UNDERSTANDING GOD’S WORD AND POWER
Matthew
22:23-33
Some things you just cannot
explain. Imagine trying to explain a
beautiful song to someone who cannot hear, or to describe a fall day in the
mountains to someone who cannot see.
Without the capacity to appreciate sounds, a symphony means nothing to
the deaf…nor a magnificent painting to the blind.
All of us have
our limitations. There are some things
that no amount of explanation will make clear.
For all the mothers here today, how can you explain pregnancy and the
birth of your child to your husband? He
has some ability to appreciate what you have experienced, but at a certain
point is lost and can no longer connect.
For the internet generation, how would you begin to make your great
grandparents understand what is now available…wirelessly no less!
No, there are
just some things that fail to connect as we try our best to comprehend them,
appreciate them, value them…but they leave us hopelessly and helplessly at a
loss.
People often have
a tendency to make fun of what they don’t understand. They try to make light of things hard for them to imagine…or
sometimes even deny that such things can even exist.
Such was the
case of another group of leaders in Israel who approach Jesus in our text
today. We have met the first group
often—the Pharisees. Today we encounter
the Sadducees, a skeptical group who were considered among the elite of
Israel…wealthy (from profits in the temple), highly educated, influential, and
not very well liked by most of the general population since they came across as
rather pompous and pious.
In order to
appreciate their question of Jesus, you need to know at least three things
about them: 1) they relied almost
exclusively on the Law of Moses as the authority over all matters; 2) they did not believe there was any
resurrection or eternal life; and 3) they consequently denied the possibility
of the existence of angels.
As a result of
these self-imposed limitations, the Sadducees had no comprehension at all of
any kind of life after death. To speak
of such things to them was to invite ridicule…as they made fun of what they did
not understand. But Jesus takes this
opportunity to challenge their unbelief and to instruct their uninformed minds.
Since we really have little way of
understanding life after death ourselves, we need to allow what Jesus says to
inform our thinking and build our anticipation of what life will be like when
we are resurrected with Him at the end of our earthly lives.
THESIS: Our
perspectives are so connected to this life that we cannot comprehend the
glorious existence awaiting us when we are resurrected to new life in Christ.
I. THEIR
ATTACKS ON CHRIST
--The Jewish leaders were now becoming increasingly persistent
in pursuing ways to confront Jesus seeking to challenge Him in such a way that
He will appear to be foolish to the people.
--They were consumed with a maddening obsession to discredit
Him so thoroughly that they could destroy Him completely.
A. CHALLENGE
TO HIS AUTHORITY
· “By what authority…”
--Matthew 21:23-27
· Rejection of authority –parables of two sons (Matt 21:
28-32) and the vineyard owner (Matt 21:33-46)
B. CHALLENGE
TO HIS PRIORITIES
“Would He give greater priority to God or to Government?” was the question they used to try to trap
Him.
C. CHALLENGE
TO HIS THEOLOGY
1. A Question of the Resurrection: Life after Death – Matt 22:23-33
2. A Question of the Greatest Command: Law of Love – Matt 22:34-40
--Today we consider the challenge to His theology in the
matter of what happens after a person dies.
II. THEIR
MISTAKES IN JUDGMENT
Matthew 22:29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You
are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God.
--They
were Skeptical about the Power of God
and
Ignorant of the Word of God
A. IGNORANT
OF THE WORD OF GOD
1. Exclusive
Authority of the Torah (Law of Moses)
--Even though the Sadducees pretended to be brilliant Bible
scholars, their belief was rooted almost exclusively to the books of Moses, the
Pentateuch or the first five books of the Bible.
--They were convinced that since Moses never spoke of the
resurrection, it did not exist and they were not bound to believe in it.
Matthew 22:23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is
no resurrection) came to Him and questioned Him,
2. Insufficient Understanding of the Torah (Law
of Moses)
--However, Jesus gave them homecourt advantage and without
making a big deal about all the other places in the Old Testament that speak of
life after death, He proved His point and took away their argument by referring
them to one passage.
· The Testimony of Moses to Life after Death:
Exodus 3:6
He said also, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
--By identifying Himself to Moses, the LORD established that
He is still the God of those who have died and although they no longer live on
the earth He is still their God…therefore confirming that they are alive, and
that there is life after death.
--Jesus uses the Law of Moses, the sole basis of authority
for the Sadducees, and shows them that in their own Scriptures, God confirms
that there is life after death.
Matthew 22:31
“But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read that which was
spoken to you by God, saying, 32
‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is
not the God of the dead but of the living.”
--In this succinct statement, Jesus refutes their conviction
that there is no life after death.
B. SKEPTICAL
ABOUT THE POWER OF GOD
--Jesus counters their challenge by telling them that they
did not understand what they were talking about because they were confused
about the power of God, and probably as skeptical as they were confused.
--They had arrogantly dismissed the resurrection as an
absurdity that no thinking person could accept.
--Thinking they would befuddle Jesus with their bizarre
scenario about the woman widowed seven times without having children, they
asked Him their question in a mocking way knowing this situation pointed out
the kind of impossibilities presented when you believe in life after death.
--Jesus tells them they are mistaken even in the way they
ask the question and points out two fatal flaws in their thinking:
1. Resurrection
Life Is Not Like the Life of this World:
The Example of Marriage
--The specific question they asked gave Jesus the
opportunity to point out the difference regarding the human relationship of
marriage.
a. Married
for a Temporary Purpose
·
Procreation of
Children
·
Place for Intimacy in
Relationships
·
Pattern of Covenant
Commitment
·
Picture of Christ and
His Bride, the Church
b. Marriage
Not Needed in Heaven
Matthew 22:30
“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are
like angels in heaven.
--Although we will surely know each other and perfect our
love for one another there, we will no longer have any need for a marriage
relationship when all those needs are fulfilled in Christ.
·
No more need to bear children
·
No more need for attempting intimacy of relationships
·
No more patterns of covenant commitment when the promises
are fully realized
·
No more pictures or symbols of the relationship between
Christ and His Bride in the presence of the real thing!
Most of our sentimental versions of what it will be like to live
eternally through the power of a resurrected life have been shaped with human
perspectives and as a result are centered more on people than on the Person of
God Himself. Think of how many songs
and stories of heaven have to do with glorious reunions with loved ones we
miss, the ideas associated with spending unlimited amounts of time with those
we scarcely get to see in this world.
And there is a biblical basis in truth for some of those concepts, but
far and away the biblical picture of a resurrected life spending eternity in
heaven focuses on Christ and centers all of its attention on the One who sits
on the throne.
§
Fully Focused
on the LORD
--Our minds cannot comprehend all that is involved when we
finally come face to face with the Lord God Almighty.
--To behold Him will engage every capacity we have in our
new resurrected body!
§
Totally
Absorbed in Him
--While we will be able to recognize and relate to others in
His presence, our total preoccupation with His surpassing greatness and awesome
glory will absorb us beyond anything we can imagine.
--Yet in our absorption with Him, He will captivate us with
His powerful presence in such a way that we will embrace all that He embraces
with an infinite capacity to love what He loves…and those whom He loves!
§
Completely
Satisfied with Christ
--But even though we will love those He loves, and have a
level of intimate relationship with them no longer hindered by the conflicting
influences of sin, we will find satisfaction only in Him.
--He will be all our hearts could ever desire, and will
delight us beyond measure!
--So you see, in responding as He did to the Sadducees,
Jesus lets it be known that their silly question about which husband would
belong to the widow of seven serves only to show how far they are from
understanding the reality of life after death in the power of a resurrected
life!!
2. Resurrection Life Is More Like the Life of
the Angels
--Because of the resurrection, we are in many ways more like
the angels than our old humanity.
--This bit of instruction by Jesus was another correction to
the beliefs of the Sadducees who did not believe in angels either.
--Jesus said that in the resurrection, our new bodies will
be more like the angels than just a slightly renovated version of this ‘earth
suit’ we presently wear.
Matthew 22:30
“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
u Like the angels in…
a. The
Quality of an Everlasting Life
--Although angels are created just as we are, they were
created to live forever, just as we are through the power of the resurrection.
--We will be like them in that we both will live forever.
b. The
Purity of a Sinless Life
--For those angelic beings who have always lived in the
immediate presence of a Holy God, sin has never been an issue, temptation has
never been a problem.
--When we experience the power of a resurrected life, sin
will no longer have any appeal to us and we shall be sinless, made perfect
forever as those whose purity and holiness are guaranteed forever by Jesus
Christ.
c. The
Strength of an Empowered Life
--The kind of power we will enjoy in heaven cannot yet be
fully known but we do know two ways in which that strength and ability will
become ours.
· Power to
Understand—Enlarged Mental Capacity
--Our minds will be able to grow in the fullness of the
knowledge of God at a greater capacity than ever before because we will be like
the angels excelling in power.
--We know in part now, but then we shall be capably of
knowing fully.
· Power to
Endure—Expansive Physical Capacity
--The nature of any physical strength, we cannot know, but
we will have no need to take to our beds to replenish our strength, no need to
convalesce to regain our health, no need to take care what we eat to monitor
our condition.
--We will have the capacity of glorified bodies made
powerful by the resurrection as we are not only like the angels in that respect
but we will be like Jesus!
d. The Bliss
of a Heavenly Life
--Like the angels, we will no longer be distracted and
concerned about all those things which consume our attention and energy here on
the earth.
Spurgeon said, “Brethren, this is one of the things which
makes the great change so desirable to us, that after death our thoughts, our
cares, our position, our desires, our joys, will all be in God…up yonder they
have no wants like our own; they consequently have no desires of an earthly
kind—their desires are all concerning God…They are free to bow before the
Creator, and to think alone of him; to ‘Plunge into the Godhead’s deepest sea,
and bathe in his immensity.’” (Vol. 14, p. 657).
· Absorbed in
Worship and Adoration
--Our hearts and minds will be completely preoccupied in
contemplating, absorbing, reveling in, and marveling at the glorious wonder of
God.
--We will never tire of gazing on such a vision of
perfection and beauty as our eyes have never seen and our minds have never
conceived!
· Free from
Wants and Cares
--All the wants and cares of this world will be far behind
us in heaven and we will be free to devote all our time and attention, all our
passion and power, toward the perfect happiness of being in the presence of the
Lord.
· Delighted by
Perfect Joy and Endless Rest
--In His presence, there will be perfect joy and the ability
to express what is here inexpressible, the delight in Him with no inhibitions
and to continue doing so with no need to stop and rest.
--By the power of God, the life of Jesus Christ through the
resurrection transforms us completely so that we are made new forever—body and
soul are changed.
Many of our conceptions of heaven have
been shaped by our own experiences in life.
We try to take life as we know it and magnify it to its highest level
and consider that to be what a resurrected life must be like. The problem is, when we do that all of our
ideas center on the human experience in a finite realm.
Heaven is
entirely God-centered. So should our
thinking be! Jesus sheds some light on
what heaven will be like, as do other portions of Scripture. But ultimately, we are at a loss to
comprehend what shall be when we rise to meet Jesus face to face through the
power of the resurrection.
Is this
information useless, then, in the meantime?
Of course not…God has placed what information we do have before us so
that we might begin to live now in light of eternity, in anticipation of what
we will enjoy forever in the glorious presence of God Himself.
Today, what will
be different about your outlook on life in this world when viewed through the
lens of heaven? How will the things you
live for diminish in importance in the presence of a heavenly vision of what
God holds to be important? Jesus calls
us to be followers of the God of the living.
He invites us to pray with understanding as He taught His disciples to
pray…
Our Father,
which art in heaven,
Hallowed be
Thy name.
Thy kingdom
come, Thy will be done
On earth…as it
is in heaven!
Give us this
day our daily bread
And forgive us
our debts
As we forgive
our debtors
Lead us not
into temptation
And deliver us
from evil
For Thine is
the kingdom and the power
And the
glory…forever. Amen.
May 9, 2004
©David
Horner 2004
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