– Scripture:
That same day, Sadducees approached him. This is the party that denies any possibility of resurrection. They asked, “Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies childless, his brother must marry his widow and get her with child. Here’s a case where there were seven brothers. The first brother married and died, leaving no child, and his wife passed to his brother. The second brother also left her childless, then the third—and on and on, all seven. Eventually, the wife died. Here’s our question: At the resurrection, whose wife is she? She was a wife to each of them.” Jesus answered, “You’re off base on two counts: You don’t know your Bibles, and you don’t know how God works. At the resurrection, we’re beyond marriage. As with the angels, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding your speculation on whether the dead are raised or not, don’t you read your Bibles? The grammar is clear: God says, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.’ The living God defines himself not as the God of dead men, but of the living.” Hearing this exchange, the crowd was much impressed.
Matthew 22:23-33 MSG
– Reflection:
Laying traps
Reading this passage in Matthew this morning said a lot to me. There are a lot of groups today where conversations come about based on what the law of the land says. This works this way because this group created a law that states it goes this way or that way. I mean, many words are wasted today on what man thinks or how a man thinks things should go. The passage above says what GOD states, not how man’s mind receives it. The Sadducees were talking to Jesus himself, trying to trip him up to show they were better instead of learning from the Bible made flesh itself. We are a tough sell throughout history and today. The worldly culture states its importance over the bible every day. Instant gratification today, for most, is causing problems for that culture, and will continue to because it is not based on reality at all.
Where do we go from here?
Read your Bible to understand how the world is rooted, then move with GOD to create his life for you. Living in this virtual reality is not real and has caused so many people harm. If they only truly understood the passage above, they would be much better off. The group in power was worried about how the earthly part of Jesus would respond to their questions about marriage and resurrection. They got the GODLY part giving the answer because he understood that passage to its fullest extent. We have to do the same; we each have GOD in us; we just have to recognize and use that.
Our Prayer for Today
Father, help us to let go of thinking we know everything. Help us let go of our need to trap one another. Help us to let go of all that keeps us from a space of trust in you. Amen.