You Don't Know

Many religious leaders, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, tried to trap Jesus throughout His ministry. They would ask what they thought were clever questions, questions that they themselves probably couldn’t figure out, in the hopes that Jesus would end up sounding foolish. Sometimes their questions were an attempt to get Jesus to answer with some form of blasphemy so they could have a reason to arrest Him. This style of trap was used a great deal toward the end of Jesus’ ministry as the religious leaders were growing tired of Jesus disrupting their way of life and their way of thinking. The Sadducees were religious leaders who did not believe in the possibility of resurrection, so one day they tried to trap Jesus in what they surely thought was a clever question to disprove the possibility of resurrection. Jesus’ answer is quite sobering.

“That same day Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: ‘Teacher, Moses said, “If a man dies without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.” Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children, so his brother married the widow. But the second brother also died, and the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them. Last of all, the woman also died. So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.’
Jesus replied, ‘Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.’” (Matthew 22:23-30)

The Sadducees thought they would somehow trick Jesus into seeing things their way—that there is no resurrection of the dead. Notice that Jesus didn’t take the bait and address their long-winded question with a long-winded answer. Jesus addressed the root of their problem: they don’t know the Scriptures and they don’t know the power of God. This should be a sobering response for all of us. We can miss the mark when it comes to Truth if we don’t know the Scriptures and don’t know the power of God. How often do you study the Scriptures? Really study them, not just read the verse of the day or absentmindedly listen to an audio version of the Bible. Do you know the Scriptures? Can you recall Scriptures in moments of need as Jesus did when He was tempted in the desert? When someone asks a question or makes a claim about the Bible, do you know the Scriptures well enough to answer them? Don’t make the same mistake the Sadducees did. Work hard so that you never have to hear those words of Jesus said to you: “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures….”

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.