The Spirit of the Sadducees
Scripture Reading — Mark 12:18-27
"Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?" Mark 12:24
The religious leaders kept mounting their assault against Jesus. This time the attack came from the Sadducees. They were a wealthy, influential group who took care of the temple. One of their characteristics was that they did not believe in a resurrection from death.
They presented Jesus with a made-up story about a woman who loses husband after husband. And the question they tried to stump Jesus with was this: Whose wife will she be when they all rise at the resurrection?
Jesus answered with a simple but direct question of his own: "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?"
Jesus explained that people will not be involved with marriage after the resurrection, and then he quoted from Scripture to show that resurrection is real. But the more serious issue was that these leaders had set up a box around God, figuring there were some things he couldn't do. They tried to limit God by means of their own limited thinking.
In our world today the spirit of the Sadducees is still alive and well. All kinds of things are said about Christianity that are blatantly untrue. Thankfully, God has given us his Word and his Spirit to guide us. The living God of the Scriptures proved his love and his power for us when he raised his own Son from the dead.
Lord, thank you for giving us all we need to withstand attacks to our faith today. Root us deeply in your Word and Spirit so that we may be your faithful witnesses. Amen.
About the author — Kevin DeRaaf
Kevin DeRaaf is the director of Resonate Global Mission, the Christian Reformed mission agency working in more than 40 countries around the world. With a focus on encouraging others to join in God’s mission where they are, Kevin believes that God’s purpose for the local church is to shine as a community of love and grace, showing in tangible ways that Jesus is the hope of the world. He and his wife, Jacquie, have three children and four grandchildren and live in Burlington, Ontario.
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