The Lord of Life

Mark 16:1-14.  This sermon was preached on Resurrection Sunday by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 4, 2021.

There are those in the Church who only value Jesus as an inspiring tale of love and hope.  Similarly, they value the Bible as a text that can inspire us to great good, but which does not place any truth claims upon us.  To them, it is not important what the Bible claims to be true, but only what it inspires us to do.

If you have never run into such a person then be thankful.  The problem with this view is that it somehow thinks the greatest problem of mankind is that we are without a good vision, or are simply short-sighted.  However, the claim of the Bible is that our true problem lies deep within our soul, and it is sin.  We are all bent away from that which is good and towards satisfying the selfish desires of our flesh.  If Jesus was not resurrected from the grave then we are still stuck without an answer to this “sin problem.”  If Jesus was only showing us a supreme example of love, and not the power of One who was saving us by it, then we are still stuck in our sins, and the world is without hope.

It is sad to see the world continually doubling down upon the idea that we can save ourselves.  Whether through science and technology, or the progress of our great wisdom, we continue to think that we can fix every problem, if we only gave more power to the right people.  Such solutions are destined to fail in the same dust bin of all that have gone on before because in the end all men, women, boys, and girls fall short of that which is right and good.  We need a savior, and Jesus is God’s answer for the sin problem that we all have.

They discover that the tomb is empty

Our passage starts on Sunday morning at dawn, when it will be found that Jesus is no longer in the tomb.  Mark clearly emphasizes the female followers of Jesus in these last two chapters.  In chapter 15, he remarks that it was they who stood at a distance when Jesus died, and followed to see where he would be buried.  Where are the men?  They are hiding.  Yes, John was at the cross for a time, but it appears he leaves with Mary the mother of Jesus at some point.  This opening scene of chapter 16 has these women going to the tomb early on Sunday morning. 

So, who are these women?  The women listed are Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the lesser, and Salome (we know from Matthew that she is the mother of James and John the sons of Zebedee).  All of them, were deeply impacted by the healing and teaching of Jesus.

Of course, technically the Sabbath would be over on Saturday evening.  However, these women needed light to do the work that they intend, which is to put spices upon and around the body of Jesus.  Why?  This was done to cut down on the smell of decomposition while family members visited and grieved their loved one.  It was not an attempt at mummification at all.  This type of tomb would have a place where the dead body would be laid.  It would be left in this location until decomposition had left only bones.  The bones would then be put into an ossuary, or bone box, and stored in the tomb.  Thus, a whole family could be buried within the same tomb.

Notice that there is no indication that these women are thinking that Jesus might be resurrected.  They are not coming on the third day to check if Jesus had risen from the dead like he said he would.  They are simply coming to do for their master teacher what they could in such a bad situation.  Jesus was dead and they believe that he will remain dead, decompose, and be buried in a bone box.  It is one of the worse days of their lives.  However, Resurrection Sunday teaches us that sometimes the worst day of our lives turns out to be the best.  Christians are called to be a people of hope in the most dire of situations because we know that even in death things are not over for us!

The main problem on their mind as they approach the tomb is the stone.  How are they going to get the stone moved from the mouth of the tomb so that they can get in?  Perhaps they intend to ask the guards, but are not sure the guards will help them.  The Gospel of Matthew tells us that there was an earthquake that morning and that an angel came down and moved the stone aside.  It is unclear whether this happens as the women arrive or that it has happened just before they arrived.  I like to think that the resurrection happened at that earthquake.  The stone is not being moved so that the risen Lord can get out, but so that the women can get in and witness that Jesus is no longer there.  The guards are scared to death by the earthquake and the angel and take off.

Thus, the women find the tomb open and they go in, only to find “a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side.”  This has them in a state of alarm, unsure of what is going on.  From the other Gospels, we know that this young man is a heavenly messenger, an angel.  Why would Mark call him a young man when other accounts call him an angel?  Is this a contradiction?  No, it is not.  Rather, this follows a typical Old Testament pattern.  Most angels appeared to look like men and are often initially called such until they are identified as heavenly by their activity. 

An example of this is in Judges 13.  There the story of Samson’s parents is found when they encounter the Angel of the LORD.  The narrator lets us know up front that Samson’s parents are interacting with an angel, but the woman and the man think he is a “man of God.”  It is not until the “man of God” ascended in the flame of an offering to God that they were burning that they realized they had seen the Angel of the LORD.  We see the same thing in Genesis 18 and 19, when Abraham is visited by “three men.”  By the end of the story, we find out that two of the “men” were angels who went down to Sodom to deliver Lot, and the third “man” was the LORD Himself.  The only heavenly beings described as having wings are the throne guardians referred to as Cherubim and Seraphim.

I take the time to go through this because there is a lot of confusion in this area of understanding angels and heavenly beings.  Angels who were sent to be messengers for God appeared to be men and were typically called such until their activity made it clear that they were heavenly messengers (not just a man of God, but an actual heavenly being).

So, what does the angel in the tomb tell them?  First, he tells them that they are looking for Jesus, but he is risen and not there.  The tomb is empty and Jesus has risen from the dead.  It is amazing how Jesus has a tendency not to stay in the boxes that we try to put him in.  They tried to get rid of the problem of Jesus by putting him in the grave, but that didn’t work.  People are still trying to put Jesus in boxes today, whether unbelievers or believers.  Be careful of thinking that you have Jesus all figured out.  He is the Lord of Life and we would all do well to be very humble in how we think about him.

The angel then tells them to go tell the disciples, and Peter, that Jesus is planning to meet them in Galilee.  I think the angel purposefully adds Peter’s name separate to the disciples.  It both emphasizes the reality of what Peter has done, and the reality of what Peter feels like, separated from what he was a part of.  Jesus had told them before his death that he would rise again and meet them on a certain mountain in Galilee.  However, their unbelief regarding what would happen got in the way of their understanding.

The descriptions of these women are understandable: trembled, amazed, and afraid.  Oh, that moment when your natural mind is assailed by the supernatural power of Jesus.  It is enough to make you quite afraid, but that is not where Jesus intended to leave them, or us.  A new relationship with the risen Lord has begun, and they don’t even know the half of it yet.

Jesus appears to his disciples

Mark does not give a timeline with details of the post-resurrection visitations of Jesus, but he does note a least three of them.  Each time, the unbelieving response of the disciples is highlighted.  These were not bold tomb-robbers trying to invent a new religion, as some try to accuse, nor were they giants of faith, ready to receive the good word.  They were just like we would be in the moment, freaked out and unbelieving at first.

Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene.  I believe the first appearance has nothing to do with conspiracy ideas that circulate today.  Contrary to the conspiracy theories, Mary Magdalene was not a romantic interest of Jesus.  Even the gnostic text that is used as proof that she was, does not say this, and it is clearly not from the first century and from eye-witnesses.  I believe that God is here rebuking their society and his disciples by appearing to a woman first.  She was not only a woman, but was a woman who had been possessed by 7 demons.  Jesus purposefully picks one who they would not look up to, nor believe.  God is the God of the lowly and humble, those whom society often has little time for.  He did not appear to Herod, Pilate, Caiaphas, or Caesar for that matter.  He appeared to someone who may have been possessed by demons, but was now set free.  She had used her income to help support the ministry of Jesus, and was faithful even in his death.  This is the testimony of the risen Lord to you today.  It matters not how bad your history is, or how low you are viewed in this society.  What matters is that Jesus wants to reveal his power over death, his power over your sin, and his love for you, to you.

Mark does not describe the interaction, but focuses on Mary’s attempt to tell the disciples that she had seen Jesus alive.  She enters the place where the disciples are weeping and mourning, and tells them that Jesus is alive, that she has seen him!  However, they did not believe her.  Why not?  Maybe it seemed preposterous that he would be alive at all, or maybe it was preposterous that he would appear to her before them?  Whatever the reason, they did not believe her.

Mark then relates that Jesus secondly appeared to two disciples on the road outside of Jerusalem.  This is clearly the two men on the road to Emmaus that are mentioned in Luke 24:13-35.  Emmaus is described as a village that is about 7 miles from Jerusalem.  Jesus walks up to them and talks with them, has a meal with them when they reach Emmaus, and vanishes from the table after blessing the bread.  They hadn’t recognized him at first, but they did when he blessed the bread and handed it to them.  It was close to evening, but they ran back to Jerusalem and told the disciples what they had seen.  However, again, Mark emphasizes that the disciples did not believe these men either.  

The unbelief of The Eleven at this point can help us to understand why Jesus purposefully does not appear to them first.  Even we can complain that Jesus didn’t appear to us personally.  Why must I only believe upon the witness of others?  Many today proudly state that if God did something spectacular for them then they would believe, but these guys had seen Jesus do all manner of spectacular things, and yet they didn’t believe.  Are we lying to ourselves, and to God, when we make such bold statements?  Most likely, we are.  Our pride needs to be humbled before we are ready to meet the risen Lord!

Lastly, Jesus finally appears to The Eleven (verse 14).  He rebukes their unbelief and their hardness of heart.  This is the hallmark of the Gospel to this very day.  Jesus is always being introduced by those who have encountered him to those who have not yet.

If you find yourself wrestling with unbelief then know that you are not alone.  However, that is not a place to stay and hang out.  Unbelief in the face of so much evidence is not just being careful.  It often is more than that; it is having a hard heart.  May God help us by softening our hearts this morning to see just who Jesus is.  He is the Lord of Life.  He has the command of life and power over death.

This generation is chomping at the bit of moving past Jesus as an answer to this world’s problems, but he is the only answer.  Revolutions and new laws will not fix this world because the real problem is inside each and every one of us.  It has nothing to do with your gender, skin color, sexual preference, economic station, or political party.  It is the fact that each and everyone of us has a sin problem that cannot be solved through justice.  It can only be solved through letting go of justice and embracing the grace of Jesus Christ, who alone gives eternal life!

Lord of Life audio

The Great Commission

John 20:21-22; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:46-49; Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:18-20.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty on January 24, 2021.

Last week, we talked about the importance of making the good confession to the world around us.  In short, it is a declaration of our faith in Jesus and his teachings.  We stand with him.

Today, we are going to recognize that this confession and testimony that we should give about Jesus is part of a larger task, or commission, that Christ has given us.

Let’s look at our passage.

John’s Gospel

We will look at each of the Gospel’s version of the Great Commission.  They all highlight various things.  Ultimately, Jesus had been crucified and resurrected.  Over the course of 40 days, he appeared to them in order to prove the reality of the resurrection before he ascended into heaven, and to leave the apostles and his Church, that they would help build, with a task, a mission.  Thus, we speak of Christ commissioning his Church and call it the Great Commission.

John emphasizes sending.  We have been sent by Jesus as he was sent by God the Father.  We are sent for a purpose, to do what he tells us to do.  This is not a cultural thing.  Jesus is not trying to spread first century AD Israelite culture all around the world, much less white culture.  It is beyond culture.  In fact, if we must use the term, it is the spread of heaven’s culture.  All cultures are found wanting in the face of the Gospel and its obligation upon us all.  Christians must never confuse the Gospel with their own native culture.  Yes, some cultures have been impacted by Christianity more than others, but still, we are not representing our country, but rather Jesus and The Father.

John also shows Jesus breathing on his disciples and telling them to receive the Holy Spirit.  The receiving is emphasized, but it is not explained why.  We will save this for later.

Jesus also says that they, and we, will be a conduit to the forgiveness of sins for others.  This statement sounds like the apostles can keep some people from being forgiven, but that is a misreading.  Only Jesus can forgive sins, and thereby also refuse to forgive sins.  However, we are sent by Jesus as his ambassadors with his words.  We will be the representative of Jesus to those that we meet.  We don’t create forgiveness or deny it to those who desire it.  Rather, we announce it according to God’s Word, and the Holy Spirit’s wisdom.  Like the prophets of old, we can speak to people because of the authority of the Word of Jesus.  We can confidently tell people how to be forgiven of their sins, and how they cannot be forgiven.  The emphasis is not on their inherent ability, but in the function, they serve in being sent by Christ.

Mark’s Gospel

Mark focuses on our proclaiming the Gospel, or good news.  The NKJV uses the word “preach,” but the connotations of this word would be better translated as proclaim.  It is not about standing behind a pulpit in a church, but about sharing the Good News with anyone anywhere.  Mark’s gospel also emphasizes the scope of this mission, “all the world.”

A second aspect that we see here is the fact that powerful signs would follow Christ’s representatives.  Jesus doesn’t command them to do powerful signs.  Rather, the signs would follow them, and the signs listed are not an exhaustive list.  As God’s people commit themselves to this task of proclaiming the Gospel, signs would follow them.  Signs are not the focus, nor our job to make happen.  Our job is to be faithful to the task of sharing the Good News with people.

I will take a moment to clear up the passage about taking up serpents, due to the fact that some Christians believe they should prove their faith in Jesus by handling poisonous snakes.  Jesus is not talking about a means of proving your faith to onlookers, and neither is he talking about a test that all believers must do.  The best example of what Jesus is talking about happened to the Apostle Paul on the Island of Malta in Acts 28.  He was a prisoner on a ship going to Rome.  The ship was wrecked by a storm and they all jumped ship and swam to nearby Malta.  The natives met them on the shore and people began foraging for wood along the shore to build a fire and warm up the soaked men.  While gathering a bundle of sticks to throw on the fire, the apostle Paul was bitten by a viper on the hand and he shook it off into the fire.  The Bible tells us that the natives saw the viper hanging from Paul’s hand and figured that he would die, and that it was a punishment for some evil that he had done.  Over time, it became clear that Paul was not harmed by the poison.  This opened the people up greatly to hearing the Gospel.  The point is not invulnerability of believers to poison, but that these kinds of signs would follow them as a whole as they took the Gospel to the nations.  We too should expect that amazing things will happen from time to time as we are faithful to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Luke’s Gospel

In Luke, we have some of the content of the Gospel described.  First, Jesus had to do all of the things that he did.  They had been prophesied in Scripture, and they were functionally important for the saving of people.  Jesus lived a perfect life, and perfectly revealed the Father’s love by dying in our place, and being resurrected as proof that his sacrifice on our behalf was accepted.  It is also proof that he has the power to resurrect us at the last day.

For those who believe the message about who Jesus is and what he has done for us, repentance from sin is in order.  Those who believe and repent of their sins will have their sins remitted from them.  Luke also records that this is for all nations, not just one people group.

Lastly, Luke also records that they were to wait for the Promise from the Father to come upon them and empower them before going out to accomplish this commission.  The Promise from the Father is talking about the pouring out of the Holy Spirit upon all of God’s people, instead of just a select few.  This is a task that is not intended to be done only by our power, strength, and abilities.  God Himself will work through us and assist us by His Holy Spirit.  Thus, we are not to hang back in fear, nor are we to rush forward in self-confidence.  We are to be a people who are led by the Holy Spirit, and empowered by Him.

This should remind us of Acts chapter 1 verse 8.  The book of Acts is technically Luke’s second volume.  It is not a second Gospel, but rather describes the apostles doing what Jesus told them to do.  We could think of Luke’s Gospel as the good news of what Jesus did, and his second volume as the good news that the apostles faithfully walked in his footsteps.  Another way to look at these to books is to see Luke as the acts of Jesus and the book of Acts as the acts of his apostles. 

Regardless, verse 8 emphasizes why we are to wait for the Holy Spirit and what the Holy Spirit would help us do.  The Holy Spirit would fill their whole being and enable them to be witnesses of Christ everywhere.  They would be empowered by God Himself.  A person cannot believe the Gospel without the influence of the Holy Spirit in their life.  He is the one who convicts us of the judgment that hangs over our head.  The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit takes up residence or dwells inside of those who believe on Jesus and repent of their sins.  However, we are to also open up our hearts and minds to Him through prayer so that He can fill our whole inner being.  This is not a one-time thing, but a daily empowering experience that we can have to help us in our battle against sin, and our task to proclaim the Gospel.

Matthew’s Gospel

John emphasized our being sent, but in Matthew we are shown why that is so important.  Jesus has authorized us to go to all nations and call them to repentance and faith in him.  What gives Christians the right to tell Romans that the idols they serve are lies and they need to repent?  We could ask the same question today.  Multiculturalism has some good to it.  It reminds us that we should not look down upon styles of life simply because they are different from our own.  However, Christianity is not supposed to be a cultural oppression. 

The Spirit of God started with Israel and challenged the sin in their culture.  It then moved to all other cultures.  We are authorized by the God who made and loves all people.  All of our cultures were, and still are, full of sin and ignorance.  Satan wants to make people feel that they are doing something wrong when they tell people that God commands all people everywhere to repent of their sins and believe on Jesus.  We must not give into this persuasion.

Next, we are to disciple those who believe by teaching them the commands of Jesus.  The disciple is a student who is learning to become like their master teacher.  Another image that is used in the Bible is that we are children of God.  God’s people are a family that baby Christians are born into.  We help the spiritually young to grow up and become more like our heavenly Father, which has been perfectly imaged to us by Jesus.

Lastly, Jesus tells us that he will be with us even to the end of the age.  How important it is to know that Jesus is still with us through the Spirit of God that is within us.  He hasn’t forgotten us no matter how difficult it may get at times.  We must hold onto this promise.

The Conclusion

When we put all of these things together, we end up with a lot of powerful concepts, so I have broken this up into two statements.

First, we have been authorized and sent by Jesus to proclaim the Gospel to all nations that only He can forgive and remove their sins because of his life, death, and resurrection.

Second, we are to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, which will have powerful signs as we teach people the commands of Jesus.

All of this emphasizes the task and purpose that Jesus has given us, and so it is missing an important component found elsewhere.  God so loved the world that He sent His One and Only Son that whoever believes on him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  God’s love for you, for me, and for those lost in this world, could not sit by as we destroyed ourselves through sin.  The love of God and the demonstration of its depth by Jesus on the cross are the foundation of a relationship that we can have with our Lord and invite others to join.  This is the Great Commission.

Great Comm audio

Trapping Jesus-Theology

Mark 12:18-27.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on August 16, 2020.

We continue looking at the various teachings that Jesus gave within the temple compound during the week leading up to his crucifixion.  Some of these teachings are initiated by Jesus, but some of them are initiated by the various groups that did not like Jesus.  The antagonists today are a group called the Sadducees, more on them in a bit.

The trap today has to do with theology.  What does the Bible actually teach?  As the Sadducees try to trap Jesus with his own words, we are given a proof once again that Jesus cannot be trapped by mankind.  He doesn’t just know the truth; he is the truth.  As you listen to this passage today, I pray that you will come to understand that the modern world is not any better at “trapping God” than the ancient world was.

We may have greater technology, and we may have furthered the discussion of philosophy to a finer point, but we are still fallen creatures trying to prosecute the one who is not fallen.  It won’t work.  In the end, Jesus will be proven true and all who stand against him will be proven to be liars, lying to ourselves internally, and lying to the world externally.  Trying to trap Jesus is to trap ourselves in the end.

Our only hope is to surrender to Jesus and ask him to save us because we cannot save ourselves.  Let’s look at this passage.

A question about the resurrection

Our question today has to do with whether or not there is such a thing as a bodily resurrection of those who have died.  Although it is not precisely stated that way, Mark makes it clear up front that the Sadducees do not believe that a resurrection day was promised by God, and this is the source of their question.

So, who are these Sadducees?  Let’s take about 6 minutes to look at the history that has led up to this point.  During the 500’s BC, Israel was defeated by the Babylonians (modern day Iraq).   Many of the Israelites were taken back to Babylon as captives.  Then, the Persians defeated the Babylonians (they were from modern day Iran).  The Persians allowed the Jews to return to Israel in order to rebuild their country, Jerusalem, and the temple.  This was going on from the end of the 500’s through the 400’s BC.

The next change happens as the Greek empire under Alexander the Great rises up and defeats the Persians.  From 330 BC to 167 BC, the Greeks dominate Israel and the apex of their control comes under Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) who ruled from Antioch, Syria.  Over the course of these 160 years, Israel was heavily influenced by the Greek culture, which called itself Hellas and its peoples the Helenes.  By the end of this period, many Jews had adopted Greek ways, using Greek names, refusing to circumcise their young, and adopting a Greek calendar, which changed the days on which the feasts of the Lord landed.

It is in this context that Antiochus Epiphanes lights the fuse of Israel by outlawing Jewish rituals, mandating the worship of Zeus, and slaughtering a pig to Zeus on the temple altar in Jerusalem.  The next 50 years (167 BC to 110 BC) would be a tug-of-war between the Greeks and the rebel Israelites.  It would also be a fight between Hellenized Jews who wanted a Greek government and those who wanted to stay faithful to the Old Testament and Yahweh.

During this time, a number of priests left Jerusalem and developed the Qumran community in the wilderness above the Dead Sea that we know by the Dead Sea Scrolls.  They saw Jerusalem and its priests as corrupt and so they went into the wilderness to wait for Messiah to show up and fix everything.  The priests who stayed in Jerusalem called themselves the Sadducees, which is a Greek form of the Hebrew name Zadok.  The family of Zadok was the High Priest family.  Even though the high priests were starting to compromise, the Zadokites or Sadducees felt that the High Priest should be followed without question.   They were made up of the High Priest, the priests faithful to him, and many of the upper class in Israel.  At some point, a more conservative group who had not gone into the wilderness began to separate themselves from the Sadducees, and that is the Pharisees.

The Sadducees did not believe in human spirits, or angels (see Acts 23:7), and thus they did not believe in a holding place for departed spirits (the grave) or a possible resurrection of these spirits.  They were essentially the liberal “Christians” of their day.

Now that we have established who these Sadducees were, let’s look at their approach to Jesus.  Instead of asking Jesus to prove from Scripture that there is a resurrection, they use a different strategy.  They remind Jesus of the Kinsman Redeemer law mentioned in Deuteronomy 25:5.  They then share a hypothetical story about a man who marries a woman, but dies without a child being born, i.e. no heir.  The Law of Moses required the nearest kin, like a brother, to marry the woman and father a child with her that would legally carry the name of the man who died, and inherit his estate.  This may seem strange in our modern culture, but this was very common throughout the ancient world.  Their cultures were family and tribe oriented.  Everything was done to keep the family and tribe strong, especially things having to do with offspring and inheritance.  A widow had a problem.  Who would take care of her?  However, if she was childless then she had another problem.  Who would take care of her in her old age?  The family also has a problem.  What shall we do with the dead brother’s estate, allow it to be severed and spread among the rest of the tribe, or legally supply an heir for him?  Whether or not you think this is the proper way to deal with these things, the duty of a kin was to protect the name and inheritance of his close relatives.  In fact, the whole story of Ruth centers on this law.

Now, in our hypothetical story, a second brother marries the woman, but dies before an heir is conceived.  The same thing continues happening with all of the seven brothers, until the wife dies in the end having never had a child.  This hypothetical situation sets up the absolute worse-case scenario for this law.  It is similar to what happens in the story of Judah and Tamar.  Tamar marries Judah’s firstborn, but he dies before a child is conceived.  Then, Judah’s second son is married to Tamar, but he refuses to help her become pregnant.  He dies as a judgment from God.  So now, Judah’s third son should marry Tamar, but Judah is gun-shy.  He suspects that his third son will die too, and so he creates a ruse to keep the marriage from happening.  So, most likely this story would never actually happen.  Most people would see the woman as cursed and refuse to marry her at that point.

It is important to see that the Sadducees are employing a debating technique that is called Reduction to Absurdity.  Instead of rejecting your opponents view, you pretend as if it were true and show that it leads to an absurdity.  They feel that their hypothetical creates such an absurd situation that the initial idea of resurrection should then come into question.  The absurdity comes to the surface with the question, “Which of the men will have her as their wife in the Resurrection (that they don’t believe in)?” 

I would point out two things.  First, there is an inheritance problem here that they totally blow by.  The laws of the kinsman redeemer had nothing to do with the resurrection.  They were all about a woman having security and a man’s name not being lost within the tribe.

Second, the problem is not nearly as absurd as they make it.  It would be the same problem if we ask, “Whose wife is Ruth in the Resurrection, Boaz or Mahlon?”  The presence of seven guys doesn’t change the question, but they do make it more absurd.  Ultimately, you could just say that the Bible is silent on this issue and therefore God will make the judgment then.  This would resolve the issue without giving clarity about what exactly would happen.  God is just and He can be trusted to give a wise decision.  However, this is not how Jesus responds.

The answer of Jesus

Before Jesus gives his answer, he explains in verse 24 why the Sadducees are wrong on this issue, but he does so in question form.  The NKJV says that they are “mistaken,” but the idea is that they are being led astray, or off the path of truth.  He is posing a rhetorical question, “Are you not being led astray, or deceived?”  The answer is the obvious, yes, and that they should know it.

Why are they being led astray, or better, what is their weakness that has made them susceptible to error on this point? Jesus gives us two reasons.

First, they don’t know the Scriptures.  Of course, they know the Scriptures in the sense of having read them, memorized much of them, and taught them.  However, they don’t intimately know them.  They cruise over passage after passage assuming that they have the truth without recognizing the implications in them that run counter to their philosophy.  Instead, they use Scripture to back up their positions through proof-texts and human reasoning.  If they really understood Scripture then they would not be led astray by people such as themselves who posit absurd hypotheticals, philosophies, and the reasoning of men.  So, their first problem has to do with a real ignorance of the Scriptures and the proper understanding of what God was saying in them.

Second, they don’t know the power of God.  Of course, if you were to ask them if God was all-powerful, they would have said that He was.  However, they wouldn’t apply that power to the resurrection because they have already reasoned that it can’t be.  This same problem happens with those who say that humans don’t have freedom to choose Jesus because that would mean that God is not completely sovereign.  Yet, at the same time that they say that, they are limiting God’s sovereignty by refusing to accept that God could sovereignly choose to give men a free choice.  God has the power and sovereignty to give man a real choice so that he can really choose.  Human reasoning can become a barrier to actually hearing what the Word of God is saying.

When we understand just how powerful God is, the One who created the whole universe, visible and invisible, problems like this dissipate.  Many reject the Bible because of things that sound impossible.  However, if God does exist as the Bible depicts then it is not absurd that He can do that which we cannot conceive being done.

In verse 25, Jesus finally gets to the answer.  Here, he reveals that the Sadducees are assuming something that God never said in His Word.  It doesn’t say anywhere in the Bible that our marriages will continue into the Resurrection in any way.  Now, it is a natural tendency to assume things and not question those assumptions.  Their whole argument hinges on the reality of marriage within the resurrected age.  Jesus reveals that the resurrection will not be a glorified repeat of this world.  Instead, we will be like the angels of heaven.  Angels do not need to propagate their species because God made them immortal. 

Up until now, humans have been a mortal species.  Yet, then we will not be so.  Paul speaks of this in 1 Corinthians chapter 15.  In the parallel passage of Luke 20:34, Jesus adds some more color to the statement. 

“The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God; being sons of the resurrection.” 

The resurrection not only changes us as individuals, but it also changes us as a species.  We can’t properly imagine the resurrected state because we have precious little understanding of what that means.  We have only known mortality.

It is important to understand that Jesus doesn’t need chapter and verse to support what he is saying because he has come from the Father and knows the whole plan, whether it has been revealed before or not.  Thus, in a way, Jesus is revealing new truth.  He confirms the resurrection and he reveals that there will not be marriage there.  Men and women will stand side by side in glorified bodies that are no longer male and female as we know them here.  We will stand together as the adult children of God.  The image is that we as a whole are the bride of Christ.

Yet, the Old Testament does have many passages that hint at, and even declare a belief in the resurrection.  In Job 19:25-27, he says, “For I know that my redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.  And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  My heart faints within me!”  What kind of kinsman redeemer can redeem a person from the decay of their body?  This is an amazing passage and there are others like it.

However, Jesus knows that the Sadducees do not accept doctrine that is not in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible).  Thus, Jesus uses the Burning Bush passage in Exodus 3.  There, God tells Moses that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  If the position of the Sadducees was correct then He would have to say that He was the God of Abraham, et al.  Yet, He says that He is, present tense.  In some way, Abraham and the other patriarchs were still very much alive.  Their spirits were held in the paradise side of She’ol, or Hades, and God was not going to leave them there forever.  In chapter 12 of his book, Daniel saw the day when multitudes who “slept in the dust of the earth,” would awake and rise “some to shame and everlasting contempt,” and others “to everlasting life.” 

We must not settle for a cultural acceptance of Christianity, but rather pursue a relationship with the Father through Jesus, and the Scriptures that reveal him.  We can only come to know them intimately by the help of God’s Holy Spirit.  Praise the Lord that we serve a powerful God who has made clear His glorious future for those who believe upon Jesus Christ!

Theology audio

Jesus Foretells His Future a Third Time

Mark 10:32-34.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, March 15, 2020.

I am always a bit leery of using the word “foretell” with Jesus or his prophets because it has connotations that are more associated with fortune tellers and those who try to predict the future.  Jesus, however, was not a skilled fortune teller, nor was he a skilled political analyst who was able to see what would happen in the future.  Rather, Jesus is telling them before hand what will happen in the future because he and the Father have discussed this in heaven.  Jesus had come down as the One and Only Unique Son of God.  It was the plan of God for the things we will discuss today to happen.  This does not mean that God is forcing the wicked players involved to do what they do.  Instead, God incorporates their willful rebellion into His plan.

In Mark’s Gospel, he wants us to be clear that Jesus knew that the events leading up to the crucifixion were coming.  Jesus had taught his disciples that rejection was part of God’s plan.  Though the leaders of Israel would cast Jesus aside, The Father would overrule their decrees.

Let’s look at our passage today.

The last march up to Jerusalem

Mark 10 begins a transition in the book.  It opens in verse 1 telling us that Jesus was in the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan.  In these verses today, they are on the road to Jerusalem.  At the end of the chapter, they will be in Jericho.  Thus, they are somewhere between the other side of the Jordan and Jericho at this point.

Mark 11 opens with the Triumphal entry, which occurs less than a week before the crucifixion.  This is how close we are in this passage to the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Mark tells us in this passage that the disciples are amazed and that they are afraid.  They are afraid because Jesus is going up to Jerusalem and the religious leaders were trying to get Jesus.  This is interesting because the disciples believe to things that are in tension with one another.  On one hand, they are finding it hard to believe that the Messiah would actually be killed.  Yet, on the other hand, they are definitely afraid of the intentions of the religious leaders.  This is not a contradiction.  The tension is between what they believe should happen, according to the prophecies about the Messiah, and their knowledge that the very powerful leaders are seeking to arrest Jesus and perhaps them.  The Gospels all tell us that Jesus warns his disciples multiple times about his coming death, and many people were warning them that the religious leaders were out to get them.  So, this explains their fear, but what is amazing them?

In contrast to the disciples, we are told that Jesus is leading in front of them.  He is purposefully headed towards Jerusalem and they are amazed at his fearless approach to the city that held so much danger for them.  Jesus is not sneaking under the cover of darkness, nor is he keeping a low profile (at Jericho he heals the blind Bartimaeus).  He is not leading from the back of the group, or from the center as an attempt to protect himself.  Rather, he is leading in front of them, like a true Captain of our salvation.

Of course, I use that terminology because the writer of Hebrews 2:10 gives this image to us.

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.”

Jesus was a fearless leader because his relationship with the Father was inseparable and without doubt.  He marches in front of us, even today, but not so much in front that the weak are left behind.  Thus, we see Jesus sensing their fear of what lies ahead, and yet their amazement at his bold march towards certain trouble.  He stops and takes time to speak to them about it.

Sometimes those who lead into difficult times or circumstances are not so noble in their leading.  It is easy to mislead people regarding what lies ahead in order to get compliance or quell panic.  Some may even keep those they lead completely in the dark.  Jesus was not this way.  He is being truthful and honest with the disciples about the difficult things ahead.  Yet, he is taking time to bring them along.  He is modeling for us what it means to carry your cross and follow God’s plan.  No, it is not easy on our flesh, and yes, we must take time to pray and encourage ourselves in what God would have us do despite all of the fearful things that we may see around us.  We also see him modeling how those who are strong in faith should come alongside of those who are not, and encourage them in marching towards the plan of God.

I want to tell you today that Jesus knows your fears about what lies ahead.  By His Holy Spirit, He is marching ahead of you to lead you to the Father, and to perfect that work of God within you.  However, he will stop from time to time in order to draw you near to him and speak the truth to you in love.  Hard times lie ahead, but fear not!  Jesus is with us, even unto the end of the age!  Let us not forget that our Lord has not abandoned us, but that he is marching in front of us.  We can trust his plan because he has proven his heart on the cross.

As I said, Jesus doesn’t sugar coat what lies ahead.  This is the third time that Mark describes Jesus telling them about his coming death and resurrection.  More than likely, Jesus had more than these 3 discussions.  Here is a breakout of what Jesus told them in those discussion.

We see that in Mark 8:31 Jesus references 3 main events.  He will suffer many things, which is only detailed by being rejected by the elders.  Then he will be killed, and after that on the third day he will rise again.  We are therefore given a three-stage outline of the events ahead.  His suffering, his death, and his resurrection.  In Mark 9:30-32, the same three stages are outlined, but now we are told that part of his suffering will be in a betrayal.  It is one thing to be rejected by the leaders who never liked you, but betrayal involves someone that is close to you.

In Mark 10:33-34, we again have a reiteration of these three stages with more detail on his sufferings.  He would be betrayed to the chief priests, condemned to death by them, handed over to the Gentiles, mocked, scourged, and spit upon.  This is a pretty detailed list of just how bad things were going to get.  Jesus does not mention what will happen to the disciples here, but they cannot say that he never warned them.

Many Christians around the world today are having to deal with the reality that their future involves many such sufferings, and even the threat of death.  They have to choose whether they are going to follow a Lord that leads them into such difficult and impossible circumstances, or turn back.  We live in a part of the world where it is much easier to follow Jesus.  There are no literal crosses and prison cells directly in our path, but we do see around us a world of chaos that doesn’t know its right hand from its left.

I want to encourage us, but not by sugar coating what lies ahead.  I want to encourage us, but not by freaking out and shouting, “Run for your lives!”  No.  There are many things ahead that you and I will have to suffer.  We don’t exactly know what those things will be for us.  However, Jesus will lead us, and teach us, and give us strength.  He will bring us along until that day that we too breathe our last and leave this earth.  It most likely won’t be on the third day after our death, but we too will rise again.  This is God’s promise to all those who put their trust in Him.  This is our glorious hope.  Do not look to the wisdom of this world to lead us into peace and safety, or to chart a path into a better world.  Yet, do not surrender to fear and desperation.  Our God has a plan through all of this.  He will not abandon us, even though we may face a martyr’s death.  We will rise again, reign with Him, as God fulfills His promise to all those who have waited for Him in trust!  Let’s rise up, follow Jesus, and trust in Him no matter what lies ahead!

Jesus Foretells His Future audio