Devotional Thoughts for Today
Mark 12:18-27
And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 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’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
Ernest Becker, a Jewish-American cultural-anthropologist in the 60’s and 70’s, is famous for writing The Denial of Death. Its thesis states that human civilization is essentially a complex defense mechanism in the face of its own mortality. In other words, humanity is terrified of its inevitable death and attempts to structure life in such a way as to find meaning, in spite of our inescapable mortality. Becker wrote this Pulitzer-winning book while battling colon cancer and facing his own imminent death. And the book was praised for its insight as many related to his conclusion.
All of us are afraid of death, not necessarily because it is something we do not understand but because it robs us of lasting meaning. All of our hard work and accolades lose their significance when we pass away. As a result, people have been desperately searching for a way to have true meaning that can overcome the problem of death. Becker calls this “immortality projects”; it is our way of remaining alive after life has ended.
Here, in our passage for today, Jesus is tested by the Sadducees on the doctrine of the resurrection. Interestingly, the Sadducees did not believe that God would resurrect the righteous at the end of time; that was a Pharisaic belief. They posed this question, as a trap, in order to make Jesus look bad; however, Jesus avoids their trap and disagrees with them, stating that God is not God of the dead, but of the living. In other words, He believes in the resurrection. In some ways, this is a foreshadowing of His own resurrection that would take place after His death.
For many of us, the resurrection is a doctrine that we only think about during Easter. However, it must be something that informs our lives on a daily basis. The resurrection tells us that there is life after death; that death is not the final word but life is—all because of the victory we find in Jesus. As a result, we do not need our own “immortality projects,” because Christ has accomplished it through His death and resurrection. This means that our work in the present has eternal significance that cannot be robbed by death’s power. And the life we live for God will not be in vain but will be everlasting. Let us remember today that the work of God’s kingdom, whether at church or in our workplace, will not go to waste. We are part of a project that will last forever.
Prayer: Father, thank You that death does not have the last say in my life because of the resurrection of Your Son. In light of this, help me to live for the eternal and not the temporal things of life. Help me to invest into the work of Your kingdom rather than things that will one day fade away. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Thessalonians 5
Lunch Break Study
Read John 11:17-27: Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Questions to Consider
- How does Jesus respond to Martha’s grief and pain?
- What do you think Jesus means when He says that He is the resurrection and the life?
- What role does the resurrection play in your life?
Notes
- Jesus responds by telling her that her brother will rise. She thinks that He is talking about the doctrine of the resurrection, which says that the righteous will rise at the end of time. However, Jesus wants to divert her focus away from an abstract doctrine to the person of the resurrection, who is Jesus Himself. Eternal life and resurrection is not found in believing a doctrine but by believing in the person of Christ.
- Resurrection can only be had through Jesus Christ. No other means can overcome death.
- Personal response.
Evening Reflection
“The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it…What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts it…). They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.” – N.T. Wright
The Enlightenment marked a profound change in human history. No longer was God central to the grand narrative of culture; that place was now taken by men and their optimism for humanity’s potential and ability to create meaning apart from God. People began to invest into the sciences and philosophies not as a way of discovering the wonders of God but to gain autonomy apart from Him. This began the secularization of the world in which we find ourselves today; where society has sought to maximize individual freedom and to write its own narrative script. In some sense, it has attempted to kill off God and take over the course of history – seeing it as its own project.
Recently, I had dinner with a missionary who I’ve known for a very long time. And one of my favorite things about meeting with him has always been the stories he would share about how God has been moving in his ministry. Although each story is different, the underlying thread is the faith that the missionary has in God to do the impossible—whether it’s reaching out to someone who seems hopelessly lost or the huge financial deficit that needs to be resolved by a certain deadline. Each challenge isn’t met with anxiety, fear or trying to work harder to overcome the roadblocks; instead, he chooses to go to God and ask for mountains to be moved.
The story of Jesus cleansing the temple has always been one of my favorite stories in the Gospels. It’s a picture of Jesus unlike any other. Oftentimes, we imagine Jesus to be someone who is always peaceful and calm, and yet, here, in Mark we see a display of Jesus’ anger—not only communicated through words, but by the overturning of tables and physically driving people out of the temple! I remember being shocked when I first read about the temple cleansing. Was Jesus even allowed to react this way? Why is this story in the Gospel accounts?
The AMI QT Devotionals from April 16-22 are written by Pastor Andrew Kim at Tapestry Church. Andrew, a graduate of Eternity Bible College, is currently attending Fuller Theological Seminary. He and Jessie were married in 2014
Growing up, I was the type of kid who would try anything. And I would always begin with much enthusiasm and excitement, whether it be learning a new sport or instrument. However, as time passed on, my commitment and passion for my new endeavors would quickly wane. It was because I began to realize what it actually meant to acquire these new skills—the hours of practice needed and the amount of focus necessary for improvement. I wanted fast results and it was not going to come easy, so I quit. And this happened over and over again. Looking back it is easy to see that initial excitement for something does not necessarily lead to a lifetime of commitment, nor is it a sign of real passion or love.
Growing up, I used to love going over to my best friend’s house to play. However, I wasn’t allowed to go over to his house until his parents came home. Being an impatient child, I would call his house up to 10 times a day to see if they were home. While most parents would probably be annoyed by my constant calling, my friend’s parents found it endearing that I wanted to play with their son so desperately.
I’m learning that there is a huge difference between vulnerability and insecurity in the journey of faith.
Growing up, I suppose I was like most kids, and my parents were like most parents. And I had several manipulative ways to get what I wanted. Direct attacks didn’t usually work—my parents would win every argument because they wielded the authority. But, if Mom was in a bad mood, I knew to tip toe around the corner to ask Dad and that would increase the chances of achieving my goal. The sneakiest of all was this: when I knew they both opposed what I wanted, I would try to tell Dad, “But Mom said I could…”—my plan would usually backfire shortly thereafter.
I LOVE to do this to my 2-year-old nephew: I would play music via a Bluetooth speaker, but whenever he touches the speaker, I pulse the music from my phone; when he moves his hands away, music will continue. I explained to him that this speaker can sense his touch and only he can stop the music (of course!). Without doubting for a second, he believed me. He would put his hand on and off the speaker over and over again, just to test his “power” and then laugh so happily every time the music stops. (Poor kid! Aunt is so sorry!)
In ancient China, there was a nobleman who rode in a fancy coach on a long journey. On the way, he stopped by and asked a farmer how long it would take for him to reach his destination. The farmer told the nobleman, “You’re going the wrong way! It’s in the opposite direction!”