Read
But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
Matthew 22:29
Reflect
Can you imagine trying to “pull one over” on God?
Honestly, people try it every day. They think they can sneak things past the Lord, whether it’s deals they never intend to keep, or by posing “trick questions” designed to trip up Christians in their defense of the faith.
That’s pretty much what the Sadducees were trying to do in today’s scripture. In the time of Christ, the two major groups of spiritual leaders were Pharisees (who believed in a physical resurrection) and the Sadducees (who rejected the notion of a resurrection). Even though this group dismissed the resurrection, they still posed a resurrection-oriented question to Jesus, trying to trip Him up.
The question wasn’t an impossible one, but an entirely unlikely one. In essence, a woman marries seven brothers from one family, each in succession after the previous one dies. Their question is, who will be her husband in Heaven? That’s a pretty audacious question, given that the person asking it didn’t even believe in Heaven.
Still, Jesus flipped the Sadducees on their spiritual ears by telling them that God isn’t so concerned about death as He is about life. Jesus essentially forced the Sadducees to face up to their own rejection of God’s eternal plan. Think about it – their question doesn’t even have relevance if everyone is just dead and in the ground.
Any time we try and trick God, we are going to find that He’s a lot more adept at answering questions than we are at asking them. He made us, and everything else, and all things are subject to Him. It’s dangerous to try to slip around the Lord, and a much better idea to simply play by His rules.
Today, pray that you will keep yourself in line with the Lord’s will and ways and that you will never be tempted to test Him.
Reflection copyright © 2022 Doug DeBolt.
Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
