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, and 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 25:7-10 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 them
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. 4:13-18).”
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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