Matthew
22:29, "Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing
the scriptures, nor the power of God."
This
morning, many undervalue and underestimate the same two things that
Jesus referenced above: scriptures and the power of God. Recent
days display man's utter disdain for the Holy Bible, and regardless
of the circumstances, man seems bent on discounting the power of God
in life's situations. Consider a mere 50 years ago. More people
were well-studied and adept at discussing the Scriptures, whereas
now many are not as they do not know enough of its contents to
intelligently discuss it. Likewise, people back then were more
prone to attribute God's power in bringing them through situations
in life and marvel at how good He had been to them. Now, people
constantly talk about how "lucky" they or others are. In both
cases, people today greatly err much like the Sadducees in Christ's
day.
In this
passage, Christ is having a series of conversations with different
sects and groups. Each group is trying to trip Him up - all to no
avail. When the Sadducees come to Him, they present a case
according to Moses' law. In the law, a man that died without
children would have his nearest kinsman raise up seed with his widow
to his name. This was done so that he would not go without a name
in Israel. (Deuteronomy 25:5-6) The Sadducees present a case of 7
brothers. When the first takes a wife and dies without children,
his brother takes the wife and also dies without children. This
progression passes through all 7 brethren; they all die, and last of
all, the woman dies also. Their question that prompts Jesus's
rebuke from our verse is, "Whose wife will she be in the
resurrection?" After all, she had 7 husbands, so who would be hers
and whose would she be in the next world?
Before we
get to the main point of this writing, a quick side-bar begs
investigation. The Sadducees were a sect that denied the
resurrection, and they were therefore presenting a case that they
patently did not believe. Therefore, we see their whole goal is to
catch Christ by using a subject (the resurrection) that He believed
(not them). But in so doing, they also presented a patently foolish
scenario. Today, people will attempt to do the same thing to God's
children that profess to follow Christ. Even though people in the
world do not believe in Christ or in the Scriptures as the
infallible word of God, they will present scenarios about Christ and
His word to try to trip us up. In so doing, they will present just
as faulty scenarios as these men presented Christ. So, when you are
questioned about your belief, always remember that people sometimes
ask along subject lines that they do not believe solely in an
attempt to get you to doubt what you believe or convince you that
there is a problem with your Jesus or your Bible. Remember Christ's
words. Do not underestimate God's power or His Book. Become
familiar with them so that we know a good question from a foolish
and unlearned one.
The main
point that we wish to investigate this morning revolves around the
term "power of God" as it pertains to these Sadducees. Part of
their error was not knowing the power of God. We today can nurture
a mindset like a Sadducee when we fail to consider the power of God,
particularly in the context Christ here uses it. He goes on to say
that the resurrection is to a state similar to angels in the sense
that we will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Now, we must
here say that we do not go to heaven to be angels. That is not
Christ's point at all. Rather, our position as the brethren of
Christ is a state and place much higher than an angel (for they are
celestial servants), but we are "like" angels in the sense of being
unmarried, unlike how we are now. So, how do we today garner the
mindset of a Sadducee by not knowing the power of God?
Quite
often as a minister, I get asked questions about what heaven is
going to be like. Most of my answers basically boil down to a flat,
"I don't know." Sometimes, my explanation of " I don't know" takes
quite a long time. Sometimes the more I talk the more I display how
little I know. However, Scripture does line out some things about
heaven for us. One of them is the sense that everything in heaven
is better than it is now. Paul so adamantly expressed the thought
that he said everything we endure here pales in comparison to what
shall be done in us. (Romans 8:18) Go read that text and catch the
little but powerful expression "in us." It is true that heaven is a
glorious place full of the wonder and majesty of Almighty God.
However, Paul says that all we have or will have down here does not
compare to that glory that will one day be revealed "in us." Can
you imagine a body that is completely free from pain and illness?
Furthermore, can you fathom a body that is so perfect, complete,
and glorious that the former things do not even enter? Consider
our bodies ravaged by pain, cancer, etc. Those same bodies are
going to be raised in glorious power so that ALL traces of what was
once in them is gone.
Now if these bodies will have such a
physical constitution of perfection that nothing evil can enter and
all traces of the former are swallowed up in immortality, what about
the mental faculties? Paul contrasts our mental state now with
eternity by showing the difference between a man and a child's
mentality. The child walks like a child, speaks like a child, and
acts like a child. But, men are required to put off childish
things. (I Corinthians 13:11-12) Therefore, our sight and
understanding now being through a glass darkly is like the child's
life of immature understanding. The experience of seeing Him face
to face is akin to a man's mature understanding after becoming full
grown. Paul concludes the contrast by saying that we shall know
even as we are known. Know who? While it is undeniably true that
we will know one another and have personal identity in the
resurrection (I Corinthians 15:41-42), that is not Paul's point
here. Rather, we will know Him who loved us even as He knows us.
What a glorious thought!
Our mental faculties will be so
heightened in that glorified air that we know Him as He knows us.
He knows us so completely that He knows the difference between our
soul and spirit, the difference between our joints and marrow, and
can even discern the thoughts and intents of our heart. (Hebrews
4:12) One day, I will know the Trinity of the Godhead and be able to
line out the difference just as He can line out the differences of
my person. Just as He knows my thoughts and heart's desires, so one
day I will be able to look upon Him and know why His heart desires
certain things. I will finally be able to answer that question,
"Why oh why did the Lord love me?" I will know His heart's desire.
I will know why. All questions will be gone as I will know Him
completely!
Getting back to the Sadducees'
scenario, we see similar mindsets today. Quite often today,
well-meaning but ignorant people will say, "If I don't see my
children in heaven, it won't be heaven." Or they might say, "If I
don't see my husband/wife in heaven, it won't be heaven." More
alarmingly, some will say, "If I can't be with my husband/wife in
heaven, it won't be heaven." While these statements miss the mark
of Scriptures, how do they miss the mark of the power of God? If we
are raised from weakness to power, we are raised to a state that
these minds cannot fully envelop right now. Heaven is more glorious
than our immature minds are able to handle. Just like a child
cannot handle some of the more intricate details of life, so we
cannot handle the absolute power and glory that shall accompany our
ride into heaven.
While I love my wife and children now
to the point of being willing to die for them, I do not expect to
love them any more/less than anyone else in heaven. Nor do I expect
my wife to be my wife in heaven. I do expect to see her there, but
it will not be as my wife. She and I will be congregated in that
blessed band with one focal and unified thought: praise to the One
that we finally see as He is and can praise Him as we ought. My
children will not be more special to me in heaven any more than your
children will be more special to you in heaven. In heaven, our
whole force and energy will be to thank Him for what we finally know
IN FULL that He has done for us.
When I consider God's power in speaking
this universe into existence, my mind pales at the thought. It
simply blows the circuits to think about it. Yet, when I think
about this body, this mind, this person that I am still plagued by
sin actually being perfect, it is absolutely astonishing. It is
astonishing enough to me personally when I am blessed with His power
to preach in great power and liberty by His Holy Spirit. Yet, even
that scene does not compare with the glory and the scene of the
resurrection. Imagine to the utmost stretch, but the reality will
make that imagination die away in wonder. Brethren, I simply do not
have a lot of answers about heaven, but one thing I know is that the
power of God is going to raise us to a point that we simply cannot
fathom now. Natural ties will cease to be important. What we
experience in this life cannot compare to that glory. What we know
of Him there will simply be the most refreshing and delightful thing
that has ever been known. Eternity will not be a whit too short to
thank Him or worship Him for all of that goodness.
In Hope,
Bro Philip