Rocky Road Devotions: Backing God into a Corner

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

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. “But now, as to whether there will be a resurrection of the dead—haven’t you ever read about this in the Scriptures? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.” When the crowds heard him, they were astounded at his teaching.

Matthew 22:23-33

Stories abound of prosecutors asking unanswerable questions, designed to trap, rather than get at truth. A detective investigating the character of a husband asks: Tell me, sir, have you stopped beating your wife? A “yes” or a “no” makes the man an abuser.

A District Attorney, with the defendant on the witness stand, questions: Do you have any of the stolen money left?

To say the least, the Sadducees did not ask an honest question. Sadducees were of the opinion an afterlife was impossible. Their riddle of a seven-times married, seven-times widowed woman was merely a narrowminded attempt to back Jesus into a corner. They wanted to set him up for humiliation. No matter what answer he gave about whose wife she would be in the resurrection, the debate that followed would be on their terms, fueled by their hard-headed death-doctrine, and even harder hearts.

What the Sadducees hadn’t counted on was Jesus understanding their hard hearts, and turning the discussion away from a debate. Jesus pointed to their lack of understanding the Scripture, including the Moses passages they had quoted. It was all about resurrection and life. Their belief was flawed; JHWH is the God of the living…death is an enemy. Their concept of God’s power was flawed. In short, he told them: In a war of wits, you have come to this battle unarmed.

Many have jumped into the battle that way, thinking they knew better. The consummate example is Satan, the enemy, arch-deceiver, and defeated accuser of humankind. The first question asked in human history was asked by Lucifer, directed to Eve, intended to manipulate and destroy God’s creation. He asked about that tree: Has God REALLY said you would die?

In the most ancient of Scripture’s books (Job), Satan prances into the throne room of God and accuses Job of only being obedient because God blesses him. It is a challenge…Job is the battleground. Satan plays the Sadducee. In the end, the serpent is consigned to eat dust for eternity. Game over!

For You Today

Getting angry at God is a response that happens in humans, sometimes born of a tragic loss, or misguided decision to have one’s own way with life. But know this: Whoever wants to back God into a corner is still surrounded by His love!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library. To dig deeper explore some of these: Seven Husbands for One Bride? and Seven Times a Fool

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