named Petty Lee sang in 1969.  It is a secular song but as you read over the words of this song you kind of get the idea of how people think when they have no hope of an afterlife.  I will close the SD by quoting the lyrics to the song “Is That All There Is?”  My answer to that question is absolutely NO!!

 

 

 

 

I remember when I was a little girl
Our house caught on fire
I'll never forget the look on my father's face as he
Gathered me up in his arms and
Faced through the burning building out on the pavement

And I stood there
Shivering in my pajamas and
Watched the whole world go up in flames
And when it was all over

I said to myself
Is that all there is to a fire?

Is that all there is
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is my friends
Then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is

 

And when I was twelve years old
My daddy took me to the circus
The greatest show on Earth
There were clowns and elephants, dancing bears
And a beautiful lady in pink
Tights flew high above our heads

And as I sat there watching
I had the feeling that something was missing
I don't know what, but
When it was over
I said to myself
Is that all there is to the circus?

Is that all there is
Is that all there is?

If that's all there is my friends
Then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is

 

And then I fell in love
With the most wonderful boy in the world
We'd take long walks by the river or
Just sit for hours gazing into each other's eyes
We were so very much in love

Then one day
He went away
And I thought I'd die, but I didn't
And when I didn't
I said to myself

Is that all there is to love?

Is that all there is
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is, my friends
Then let's keep

 

I know what you must be saying to yourselves
If that's the way she feels about it
Why doesn't she just end it all?
Oh, no, not me
I'm not ready for that final disappointment

Because I know
Just as well as I'm standing here talking to you
That when that final moment comes
And I'm breathing my last breath
I'll be saying to myself

 

Is that all there is
Is that all there is?
If that's all there is my friend
Then let's keep dancing
Let's break out the booze and have a ball
If that's all there is

 

 

            This could be the theme song of the Sadducees, but I hope it is not yours as there is a hope in the Lord Jesus Christ of the most blessed afterlife ever and it has all been paid for through the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Just admit to the Lord that you are a sinner, and ask Him to come into your life to save you, and then you will learn that this song is not for you, but heaven is for you.

 

8/23/2023 10:50 AM