Reflective Bible Study

Immediately following Jesus’ encounter with the Sadducees, we learn that another religious teacher brings a question to Jesus. However, unlike other challenges, this one ends in a unique way that is worth us paying attention to. Instead of ending the discussion with the religious leader looking foolish or scratching his head, this discussion ends on a positive note, which is very unusual.

Let’s read about what happened from Mark’s gospel. Our passage is found in chapter 12, and we will read from the New International Reader’s Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 28, Mark tells us that:

²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard the Sadducees arguing. He noticed that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer. So he asked him, “Which is the most important of all the commandments?”

²⁹ Jesus answered, “Here is the most important one. Moses said, ‘Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is one. ³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ And here is the second one. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There is no commandment more important than these.”

³² “You have spoken well, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one. There is no other God but him. ³³ To love God with all your heart and mind and strength is very important. So is loving your neighbor as you love yourself. These things are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

³⁴ Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. He said to him, “You are not far from God’s kingdom.” From then on, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions.

We’ll stop reading this passage here, because Mark includes the transition statement about Jesus not receiving any more questions after this. However, it’s possible that the questions stopped after what we will read about in our next episode, which covers one last question we find in a different gospel record that may have taken place immediately after the event we just read about.

In many ways, this passage appears to set the stage for what Jesus is about to say next. However, if we too quickly jump there, we might miss something profound Jesus says in this portion of this discussion.

From the question this religious teacher asks, from Jesus’ response, and from the way the religious teacher restates Jesus’ words, part of me wonders if this wasn’t the first time Jesus received this question, and I wonder if this religious teacher was already expecting this answer. When Luke’s gospel records a similar event, the person asking a question is described as a lawyer and he wanted further clarification regarding who we should consider as our neighbor.

That event likely happened before this one, so it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that this religious teacher already had a good idea of what Jesus’ response would be.

However, this teacher says something profound as he restates Jesus’ answer. When wrapping up Jesus’ words, the teacher concludes by saying, “These things are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (v. 33b)

What we discover from this teacher’s words is an amazing, big truth: Love for God and love for our neighbor are more important than our offering, our sacrifices, and anything we give to God. This response teaches us that before we even think about bringing something to God, we should first have love for Him and we should have love for others. If these two foundations are not met, then our offerings and sacrifices will be tainted and we risk God not accepting them.

While the context of this discussion deals with the requirements of the sacrificial system, the language that we have with us today can also be used for all other types of giving and giving up.

When we bring something to God, whether it is money, time, an object or possession, or even our hearts, we call this an offering. These offerings are not burned on an alter like the burnt offerings in the Old Testament era, but we still call them the same word. I don’t think this is an accident. Instead, I believe these categories of modern offerings are equivalent, especially in the context of our discussion.

In a similar way, when we sacrifice something, we are removing it from our lives. While sacrifice is closely related to giving offerings, offering focuses on the giving act and specifically where our gift goes, while sacrifice focuses on the giving act and what we are giving up or removing from our lives.

Both aspects of giving are key to our discussion and to this teacher’s concluding statement. We must have love in our hearts before we give up anything from our life, which is called sacrifice, and before we give anything as an offering to God. Having love for God and love for our neighbor “are more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (v. 33b)

This passage wraps up with one more statement from Jesus. Verse 34 begins by telling us that “Jesus saw that the man had answered wisely. He said to him, ‘You are not far from God’s kingdom.’”

This is interesting because it implies that while this teacher knows the right answer, he was missing something that was needed for entrance into God’s kingdom.

Assuming that this teacher had love for God, love for his neighbor, and a solid track record of sacrifices, what could Jesus have been referring to in His final response? If all these other things are in place, the only thing missing is a belief in Jesus.

This man was not far from God’s kingdom because he knew all the right things, and he likely lived them out. But when challenged on whether Jesus was the Messiah God sent, this man sided with the traditional religious culture who believed Jesus to be an imposter. This man wasn’t far from God’s kingdom, but he was missing the key needed for entrance. Faith and belief in Jesus is that key.

In our own lives, while we might say and do all the right things, if we aren’t placing our faith in Jesus, we forfeit the life we are promised that comes through Jesus. In the end, being not far from God’s kingdom might then mean that we are close, but being close to the kingdom is still being outside of it. Accepting Jesus into our hearts and lives is the key we use to enter God’s kingdom.

While life inside God’s kingdom includes doing and saying the right things, the motivation for what we do and say is different. Those outside of God’s kingdom seek entrance through their actions. Those inside God’s kingdom live righteously as a thank you to God for everything He has already blessed us with – and these blessings and gifts rest on the foundation of the most important gift ever: Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to pay for our sins. Nothing is more important than this. It is the key for entrance into God’s kingdom.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

If you are worried that you aren’t good enough for God or that you cannot reach His standard, accept the fact that this is true. However, also accept the fact that Jesus came to live the life you couldn’t live, and to offer His life as a replacement for yours. Accept Jesus’ gift and change your focus from living righteously trying to please God to living righteously as a Thank You to God.

When we are living life from a Thank You perspective, we might stumble, but when we stumble, this doesn’t change our attitude of thanks. Instead, when we stumble or fall, our thankfulness towards God is increased, and we get back up and press forward. Living with a “Thank You” perspective is a completely different perspective than what many people are use to.

Also, as I always challenge you to do, always pray and study the Bible for yourself to grow personally towards God and towards Jesus. Personal prayer and Bible study grow a personal relationship with God, and a personal relationship with God leads to eternal life.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or wander away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

Of all the times Jesus preached to the crowds, and from all the counter-cultural ideas He shares, the central theme of the passage we are looking at this week is definitely among the most difficult to apply.

While some people may have wished to be excluded from being challenged in this way, Jesus directs this thought at everyone who was listening at that time, and since this teaching is included in two of the four gospels, we can also conclude that it was meant for everyone who would read or hear about it later as well.

Unfortunately, this includes you and me, but before getting upset at me for sharing it with you, tucked within this challenge is a theme that reveals an amazing truth about God the Father, and the extent of His love for humanity.

As I mentioned earlier, this teaching is found in two of the four gospels, but for our time together, we’ll focus in on Luke’s version of it, which is found in Luke, chapter 6, and we will be reading from the New Century Version. Starting in verse 27, Jesus challenges those present by saying:

²⁷ “But I say to you who are listening, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, ²⁸ bless those who curse you, pray for those who are cruel to you. ²⁹ If anyone slaps you on one cheek, offer him the other cheek, too. If someone takes your coat, do not stop him from taking your shirt. ³⁰ Give to everyone who asks you, and when someone takes something that is yours, don’t ask for it back. ³¹ Do to others what you would want them to do to you. ³² If you love only the people who love you, what praise should you get? Even sinners love the people who love them. ³³ If you do good only to those who do good to you, what praise should you get? Even sinners do that! ³⁴ If you lend things to people, always hoping to get something back, what praise should you get? Even sinners lend to other sinners so that they can get back the same amount! ³⁵ But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without hoping to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward, and you will be children of the Most High God, because he is kind even to people who are ungrateful and full of sin. ³⁶ Show mercy, just as your Father shows mercy.

This last phrase not only sums up the reason why Jesus challenges those present to love everyone, in this phrase, we are challenged to love everyone like God has loved and shown mercy to us.

Also tucked into this challenge is the well known phrase in verse 31: “Do to others what you would want them to do to you.” While many people take this phrase and use it to justify their reaction to someone who just hurt them, the context of this teaching is being preemptive, and consciously acting in a way that you want to have returned. “Do to others what you would want them to do to you.” This phrase is given with the goal of helping to turn enemies into friends, so before trying to exclude someone from this challenge because they are not your “enemy”, this phrase is meant for everyone who is not yet a friend and everyone who you want to remain friends with.

One big key to this challenge Jesus gives us that we would be wise to pay attention to is that nowhere in this passage do we read that by doing all these kind things and loving an enemy will immediately or eventually turn our adversary into a friend. Making friends out of our enemies is not the goal of Jesus’ challenge.

Instead, the goal is reflecting God. God has more enemies than we can count, and even though they have aligned themselves against Him, He has not turned His back on them. God loves both His friends and His enemies, even if His enemies have no hope of ever turning back to Him.

In verse 35, the passage phrases God’s kindness extending to even those who are “ungrateful and full of sin”. This thought challenges me because it both implies that as followers and imitators of God, we should be grateful and as sinless as we can possibly be. This brings to mind the idea that while everyone has sinned in their past, there is nothing keeping us from intentionally not sinning in the future. On several different occasions, Jesus challenged those He healed with the words, “Go and sin no more”, which implies that while it wouldn’t be easy, a sinless future is not impossible.

Also, while reading this challenge, I wonder if the theme Jesus shares here is the big error of the religious leaders, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and all the other Jewish groups present during that time. While most of these groups of Jews followed the laws that were handed down to them as best as they could, it seems as though all of them had missed the central idea of being God-like and God’s representative. These groups had missed seeing God’s love for humanity in the scrolls of their Old Testament scriptures. If they were trying to be God-like, they modeled their actions after a view of God that was a Judge and Someone who would be quick to punish those who broke His Law.

But in Jesus’ words, we see a God who loves before He punishes and a God who is generous to even those who have turned against Him. This is the only option God has if He wants to base His rule on love, on caring relationships, and on the freedom of choice. If God quickly punished those who disobeyed, we would be fearful of Him, and a loving relationship could not develop. Not only this, but if God were to quickly punish us for our sin, there would be no hope of us ever turning back to Him and repenting, since the punishment for sin is death.

Here in our passage and in Jesus’ challenge to those who have heard or read His words is that God wants us to love like He loves, care like He cares, and to model generosity like He is generous – and not just to those in our social circle of friends, but to everyone else – enemies included – as well.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Seek God first in your life, and intentionally choose Him to be your role model. God is the only One worthy of modeling our lives after, because everyone else has mistakes and/or flaws that we must look past.

When hearing, reading, and studying the Bible for yourself, pay attention to the many ways God has shown love towards humanity, both in the Old Testament history of Israel, and in the New Testament record of Jesus and the early Christian church.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

During the week leading up to the cross, it appeared as though every religious group decided that now would be the time to challenge Jesus. While we often look at challenges from the Pharisees, a group that was not as well represented, or perhaps a group that wasn’t called out by name as often, was the Sadducees. The Sadducees probably stood back and watched as Jesus kept succeeding against the Pharisees, and they probably enjoyed these challenges, but eventually, as Jesus began teaching more and more, they began to notice that He wasn’t like them either.

The Sadducees had two key distinctions or beliefs that set them apart from everyone else. First, the Sadducees only believed the books of Moses were of spiritual significance. While the other Old Testament books had good things to say about history, the Sadducees minimized the spiritual significance of the rest of the Old Testament writings. This contrasts the Sadducees with the Pharisees and other religious groups who took the Old Testament scriptures more holistically.

The other key distinction was that the Sadducees did not believe in a future resurrection. This teaching, while it sounded great on the surface, was not easily supported by Moses’ writings, and because of this, the Sadducees rejected it.

For our passage in this episode, we discover what happens when some of the Sadducees challenge Jesus with a question. Depending on the gospel we read from and the translation we use, the question they ask sounds either hypothetical, or like something that had happened at some point in the past. Either way, the question is fascinating, and it sheds light on why they rejected the idea of resurrection.

While we could read this passage from Matthew, Mark, or Luke, Luke’s version of this includes one additional phrase at the end of Jesus’ response that makes it a little more profound. Because of this reason, let’s use Luke’s version of this event for our time together. We can find this event in Luke, chapter 20, and let’s read it from the New International Version of the Bible. Starting in verse 27, Luke tells us that:

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “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 raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

Let’s pause reading here for a moment. This dilemma is the perfect setup for disproving the resurrection, because in the writings of Moses, the setup for marriage was one man to one woman, and while all seven were married to her, she technically wouldn’t be married to them all in heaven, because it violated the structure of marriage that God gave in Moses’ writings. If she had given a child through the seventh union, it changes the equation, but not significantly, because there still would be the issue of who was married to who because while the child would be the oldest brother’s child, the woman was still had been married to and united to all seven of the brothers.

However, Jesus takes an interesting and unexpected approach with His answer. Jesus doesn’t discount the trickiness of the situation, but He instead makes it irrelevant. While the Sadducees had placed marriage on a pedestal, and then filtered their beliefs against a resurrection through this lens, Jesus counters this argument. Picking back up reading in verse 34:

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.

Let’s pause briefly again, because Jesus has said something profound both to the Sadducees, and to us today. In Jesus’ response, “this age” includes marriage, but the age to come does not. The age to come follows the resurrection of the dead. When marriage is not an issue and the dead have been raised, the children of this resurrection are called God’s children, and at this point, they can no longer die.

These three short verses challenge one of the deepest held beliefs in the broad Christian church. Eternal life follows the resurrection, the resurrection of God’s children happens at the start of the age to come, and the age to come is marked by the absence of marriage. These three verses challenge the idea of an eternal soul because the emphasis is on resurrection, and eternal live only being given to God’s children after they have been resurrected from the dead.

Let’s reread the first part of Jesus’ reply to the Sadducees before moving forward:

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.

But Jesus isn’t finished responding and challenging the Sadducees. Jesus has just shifted the focus away from marriage and onto the resurrection. But what about the Sadducees who don’t believe in a resurrection because it isn’t in the books of Moses. Picking back up in verse 37, Jesus continues by saying:

³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ ³⁸ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

In this last portion of Jesus’ reply, Jesus takes the Sadducees foundation against the resurrection, and he challenges it. Not only that, Jesus challenges us in this response. Luke’s gospel includes the final phrase: “for to him all are alive”. This phrase is significant, because with it, Jesus appears to contradict His earlier challenge while also validating the tradition view of an immortal soul.  

Is Jesus contradicting Himself here? No. Instead, in the second half of Jesus response, He shifts perspective, and if we don’t shift perspective with Him, we are left looking at a pretty significant contradiction in Jesus’ teaching.

This perspective shift is easy to miss, but it is found in the first three words of Luke’s extra phrase: “For to Him”. This perspective shift makes the last idea focus us onto God’s perspective. While it might easy to jump to the conclusion that everyone is immortal because God sees everyone as alive, that conclusion is a bad one to take because it assumes that our perspective is God’s perspective. This is impossible for many reasons, but one significant reason for our discussion of this topic is that God is outside of time and we are trapped within it.

To help us understand God’s perspective, imagine watching an old movie. Every time you press play, the characters come alive on the screen. This movie has captured a secondary timeline from the one we are living in. In our timeline, called history, at least one of the actors in this movie has probably died, but when we watch what was captured on film, the actors come alive again.

If a character dies part way through the movie, all it takes is rewinding or jumping back in the movie’s timeline to see them as alive again.

This is the perspective Jesus shares about God in this last portion of His reply. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they all are alive to God because He simply can look back to their time in history and see them as alive. When God holds the remote control on history, He can fast forward, rewind, pause, and focus on any part of this world that He wants.

God has the perspective that everyone is alive, but that is because He can see all points of history. This doesn’t mean that everyone is conscious at all points in history. Instead, our perspective mirrors the first part of Jesus’ reply: We look forward to the resurrection, when God the Creator and Re-Creator, pull everyone from their respective endpoints in history’s timeline into a brand new timeline called the New Heaven and New Earth.

In the new age without sin, Jesus tells us that there won’t be marriage, but I’m sure that is because it will have been replaced with something even better. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to the resurrection, and the start of the new age without sin.

As we come to the end of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Always seek God first and trust Him with your life and your future. If death scares you, don’t be worried. Jesus faced death and He conquered it! Death is no match for the life Jesus has promised us when He returns.

Also, be sure to always pray and study the Bible for yourself to discover God’s truth for your life. While a pastor or podcaster can give you things to think about, study out everything you hear from God’s Word to validate it yourself. While what we focused on in this episode is a hot topic in Christianity, it’s my goal to get you thinking and studying this for yourself, rather than simply prompt you to believe the same way I do. I want you to believe what God teaches you through the Bible as a whole – not just some single texts that have been assembled together.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another never stop short of, back away from, or give up on where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!

One of the things I admire about Jesus is His skillful way of answering challenging questions. The event we are looking at in this episode, which is found in three of the four gospels contains one such question, and it is in this question and answer that Jesus gives where we find a fascinating insight into God, His Law, and a right understanding of it.

For our episode this week, we will be looking at Matthew’s version of this event, which is found in Matthew, chapter 12, and we will be using the Good News Translation. Starting in verse 9, we read:

⁹ Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue, ¹⁰ where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, “Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then he said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stretch out your hand.”

He stretched it out, and it became well again, just like the other one. ¹⁴ Then the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.

Let’s pause reading here because I want to draw our attention onto this question and answer. The Pharisees have skillfully come up with a question where they feel like they know the correct answer, but they want to trap Jesus in His own words. The question they asked is designed to trick Jesus into saying work is acceptable, which violates the fourth commandment, because in their minds, Jesus is playing the role of physician, and the work doctors do is heal their patients.

Even if they considered Jesus to be more than simply a doctor or physician, it would be a double standard to hold the doctor’s healing as work while Jesus’ healing is not.

Jesus’ response begins by setting up a hypothetical scenario, perhaps one that had even happened recently, describing a sheep that had fallen into a hole. A sheep trapped in any way like the one described would be a prime target for a wolf or other predator. It would be logical to put forth a little effort to help free the sheep.

With the stage set, Jesus elevates humanity above this hypothetical sheep before giving the gist of His answer. Jesus’ response to the question is that the Law does allow us to help each other on the Sabbath.

Perhaps God’s law has a built in double standard. Maybe if the owner of the sheep lifts it out it is considered work, because the sheep is connected to its owner’s wealth, while a friend or stranger seeing the sheep fall into the hole is not obligated or rewarded in any way by the sheep being saved. In the stranger’s case, there is nothing compelling him or her to offer help, so the action is purely altruistic and/or selfless.

However, I don’t believe there is a double standard. Help is help, while work is work. If the goal of an action is to be paid or compensated in some way, then it is work; but if the goal of an action is to benefit someone else without any pay or compensation being expected, then it is help. This is how I define the difference between this potentially confusing set of concepts.

Jesus’ instruction to the man to stretch out his hand is the least work-like way of helping. All Jesus did was simply speak and that is something that is easily acceptable on a Sabbath, or any other day. And this instruction prompted a miraculous healing, which also couldn’t be considered work, because we are free to move our limbs in any way we choose on every day of the week.

However, the Pharisees did not like this response or outcome, and they begin plotting to kill Jesus. When we continue reading in verse 15, we learn that:

¹⁵ When Jesus heard about the plot against him, he went away from that place; and large crowds followed him. He healed all the sick ¹⁶ and gave them orders not to tell others about him. ¹⁷ He did this so as to make come true what God had said through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸ “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, and with whom I am pleased.
I will send my Spirit upon him,
    and he will announce my judgment to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not argue or shout,
    or make loud speeches in the streets.
²⁰ He will not break off a bent reed,
    nor put out a flickering lamp.
He will persist until he causes justice to triumph,
²¹     and on him all peoples will put their hope.”

In these verses, Matthew draws our attention onto a prophecy about Jesus that God gave through the prophet Isaiah. When I read this prophecy, I am impressed with the description of the Messiah that is shared. This prophecy tells us that Jesus will announce God’s judgment on the nations, and that He won’t argue, shout, or speak loudly in the streets. Jesus won’t break off a bent reed or put out a flickering lamp, and He will persist until He causes justice to triumph.

The last phrase really stands out in my mind. Verse 21 concludes by saying: “and on him all peoples will put their hope.”

Jesus came to be the Savior for all people. Jesus wasn’t just sent to help the Jews. He came to help people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. While there are occasions where Jesus tells a foreigner that He only came to help the Jews, in each case, with persistence and pushback from the person requesting help, Jesus always complies and helps the situation.

Isaiah’s prophecy tells us that Jesus persisted until He caused justice to triumph. Justice in this case is God’s punishment for sin, and Jesus persisted until His last breath on the cross. Isaiah’s prophecy both foreshadows Jesus’ death as well as His arrival for all people.

Jesus came to help those who needed help and He came to give us a view of God’s Law that allows us to be a blessing to others. The Law was never meant to be a pair of hand-cuffs, but a systematic way of growing a community of people both spiritually and socially. And because Jesus viewed God’s Law this way when the Pharisees didn’t, they wanted to kill Him, which ironically would be a violation of the Law they claimed to obey.

While the Pharisees plotted against Jesus, Isaiah’s prophecy that foreshadowed Jesus’ death for all human-kind was being fulfilled.

As we come to the close of another podcast episode, here are the challenges I will leave you with:

Choose to seek God in a way that prompts you to focus on helping others. While many people, including those living in the first century, believe that serving God can be separate from helping others, choose to model your life after Jesus’ life. Jesus blended obeying God and helping others. It appears, at least to me, that whenever there was a supposed conflict between obedience and helping someone, Jesus always choose to help. Perhaps this is how we should be in our own lives.

However, don’t take my word for this. You should prayerfully study the Bible for yourself, and this decision for yourself, because only by being connected with God through the Holy Spirit and His Word will you even know what Jesus is like. You can only accurately model someone you have studied personally.

And as I end every set of challenges by saying in one way or another, never stop short of, back away from, chicken out of, or deviate away from where God wants to lead you to in your life with Him!