Week of March 9
On Dairy Queen and Our Risen King
Read: Deuteronomy 1-2; Mark 12
“And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying,
‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
Mark 12:26-27, ESV
Introduction
Our generation sadly searches all too often for the dead among the living. I hear folks speaking about “sightings” of everything from slain presidents to superstar entertainers on a semi-regular basis. This phenomenon indicates that most folks long for some contact with those beyond death’s pale. In direct contrast, there are those who hold no belief in existence beyond the grave and regard all such considerations as frivolous and the domain of simple-minded people. Times do not change, as we will see from our focal passage today!
Interpreting the Bible Text
The setting
The heart of our focal passage and the surrounding conflict is contained in verses 25 and 27. Mark seeks here to provide his readers with evidence of the resurrection, the significance of which would become quite clear when they will soon read of Christ being raised from the dead (ch. 16). I believe that he writes broadly to counter the Greco-Roman belief that the physical body was corrupt and worthy only of dying. Keep in mind, too, that the Pharisees held to some belief in a resurrection, but Mark provides us with the spiritual characteristics of this event. Paul also will do the same thing (1 Corinthians 15:35-50; NAC). Let me be your tour host for a minute as we tip-toe quietly up close to this debate, so that we may listen to the Sadducees and learn from Jesus!
The Sadducees have confronted Jesus (12:18). This group likely became visible as an “identifiable party” in the second century B.C. (late Maccabean or early Hasmonean times; NAC). These people were wealthy aristocrats, politically very liberal, extremely conservative theologically, and were known to associate with the Roman authorities to remain in power. They operated in the high priestly circles, even though only one Sadducee was a high priest (Josephus, Antiquities, as quoted in NAC). They leaned heavily upon the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Old Testament—and rejected the oral tradition of the scribes and Pharisees (cf. what would become the Mishnah). For the record, they and all their literature perished in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (NAC).
The “thorny dilemma,” in which they sought to entrap Jesus, was the law of Levirate marriage (12:19-22; see Genesis 38, esp. v. 8; Deuteronomy 25:5-10; & Ruth 3-4). The law stipulated what was to be done should a man die without a male heir, so that his name might be preserved, and his property kept within the tribe and family (NAC). No doubt the Sadducees provoked the Pharisees into debates over their materialistic view of death and resurrection, where defects in the physical body and various earthly relationships would be carried over into the future life (NAC). The biggie? They rejected outright a resurrection of the body.
The Sadducees have confronted Jesus (12:18). This group likely became visible as an “identifiable party” in the second century B.C. (late Maccabean or early Hasmonean times; NAC). These people were wealthy aristocrats, politically very liberal, extremely conservative theologically, and were known to associate with the Roman authorities to remain in power. They operated in the high priestly circles, even though only one Sadducee was a high priest (Josephus, Antiquities, as quoted in NAC). They leaned heavily upon the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Old Testament—and rejected the oral tradition of the scribes and Pharisees (cf. what would become the Mishnah). For the record, they and all their literature perished in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 (NAC).
The “thorny dilemma,” in which they sought to entrap Jesus, was the law of Levirate marriage (12:19-22; see Genesis 38, esp. v. 8; Deuteronomy 25:5-10; & Ruth 3-4). The law stipulated what was to be done should a man die without a male heir, so that his name might be preserved, and his property kept within the tribe and family (NAC). No doubt the Sadducees provoked the Pharisees into debates over their materialistic view of death and resurrection, where defects in the physical body and various earthly relationships would be carried over into the future life (NAC). The biggie? They rejected outright a resurrection of the body.
The point
Resurrection life. Jesus shows them that they first did not understand the very Scriptures they claimed to preserve and, more importantly, that they had never personally experienced God’s power in their lives. People will not give and take in marriage in heaven, BUT they will be able to enjoy the fullness and meaning of all their relationships with believing men and women and children in eternity. Sing along with me, “Oh, that will be glory for me!”
God of the living. Eliminated forever will be all the brokenness and hardship of life and what will remain will be the surpassing joy of “new and equally meaningful relationships.” Jesus uses the Bible properly to show that there is indeed a resurrection, because God is the God of the living (Exodus 3:6). Both the propositional and the personal combined provide us with this blessed assurance. The Sadducees didn’t get it because they didn’t have it! “It” was new life in Christ (John 3). You and I have assurance today in Christ that we are counted among the living, based upon our changed hearts!
God of the living. Eliminated forever will be all the brokenness and hardship of life and what will remain will be the surpassing joy of “new and equally meaningful relationships.” Jesus uses the Bible properly to show that there is indeed a resurrection, because God is the God of the living (Exodus 3:6). Both the propositional and the personal combined provide us with this blessed assurance. The Sadducees didn’t get it because they didn’t have it! “It” was new life in Christ (John 3). You and I have assurance today in Christ that we are counted among the living, based upon our changed hearts!
Applying the Text to Your Life
In the introduction, I wrote about the folly of seeking the dead among the living. Elvis, bless him, is not alive and working at a Dairy Queen in Ennis, Texas, as I have heard from various people through the years. (I hope they were joking!) There is equal folly in seeking the living among the dead. My family, like so many of your families, has walked through some very hard times following the loss of people we loved dearly. Shawna’s dad and mine died within four days of each other in March 2013. We miss them, but we know they are alive in Christ.
Here is the spiritual point. What gives us all hope is the absolute conviction that we all will be reunited with our loved ones and our Lord in eternity—because they are alive in Christ! I believe in a literal, coming, bodily resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58). It is a core confidence in my life, notwithstanding the contemporary spirit of many who believe that my position on the resurrection is fanciful. I believe that Mark also wants us to see the benefit of holding such convictions. They also will sure come in mighty handy, since we hold an Easter faith!
How do we know this resurrection truth? It is no accident that the angel would ask the first visitors to Jesus’ tomb on Easter Sunday morning why they were seeking the living among the dead (Luke 24:5)! In other words, we need not, and should not, live today as though Jesus remains in the grave, or that believers also will remain there! We have hope.
Here is the spiritual point. What gives us all hope is the absolute conviction that we all will be reunited with our loved ones and our Lord in eternity—because they are alive in Christ! I believe in a literal, coming, bodily resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-58). It is a core confidence in my life, notwithstanding the contemporary spirit of many who believe that my position on the resurrection is fanciful. I believe that Mark also wants us to see the benefit of holding such convictions. They also will sure come in mighty handy, since we hold an Easter faith!
How do we know this resurrection truth? It is no accident that the angel would ask the first visitors to Jesus’ tomb on Easter Sunday morning why they were seeking the living among the dead (Luke 24:5)! In other words, we need not, and should not, live today as though Jesus remains in the grave, or that believers also will remain there! We have hope.
For Reflection and Action
1. I am well pleased today if you know the Bible, but I am thrilled if you can confess that you know the Lord Jesus—more importantly, that He knows you. The invitation today is to enter an unending (eternal) relationship with Him. Confess your sins and ask Him to enter your life today; He will. (Contact me at the email address below if you wish to talk more about how to receive Christ into your heart.)
2. For Families: About once a year, we encourage families to take their children to their family cemetery and visit the graves of their relatives. Sometimes people like to take flowers to leave there. It is a way to honor our journeys, whether we had rough or wonderful childhoods, or whether we had Christian parents or not.
The reason for such a trip is to connect with our generations, our grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, children. It is a time to explain to our children all about life and death, and the opportunity to live forever in Christ Jesus. It is a splendid time to speak simply about trusting Jesus as Savior, for explaining who among our family was born again, and the beautiful souls God allowed us to live with or be connected to.
Finally, it is a chance to tell family stories, funny and sad events, tall tales and true accounts of heroism. In the Bullock home, we call gravestones, “Memory Stones.” We raise them for the people we love so we can remember and thank God for their lives, for their investment in us, for the way they taught us to cherish God, for the care and love they showed us every day. We know that our loved ones who have gone to Heaven are not dead. They are alive in Christ and are with Him now. Talking about life and death helps children not to fear death, but to understand it, and to live with hope.
May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock
2. For Families: About once a year, we encourage families to take their children to their family cemetery and visit the graves of their relatives. Sometimes people like to take flowers to leave there. It is a way to honor our journeys, whether we had rough or wonderful childhoods, or whether we had Christian parents or not.
The reason for such a trip is to connect with our generations, our grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters, children. It is a time to explain to our children all about life and death, and the opportunity to live forever in Christ Jesus. It is a splendid time to speak simply about trusting Jesus as Savior, for explaining who among our family was born again, and the beautiful souls God allowed us to live with or be connected to.
Finally, it is a chance to tell family stories, funny and sad events, tall tales and true accounts of heroism. In the Bullock home, we call gravestones, “Memory Stones.” We raise them for the people we love so we can remember and thank God for their lives, for their investment in us, for the way they taught us to cherish God, for the care and love they showed us every day. We know that our loved ones who have gone to Heaven are not dead. They are alive in Christ and are with Him now. Talking about life and death helps children not to fear death, but to understand it, and to live with hope.
May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock
Posted in Pathway Devotionals