Author: Ross Blumhorst

Today’s reading is Deuteronomy 32:11.

As Americans we hold a high esteem for eagles as animals. The Bald Eagle is our national bird for a reason – it is powerful, lightning-fast, an apex predator, and flies free and unrestrained as the wind. But often we tend to focus on the strong nature of the eagle, rather than how Moses describes the eagle in Deuteronomy 32. When speaking one last time to the people of Israel before his death, begging them to submit to God’s council:

“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions, the Lord alone guided him, no foreign god was with him.”

Interestingly, Moses demonstrates God’s caring nature by comparing Him to the nurturing, child-raising side of the eagle. As parents, eagles are incredibly watchful: for the first roughly 3 months of their children’s lives, at least one parent is always dutifully watching over their children as the other finds food. Slowly, the parents will begin leaving more and more, moving to nearby trees or circling overhead to closely watch over their young as they attempt to leave the nest and learn to fly, allowing their chicks some self-direction but always ready to protect and provide help (If you’re interested in more eagle nesting facts at all, here’s a neat little fact sheet courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison: https://journeynorth.org/tm/eagle/annual/facts_nestlings.html).

As we learn to fly on our own and navigate through this life, we know that God is our protector, as Psalm 121 says: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 3:3 says “you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head”; The Lord is ready to protect us from evil and lift us when we feel weary. Though we may feel lost and stumble when we work on our own volition, the Lord is ready to catch us, to set us upright and on the right path, and to direct us to holiness when we look to Him. Like a baby eagle, we are never alone when we learn to fly; our protector is always there, powerful and mighty and ready to swoop in for our behalf on a moment’s notice.

Do you live like God’s always watching over you, ready to take leaps in your faith under His instruction and with His guardianship? Are you stuck, constrained by your own volition, thinking your sin renders your own efforts meaningless? Or are you ready to soar free, unrestrained by death and sin, how God wants you to live? All this time, all our lives, the Lord has watched over us carefully, provided for us, and brought us up to live freely from death’s clutches. Today, celebrate that the Lord would break your shackles and give us the freedom from sin that life in Him provides. Be thankful that he watches over us so diligently. Above all, today and always, praise God!

 

Think about something you don’t have a lot of confidence in. Maybe it’s your old alarm clock that more and more occasionally seems to forget its job. Perhaps it’s your car that seems to break down at the most inopportune moments. Could be a coworker who spends a little too long on lunch breaks. Almost certainly the government, in one way or another. Whatever your thing may be, think about why you’re not confident in that; what brings us to depend on these things, when they’re guaranteed to reach a breaking point and fail in some way at some point?

People are, by the broken nature brought about by the fall of man, imperfect. The things we create, the tools we use, the responsibilities we hold, the organizations we take part in; all of these things take the imperfections of the human hands that put them into place. This can likewise be true on a personal scale – we can be confident in our own talents and abilities, the experience and intelligence and hard work we’ve spent our lives building up. But even small mistakes can overturn all of these and bring serious consequences. So how can we, as imperfect people, be confident in our ability to do… well, anything?

The answer is, of course, where our confidence comes from. As Psalm 71:5 says, “You have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.” The accumulation of all disappointments that come from human things can be overwhelming – how uplifting and gratifying it is to have this one thing, in all our days, we will never lose confidence in! We can confide in our Lord 100% of the time, all of our days. This is where our confidence must come from – not in our own fragile nature, but in a  righteous and rock-steady God. We can be confident that God will protect us and deliver us from evil when we come to Him.

In Phillipians, Paul describes his distrust in the flesh and where, in his trials and jailing, his confidence comes from. Phillipians 3:3 says: “For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh”, then goes on to say in the same verses 8-9: “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order than I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

We Christians know there is nothing we could own or do that could surpass Christ. We know that salvation does not come from the things we own, or the groups we join, or our own rule-abidance, but in a God who pours out His righteousness and love. When we suffer, when we are persecuted for our faith, when our lives seem to start crumbling around us – know the Lord will be there always. Abide in the comfort and confidence today of knowing a righteous God will always have your back. You will always be able to run to Him, of that you can be sure. As Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Some of the people I remember most fondly in regard to my walk with Christ from my childhood are the ones who made me feel able to contribute despite being young. The youth leaders and church elders who encouraged me and challenged me with new concepts and hard questions always made me feel confident despite feeling less experienced or knowledgable about life than my elders. As I myself grow older and begin seeing younger family members and church members share their own experiences with Christ, I’ve definitely seen for myself what those who knew the younger me must have: wisdom from Christ knows no age.

In particular, Job 32 & 33 demonstrates this in a rather straightforward way. Once Job, in his many sorrows, resigns himself to being deaf to God’s directions, a young observer makes his own thoughts known. Elihu, this young man in question, in exasperation with those who would try and fail to console Job in a Godly manner, is clearly not the most confident speaker. He says in a straightforward manner how he was timid to speak out of turn when his elders were talking, but finds confidence in his faith. As Elihu says in Job 32:7-8: “I said ’Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom. But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.” Again in Job 33:4: “The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has filled me.”

We know wisdom and the soundness of mind it offers comes only from God. As Proverbs 2:6-8 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” As the Lord has breathed our very lives into the bodies of ours He has created, so does He fill anyone who walks with Him with His understanding and integrity. That’s why it’s important to remember when anyone speaks of Him with hearts and minds centered toward Him, they share what wisdom the breath of the Almighty has stored within them and granted them. No matter how young, or inexperienced, or well-studied and verbose they may be, when someone speaks Scripture and shares His word, wisdom from the Lord can be found. We can easily see our own human limits first and foremost, and look past how a boundless Lord may use us. But Scripture tells us here to trust that when the Holy Spirit moves us to speak, we can trust in Him and His wisdom that we share. It’s important to not count out anyone’s voice as well, or hold someone’s thoughts is lower regard when sharing the word of God.

Likewise, it’s equally important to remember the breath of the Almighty fills your lungs as well – and to view this both in pride and humility. If you share the experiences and blessings of the Lord to other, and speak wisely of His word, you’re helping share with others the deliverance the Lord provides. But on the other side of this responsibility, James 3:2 says “For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.” Through this chapter, James speaks of the destructive capabilities of the tongue, how it is “a fire, a world of unrighteousness.” The same tongue that we can use to proclaim Godly wisdom, when used in sinful fits, can cause immeasurable harm to those around us. How do you wield your tongue? Does your mouth metaphorically sling spiritual fire and unrighteousness, causing harm to those around you? Or do your words reflect the righteousness and understanding of He who grants you each breath? Each breath that leaves your mouth has been put there by God, so how could we use that breath to show gratitude by speaking confidently and joyously about Him?

Today, let us reflect on both of these ideas: that the wisdom the Lord fills us with can surely be trusted, to speak holy truths confidently; and how we handle the same mouths that speak truth when sin leads us to do otherwise. In both of these, pray for trust in the Lord, that your words could reflect His truths naturally and thankfully.

In the Bible, Christ has many names; Master, Teacher, Lord, Son of God, and Emmanuel to name a few. Looking at Acts 4:27 today, we see another: the Anointed One. Anointing is a physical act with a deeply spiritual meaning, where oil or some sort of perfume is poured one someone’s head or applied to some object to mark it as particularly holy, or set aside for some notably divine purpose. Typically, in biblical times, it was done to kings as part of a coronation ceremony, or by homeowners to guests as a sign of welcome and thankfulness. To be anointed is to be given the favor of God, and an act of recognizing a deep spiritual connection with the Lord.

  We know that in Jesus’s time on earth, God made clear he was symbolically anointed, set forth as the most holy King, a true leader and ruler of God’s people. Jesus himself recognizes the duties put forth before Him by God and the importance of anointment in demonstrating this, especially in the story of His anointing told in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12, where he says “In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial.” Or as Luke described in Acts 10:38, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” But this term, used throughout the Bible, seems to frequently be used as well to describe those who follow Christ. A few examples.

Psalm 23:5 – “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”

Psalm 45:7 – “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

Psalm 105:15 – “he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account, saying, ‘Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!’”

Luke 4:18 – “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”

1 John 2:20 – “You have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.”

The central theme around referring to the body of believers as “the anointed” is that through our faith in God and our spiritual death and rebirth provided from grace through baptism, we have been truly made and marked holy. The Lord has set us apart from the world, using the hope and faith in what is unseen to demonstrate God’s blessings dwelling within us. God has welcomed us into his kingdom and honored us as guests in His house, representative of the symbolic hospitality of anointment.

Therein lies to encouragement in Acts 4:27, where the entire world seems to have banded together to rise against Jesus, “whom you anointed.” We see this same message in Psalm 2:2 – “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.” Since the fall of man, the world has despised and worked against those whom the Lord favors. This is epitomized in these verses where the Anointed One, the most consecrated of all, is turned against. It’s not hard to see; turn on the news or check social media and you’re likely to see an outpouring of slander and hatred against the faithful and against God’s word. But all these verses and all of God’s promises speak true: in anointing us and recognizing our faith, God has promised we will be safe from wickedness. He will make sure our cup overflows and we can continue to perform good works in His name, no matter what the weapons the world may raise against us. In Him and in His blessings, we are safe and secured. This definite truth is one we can always hold onto when the world turns against us – no matter what, when, or where, our Lord is with us.

As we enter the dreaded post-Christmas comedown, some people may have started wondering what the heck to do with all the Christmas presents they now have. Those of you with kids may even be seeing the gifts you put weeks of work and thought into starting to get discarded and forgotten. The weight of all this material stuff may start gathering up, and you could be saddled with that gift-receiving guilt I know all too well. When all the stuff that comes along with the Christmas season starts losing its shine and reality begins creeping back in, what do we do when the gifts feel hollow and unfulfilling?

Now as good a time as any is a good time for the reminder I like looking to after Christmas. Luke 2, the classic Christmas verse, encapsulates the glory of the Christmas season well, but also contains great instructions for what comes after in verse 20, when the Shepherds are leaving baby Jesus’s manger – “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” We’ve been spending quite a while now hearing about and considering the gift of eternal life Jesus’s birth sets into motion – the greatest gift of all.

As Paul writes in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Now more than ever is a good time to remember how serious a gift God has given us through His son. By our own nature, we rightfully deserve utter damnation, but through God’s grace He has gifted us eternity. We no longer need to worry about death or suffering or what comes afterwards – we know we are gifted eternity with God. How many gift cards or sweaters were you gifted this year that could obliterate death?

The world will try to tell us at all times how we can find fulfillment through physical gifts and the things of this world. But none of that will last beyond this lifetime, throughout history, or in some instances, even through this week. Now, after the birth of Christ, is the time to consider the one best gift we have received, that we could ever hope to receive. Ephesians 2:8 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Santa may have only given gifts to those who deserved it, but all of us believers can now ponder and praise God for the one gift no one could ever want to return.

Now, with this gift, what do we do? How do we handle such a powerful and important gift? Well, it’s just as the Shepherds did when they heard the news of Jesus’s arrival in Luke 2:20: “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” As we all begin rolling back into our regular routines, remember the gift we can tell others we received that will last forever – eternal salvation and happiness with God, given from His grace and goodwill. How could we not glorify and praise the Lord for this gift?

Today, through the rest of the year, the daily Bible Journal will be taking a “free write” structure, where the writer is free to write about whatever biblical verse or topic they feel called to. Personally, one topic this Christmas season that has been on my mind and heart and in our prayers has been rest. In this particularly hectic season, it feels as if everything on our schedules is never-ending. This can be even further exacerbated these days by how technologically connected and constantly stimulated we are with news and entertainment. It feels as though we can never find time to rest, and when we do, it never feels sufficiently recharging. Plus there’s the guilt of not being more productive or studious when the opportunity to rest does arise.

If this sounds familiar to you right now, you might be like me: in need of a reminder of where rest comes from. Way back in Genesis 2, after bringing all of creation into being, God set the precedent that rest was holy and good by spending day 7 resting. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Even later in Matthew, in chapter 26, Jesus needs to be alone in peace and quiet to connect with God in prayer. God makes it evident that in our toil and stress, it is good and necessary to recuperate with quiet downtime. In Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.”

However, the issue lies in who we give our downtime to. Do you devote your silent moments to the television or your phone, or to God? Not that these things are inherently bad, or that you should never enjoy these luxuries. But in moments of rest, as in all things, we need God to come first. Rest is an opportunity to engage in intimate conversation with God: to come to Him, receive and ponder His blessings, and to be renewed in our spirit. In all the noise and distraction of life, it can be easiest to hear God’s voice in your heart when at peace in silence and relaxation. Beyond all, rest is a spiritual gift from God, a chance to simply be close to the Lord.

In a more simple viewpoint, our imperfect earthly bodies are just designed to rest. We need moments to recharge and engage in prayerful stillness; obviously not a coincidence, but perhaps more of a subtle affirmation from the Lord. We should take our moments of respite first as moments of prayerful listening to God speaking to our hearts before tending to our own physical wants for relaxation. So work hard, engaging in the work the Lord has laid out for you when you should. But when it is time to kick back, be sure to use it as time with God foremost, knowing it is needed and wonderful. Enjoy your moments of rest this Christmas season, and know that giving those moments of rest to others can be a powerful gift; a simple act like taking care of the evening’s chores for your spouse or watching a friend’s child for a while can offer them meaningful time to quietly visit with God, making all the difference. This Christmas season, engage the Lord in thanks and praise when you can kick back and relax, for from God comes rest, as does all things good.

Today’s reading is on Barnabas in Acts 11, 13, and 14.

One of the most supportive practices in marriage my wife and I maintain is the constant encouragement we provide each other. From helping each other manage the day-to-day routines when they wear us down, or from pushing each other to pursue our loftier aspirations and goals, the encouragement she has provided me has been invaluable in getting through tough times. Providing encouragement for her as well offers an interesting opportunity to build up people around us, not only in our own rapport, but in the experiences and paths they may encounter that lead them closer to God.

Enter Barnabas, member of the church in Jerusalem, moved when he heard the Lord’s word. According to Acts 11:24, Barnabas was “a g good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith.” He was evidently adept at speaking and filling others with spiritual direction, as evidenced by how it’s further told after preaching to the church in Antioch, “a great number of people were brought to the Lord” after he spoke. In fact, Barnabas’s name itself, depending on the translation of the original Hebrew text, could mean “son of encouragement,” “son of exhortation”, or “son of consolation” – it’s clear this man had a talent for building up others.

So why is Barnabas so notable? It’s through his help we see Paul grow into the great missionary role he fills. It’s back in Acts 9 that Barnabas introduces Saul to the apostles after his revelation when no one else wanted anything to do with him. In Acts 13 they’re originally called by the Holy Spirit to serve as missionaries, we see Barnabas as the prophet and teacher originally mentioned, but quickly see Paul taking charge and growing into a great teacher in his own right. In Paul’s journey to spreading the word to countless people and eventually prison where the Epistles that would be included in the Bible were written, we see Barnabas helping all along the way, helping Paul along his path to his calling.

The importance of a good teacher can not be overstated – I’m sure some people reading this might be teachers, and to you I say thank you for your work. In Barnabas’s journeys across Israel, we see the power of spiritual teachers and encouragers, those who help others along their spiritual paths. Clearly, the importance of this spiritual assistance was not lost on Paul, who wrote about this very thing multiple times in his letters to the churches. In Colossians 3:16, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” In Titus 2:7, “In everything set them an example by doing what is good.” And in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, he says “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up.”

Being encouraging and kind to others is simply the decent thing to do. But beyond that, building up and helping others learn and grow in their faith in the Lord does magnitudes for the Kingdom. Your sharing in spiritual wisdom and teaching empowers not only your fellow believers, but brings God joy from the gratitude and servitude your actions show. Building up others and strengthening their connection with the Lord reaps lifelong effects, bringing them ever closer to God. And when they grow closer to God, their lives with be more full of joy and peace that would ever be possible otherwise. So in all times, look to how you can advise and build up your brothers and sisters in Christ in order to further God’s glory.

Today’s reading is on Nicodemus in John 3:1-21.

Do you remember when you first wanted to give your life to Christ? For some of you, it may have been when you were a very young child, introduced to the Gospel by family. For some, it may have been first going off into the world on your own and discovering meaning in life through God. For others, maybe later in life, after experiencing many things, the decision to follow Christ made more and more sense. Either way, chances are it was not spontaneous. You most likely didn’t go your whole life without knowing a thing about God, then one day waking up and thinking “hey, you know what, I feel like devoting my life to Christ today.” It doesn’t really work that way – the decision comes naturally after beginning a personal relationship with God and His moving in your heart.

Enter Nicodemus, a Pharisee seated on the Sanhedrin, high council in charge of the law of Jerusalem. While Jesus is in Jerusalem, Nicodemus comes at night to ask the Messiah he’s heard of about who He is. Jesus gets right to the point and confronts him about how to enter the Kingdom of God. To Jews of this time, the idea of being “born again” is entirely new – they were part of God’s people simply because of their ancestry, entering into Heaven on merit of their heritage. But Jesus flips this idea on its head – entry to the Kingdom is not decided by who you were born to, but by who you give your life to instead.

Scripture makes sure we know the importance of baptism. In Acts 2, Peter says “repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” In Titus 3: “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.” Through our spiritual death and rebirth, we declare ourselves dedicated to the Lord, renewed and saved through His grace. The most miraculous thing about it is anyone can choose to do so and give their life to Christ, Jewish or not. We can never predict how or when God moves in someone to make them want to decide this, but when he does, how could we do anything but fall to our knees and surrender to Him? The way Jesus explains why we would make this choice is surely one of the most known Scriptures for good reason. John 3:16-18 reads:

“For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”

Nicodemus hears why we choose to cast off our old life and accept spiritual death and rebirth in God’s Kingdom – His love. God’s love is more sacrificial, enduring, and rewarding than any other. It is this love that sent Jesus to live among us, that sent Him to die on the cross, and now seats Him at the right hand of the Father. This same love will always be, from now until the end of time. This love is available to anyone – those who have not yet believed but are moved by the Spirit will always be welcome in God’s loving arms. Someone today needs the news of this loving God, who will always love and never forsake those who trust Him: share this good news today with me. The world needs love now more than ever, and only God can provide the love we need for all.

Today’s reading is on the Shepherds in Luke 2:8-20.

Happy November! With October past and the Christmas season soon kicking into full gear, what more suitable verse to go to than the true meaning of Christmas from A Charlie Brown Christmas?

I apologize for reminding you all about this, but the next few months are going to be stressful and long, full of family & travel plans, entertainment preparation, buying gifts, the work year coming to busy end, and mitigating the effects of the worsening weather. It can be a frantic period, far too easy to lose your cool and become sick of the holidays. Personally, I never enjoy the consumerism involved in Christmas season – so much of media and society around us revolves around buying and receiving stuff that it can spoil the importance of this time of year. But in this stressful season, the straightforward faith of the shepherds in this Scripture are a needed example of how simple this whole season really is. Just like in the aforementioned special, when Charlie Brown grows weary of the season, Linus reminds us all of this:

 

 

Christ is here! A savior is born! Glory to God in the highest! These shepherds hear the good news and immediately celebrate, going to Jerusalem to see the Messiah and share the good news with all we see. In an instant nothing else matters – they are called to act, then they drop everything and celebrate the Lord. Whatever headaches these next few months, remember our true missive as Christians in this season: spreading the good news that Jesus Christ is born. Yes, every frantic shopping trip, every long car ride to family, every bill and expense added to the Christmas credit card; they all are useful for important things like family and generosity. They all, however, revolve around a single truth – the living Lord who has blessed us all with these things. In all these moments lie opportunities to follow the Shepherd’s examples here: tell all we see that the Savior is here. Pray today that the Lord would remain in our hearts and thoughts in this important upcoming time of year, and enable us all to share the joy Jesus brings us this Christmas season and always evermore.

Today’s reading is on the Sadducees, specifically Jesus’s interaction with them in Matthew 22:23-46.

So, that Sadducees: generally, not a well-liked bunch. It’s easy to see why in the Gospels, as they repeatedly pop up to attempt to trick Jesus into speaking blasphemy against their laws and silencing his radical preaching. But who is this group and why is this smackdown Jesus delivers particularly noteworthy?

The Sadducees were one of the main religious leading groups in Israel during Jesus’s life. They were an offshoot sect of sorts of the Pharisees, seated as a sort of oppositional ruling party to the Pharisees. But whereas the Pharisees believed in the oral passing of traditional teachings of God and fervently interpreted the books of Moses in their own terms, the Sadducees were more direct and literal in their interpretation of God’s word. They believed nothing but the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible as we know it, were the word of God, and while the rest may have been divinely inspired, they saw anything outside of that as unfit for following as the law. Since their writings didn’t have any mention of an after life either, the Sadducees, unlike their Pharisee counterparts, didn’t believe in any sort of an afterlife – that God ruled over this life absolutely, but after this life, nada. This is displayed in Matthew 22:23, as well as later in Mark 12:18 and Luke 20:27, where it is expressed the Sadducees “say there is no resurrection.” They had no belief in angels or demons either, essentially distilling the essence of God’s word to its most literal and applicable usage as they saw fit. Their faith was more of a political ruling practice – this was done out of love for power and ruling over Israel, not for love of God.

So when Jesus begins speaking in the Sermon on the Mount about the kingdom of heaven, and inheritance in a life beyond this, he was preaching a message proudly opposed to their laws and ways of life. This man, who the Jews would come to call the awaited Messiah, spread a message of God in direct opposition to their own. In their view of the law and of the word of God, no one who spoke of resurrection and life after death was speaking for God in any capacity.

This belief of no life after death is what sets up the Sadducees’ question to Jesus here in Matthew 22:23-46. They come here of course not with the intention of learning about marriage after the resurrection, but with the intent of trapping Jesus in a trick question. One of the laws of Israel that the Sadducees were familiar with was the teaching of “Levirate marriage” In Deuteronomy 25:5-6 – a law describing the successors in marriage of a widow. By stretching this law to its extremes, they were hoping Jesus would provide an answer not covered by Levirate marriage, offending Jewish teachings & breaking the law, a jail-worthy offense and a means of silencing their biggest dissenter of the time.

But here comes Jesus with the response in Matthew 22:29-32 – “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, the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Not only does Jesus provide new divine insight of the resurrection and the disposal of our earthly bodies for blameless angelic beings after death, topics the Sadducees did not consider legitimate, but in the same breath renders their intent moot by giving them an answer from Exodus 3:6, when God first revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush, using their own God-given law to invalidate their line of question. Boom. This is like the WWE Smackdown of Israelite scriptural debate.

But we can do better than be merely entertained – we can learn from all Jesus has to say. Especially convicting to me is this particular line: “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” Here we had a group of people who knew the word of the Lord and applied it as the law of the land. But to them it was merely a tool, something purely logical and utilitarian, some way with which to wield power and authority of their own. We know however, that all Scripture is God-breathed and holy. As Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.” Every piece of Scripture in the Bible contains value and wisdom, not just the Pentateuch. The meaning for it, as Jesus demonstrates in explaining God’s power over death, extends beyond simply the law into educating, uplifting, correcting, and celebrating.

But Scripture is only half of what Jesus mentions – alongside the power of God. Jesus knows His Father’s power extends beyond the living – over all who were as well. He knows the Sadducees’s denial of an afterlife is wrong, for as he tells Martha in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” To deny that the Lord’s power extends over the dead is to miss out on the incredible power of God. But to believe in Jesus, that He is the resurrection and the defeater of death, is to be right and just. So arm yourself today with the knowledge of Scripture, and remind yourself of the power of the Lord. Pour over the word of the Lord and ponder it always. And hold fast to our awesome and mighty God. For we know with these two things, we can overcome any adversity that would deny the Lord’s power.