Questioning the Word

Luke 20:27-47 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection), ²⁸ and they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; ³⁰ and the second ³¹ and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally the woman died also. ³³ In the resurrection therefore, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”

³⁴ Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, ³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; ³⁶ for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. ³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. ³⁸ Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.” ³⁹ Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” ⁴⁰ For they did not have courage to question Him any longer about anything.

⁴¹ Then He said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son? ⁴² For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
⁴³ Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’  ⁴⁴ Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and how is He his son?”

⁴⁵ And while all the people were listening, He said to the disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love respectful greetings in the market places, and chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, ⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation.”

It is ironic how often we see in scripture that people tried to catch Jesus, trip Him up with trick questions about scripture. John 1:1-14 says:   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God …And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.        Jesus was/is the Living Word. How could anyone possible trick Him with questions about the word. Yet in Matthew 4:1-7 we read the account of the devil’s temptation of Jesus.

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. ³ And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⁴ But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” ⁵ Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, ⁶ and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” ⁷ Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”          Jesus answered the first temptation by quoting the word. The devil then tried to twist or manipulate the word in the next temptation. Jesus again clarified, answering with the word.

That’s something we need to know about the devil. He does know the word of God. From the very beginning he has attempted to twist and confuse what God says to deceive people. In Genesis 3, he used that tactic to deceive Eve.     Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” ² The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; ³ but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’      Eve was deceived and she added to what God had said. Adding to the word of God is the mistake the Pharisees made, in Jesus day. They added many man-made rules, regulations and traditions to what God required.  There are some today who do that same thing, making following Jesus out to be about rules and regulations rather than faith. In Luke 11:46, Jesus says: "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them.       The word of God, the message of Jesus is not something that should be burdensome to people. Jesus says: "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."(Matthew 11:28-30)   

On the other hand in Matthew 5:17-29, Jesus also says:   “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. ¹⁸ For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹ Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰ “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  In our culture and our society we have become so sound bite oriented, so headline based that we tend to build doctrine from individual Bible verses. We pick and choose the verses which support or fit our agenda and neglect large portions of God’s word. Paul says, in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:       All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; ¹⁷ so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.      Scripture, God’s word does not contradict itself. Any doctrine based on only one part of the truth of God’s word and not all of it can lead to deception. Jesus says: “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”

In today’s daily Psalm reading, Psalm 89:14 says: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Lovingkindness and truth go before You. The devil knows God’s word. We need to know God’s word so that we will not be deceived. Even more though, we need to know God, to know His lovingkindness, His truth, to know His righteousness and justice. We need to not add to or take away from who He is or what He says.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; Holy Spirit thank You that You are all that I need. From Genesis to Revelation You have revealed Your truth in Your word. You revealed Your truth as the Living Word, the Word made flesh. As You dwell and abide in me, may the truth of Your word also be in me.   Amen.