Out of This World

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Mark 12:18-27
18 Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that IF A MAN’S BROTHER DIES and leaves behind a wife AND LEAVES NO CHILD, HIS BROTHER SHOULD MARRY THE WIFE AND RAISE UP CHILDREN TO HIS BROTHER. 20 “There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 “The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. 23 “In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or 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 “But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning 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 the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

One of our greatest mistakes in our relationship with God or understanding of God is that we relate Him to humanity. What will help us better understand the “mystery” is recognizing that God isn’t of this world. In Isaiah 55, God reveals this through the prophet:

6 Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. 7 Let the wicked forsake his way And the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the LORD, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.

This is such a key passage because it helps us recognize that God and His Kingdom are out of this world. The Sadducees, a religious sect of the Jews that didn’t believe in resurrection, were trying to trap Jesus with this scenario. They didn’t believe in the resurrection anyway, so it was clear that this question was to test Jesus’ principles and teachings. What they lacked, however, was understanding that in the resurrection, things won’t be like they are here on earth. They were thinking with worldly perspectives instead of heavenly perspectives. Jesus tried hard to teach this: that God’s Kingdom isn’t confined or defined by the rules we live by on earth. This is why Jesus was able to heal the blind, pardon sins, and raise people from the dead. He was living in the Kingdom of God, not the world. Certainly, He was here physically, but God reigned in His heart and He showed us what happens when we live in God’s Kingdom.

How much are we mistaken in regards to how the Kingdom of God works? How many half-truths have we believed about God and His Kingdom? Do you trust in man’s concept of God’s Kingdom or do you read the scriptures to know for sure?

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