Protecting Turf

Protecting Turf
Words of Faith 3-1-24
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2024
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Mark 12
[18] Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. [19] "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. [20] Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. [21] The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. [22] In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. [23] At the resurrection, whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?"
[24] Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? [25] When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. [26] Now about the dead rising‑‑have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? [27] He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!"

The Sadducees were well-versed in the art of theological debate. They did not believe in the resurrection. This was their theological turf--no resurrection, angels, or after-life. So, in their attempt to protect that turf, they constructed an elaborate hypothetical situation for Jesus to answer. The goal of their question was to avoid gaining understanding. They were not seeking truth. Their goal was to protect their theological turf at all costs.
The Sadducees created a silly scenario in which a woman marries brother after brother according to a requirement in the Levitical law. The idea of resurrection suddenly appeared silly as listeners pictured seven husbands greeting one woman in heaven. But what was truly silly was the way these religionists built a wall rather than seeking an understanding of a mystery. They had closed themselves to the wonder of God. What was silly was a Sadducean heart that had long since ceased searching for real truth.
The answer Jesus gave was simple. "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?" Most of the answers are that simple. Know the Scripture and do not limit the power of God. Know the Scripture and do not doubt the power of God. Search the Scripture and discover the power of God. The truth will only sometimes be logical and will not necessarily fit our previous understandings. But the truth will always be there, even if it is beyond our best attempts to find it. The truth will probably conflict with our culture. So, our only hope is to know the Scripture and the power of God. The Scripture we can choose to search. The power of God we must watch for and surrender to when we see it.
Then Jesus laid the truth on them. Your question is too small. "When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." The resurrection that you reject is very real, but it is a much larger truth than any test you can put to it. "Have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!"

Do you have some theological turf you have been protecting? Do you have an area you have not been willing to surrender? Do you have some things that do not fit the way you always thought they should be? Search the Scripture and get to know the power of God.

Lord, I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead (Philip. 3:10‑11). In Jesus' name, Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2024
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2024 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.