Power of God
“Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.’”
Today’s Text: Matthew 22:23-33 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection at the end of days. Also, they only used the books of Moses for their Scriptures (Genesis - Deuteronomy). And therefore, they were sad, you see. (XD That one was from one of my Old Testament professors.)
They presented this ridiculous scenario to Jesus that, first of all, no human being could possibly know the answer to and, second of all, would probably never happen. Probably, part of the reason for their raising that scenario is to point out that the laws of Moses were relevant only to matters here on earth, not in some afterlife.
Jesus quickly and easily dismissed their misunderstanding based on His first-hand knowledge of the heavenly kingdom and also His intimate knowledge of Scriptures. But the reason for their misunderstanding is because they did not “know the Scriptures or the power of God.”
To “know” the Scriptures means to truly understand the Scriptures. And their misunderstanding had nothing to do with the fact that they did not acknowledge the Prophets or the wisdom literature or the history books of the Scriptures. Jesus pointed out their misunderstanding from Exodus, one of the books of Moses. And because they misunderstood the Scriptures, they could not possibly understand the power of God. And so it is with us as well.
To better understand God’s word, we have to read the word of God throughout the entirety of our lives as the entryway into our relationship with Jesus. When we do that, God’s story starts to become clearer and clearer in our minds, in our hearts, and also in our lives. Then, we start to become a part of His story and His kingdom more and more.
Of course, memorizing Scripture is useful, too, but only if we can be humble and not get puffed up about it, lording it over others.
To better understand the Scriptures, it is also very useful to listen to a broad range of good sermons and interpretations. Most of the time, Christians will find themselves in an echo chamber of biblical interpretation, and the things that we believe that may be wrong or not quite right will never be challenged, and we become narrow-minded and miss the bigger picture.
YouTube is very helpful in that regard. But if we listen to a broad assortment of good sermons, it is critical to remember that God, in His sovereign grace, has placed us in a church community to support and to build up that church community. The result must never be the criticizing of any preacher, although critiquing in love is always helpful.
Father, Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light for my path. You have grown me in understanding, but I know that I have so much more to understand. Thank You for the message you have given me. May it be true to Your word and consistently lived out in my life. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
