Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
The smug Sadducees’ scenario regarding resurrection (Mark 12:18-23) poses no dilemma for Jesus: “And Jesus answering said unto them, ‘Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven’” (verses 24-25). Jesus deals with their ignorance of Scripture in verses 26-27, which we will consider after. By telling them that they misinterpreted God’s Word, He was removing any authority that they claimed. He pointed out their dismissal of “the power of God.” Anyone who said that they believed the first five books of the Bible (as the Sadducees did say) would also have to believe in the unlimited power of God as evidenced in the Creation, the translation of Enoch, the miraculous birth of Isaac, and the Exodus. Jesus’ simple statement reveals the falsity of their assertions of belief. He also rejects the popular view of resurrection that it was merely a continuation of this life. The Apostle Paul deals with this faulty interpretation of resurrection at length in I Corinthians 15, distinguishing between the “earthy” and the “heavenly” (verses 47-49). We will need to “be changed” (verses 51-52), and we will be. Life with Jesus will be better, far better, than even the best of “earthy” life.