Limiting the infinite to the finite, the eternal to time, God to our understanding.

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’s amazing to me, almost comical, the lengths people will go to try to disprove, discredit or question God. In today’s text the Sadducees did that.   Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection), 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. Now there were seven brothers; and the first took a wife and died childless; and the second  and the third married her; and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. Finally the woman died also. ³³ In the resurrection therefore, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”    They created this unlikely if not impossible scenario so that they might question a principle, a reality of heaven. Jesus does not dismiss their ridiculous scenario. He says:    “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 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. Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.”     We are in error, when we like the Sadducees, try to understand and limit God and the heavenly realm, by what we know and comprehend in the natural physical realm. God is infinite. We cannot comprehend Him fully in finite terms. God is eternal. We cannot limit Him to a set time, a beginning and an end. God is omnipresent. He cannot be limited by space or place and God is omniscient, all knowing, surely He is not limited to or by what we know.

In today’s text it says:  “Teacher, You have spoken well.” For they did not have courage to question Him any longer about anything. Then He said to them, “How is it that they say the Christ is David’s son? For David himself says in the book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said to my Lord,  “Sit at My right hand, Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”’ Therefore David calls Him ‘Lord,’ and how is He his son?”     Although the Sadducees recognized that Jesus had answered their ridiculous question with the truth of the reality of heaven, Jesus didn’t stop there. They tried to use scripture to create their question and contradiction of God’s truth. Jesus used scripture to prove God’s eternity.  One of the problems we encounter when we try to understand and comprehend God with our finite minds, is that we tend to view things, even God’s eternal and infinite character, linearly. We see it as a line that being infinite and eternal extends beyond what we see and know. God’s eternal infinite character may perhaps be better understood as a circle, rather than a line. God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. He has no beginning or end. Like a circle the beginning and the end are indistinguishable. Just as Jesus pointed to the scripture where Jesus Himself was called Lord by His natural ancestor David, we too need to view scripture through eyes of faith. We need to not limit God to our own natural understanding. Jesus taught us to pray:  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. We are to pray that the things of earth would come into alignment with the realities of heaven. Far too often we tend instead limit heaven and its realities to the things we know.

God would not be much of a God if he were merely the same as us. In John 4, Jesus also tried to expand our minds to understand beyond what we know. Verses 19-26 says:   The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”  The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.”  Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”      All the questions and contradictions people have and hold concerning God are rooted in the fact that they are understanding and defining God by what they know. God is spirit. He cannot be defined by the limitation of our natural understanding.  When someone says: Why would a loving God…? How could a loving God…?  They limit God by their own finite understanding. God’s love, His mercy and His grace are not contrary to His righteousness and justice. They are not even far from each other, as if they were at opposite ends of the line of our understanding. Rather, like the circle, if we begin with God’s mercy and grace it will lead us to His righteousness and justice. In the same way if we begin with God’s righteousness and justice, it will lead us to His love, His mercy and grace.

Those in and of the world will go to almost endless, even ridiculous extremes to disprove or discredit the realities of God and heaven. They will accept and believe unproven theories and scenarios imagined by their own minds and understanding. When natural man comes to the end of his understanding, he creates theories, speculations based in what he knows and believes. When a spiritual man comes to the end of his understanding, he views things through the eyes of faith accepting that God and His heaven are beyond what we can think or imagine and so, knowing God is beyond his natural understanding, he worships Him in spirit and truth.    

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You that You are beyond my limited ability to comprehend. Yet as the psalmist says, nothing is beyond You. Holy Spirit help me, teach me and guide me to see, to hear and to know by the Spirit and not by my own limited understanding. Help me to see and know the love, mercy and grace of God with His righteousness and justice. Most of all thank You Jesus, the Lamb of God, slain before the foundation of the world. You made the way of redemption, reconciliation and restoration, even before I sinned. I cannot comprehend such an amazing love and grace, but I believe.   Amen.