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 raise up offspring 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?” Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
One of the signs of intelligence is the ability to have a curious mind, to ask questions. Jesus never rebukedHis followers for asking questions. He wanted them, and us, to have a curious mind and to seek answers. I am so grateful that He invites us to do this, and boy, do we have questions in this time!
Have you noticed yourself trading information with people more readily right now? What have you heard? How are you managing? What is the latest news? How do you think this will go?
What are you doing about….? Do you need anything?
In this passage the Sadducees were asking Jesus questions about what life would be like in the resurrection, for a widow, even though they themselves did not believe in the resurrection.
Jesus could have ignored them, or lashed out at them, for seemingly mocking Him with their questions, because they were really trying to trap Him. In essence, Jesus generously gives them an answer. He tells them that they need to know both the scriptures and the power of God.
Knowing the scriptures means reading, pondering, digesting, discussing, questioning, praying over…God’s word so that He can speak to you through it. We have been on a 4 year quest to immerse ourselves in God’s Word through reading from the Immerse Bible at FCC. The point has been to let God’s Word pour over you so that you can drink it in and let it inform your life.
It is then that we can readily tap into the power that God has, and offers to us. This power is the power to give us hope, courage, answers, patience to wait for answers, comfort, knowledge… and so VERY much more.
I LOVE the Psalms! One of thePsalms that I have been meditating on is:
Psalm 20
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings. [b]
4 May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of ourGod.
May the Lord grant all your requests.
6 Now this I know: The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to your servant! Answer us when we call!
I love that the psalmist cries out to God for an answer. I’ve been asking God lots of questions.
Have you?
He asks God to send help. I think many are asking God to send help in these days.
He asks God to remember our love for Him, our willingness to serve Him. This can be convicting as we can also remember times we have not served Him or remembered Him and we have to remind ourselves of God’s gracious love that He poured out for us at the Cross.
He ends the psalm by claiming his trust in God. We have to ask ourselves if we too can say that we trust in God.Do we trust God to reveal answers and to provide direction in these unprecedented times? Jesus might say to us, “Read/know the scriptures and see the power of God.” This is a great challenge that each one of us can take every day. Just by reading this Mark text, and considering this devotion, I pray that God will speak to you and encourage you. Each of you are His beloved children. He cares about you and your family, He sees you and your needs, He is actively working for you and for our world. Read His Word, and see His power, then raise your “banner” and shout for joy at His victory!
