“I Can
Only Imagine”
Mark
12:18-27
Introduction:
The popular
Christian song, “I can only imagine” (and
the movie that tells the story) got some people talking recently about the hope
of eternal life. What will it be like? What has God planned for those who know
Him? Most people seem more
comfortable talking about “heaven” than about the hope of the resurrection. Why is that? After all, Jesus was the first-fruits
of the resurrection! His victory over death assures us that those who are in
Christ will also be raised. The first-fruits came as the first part of the
harvest… the rest of the harvest would soon surely follow. Think about this: Jesus
didn’t simply die, be buried, and go to heaven. The body of Jesus that was
put into the tomb was raised to life. The tomb was empty! Jesus said in John
5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the
tombs will hear his voice 29
and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those
who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” His resurrection
initiated this age, which will culminate in the resurrection of those He purchased
with His blood… I’ve quoted to you before Eric Sauer, who wrote in Triumph of the Crucified…
The present age is Eastertime. It began with the resurrection of
the Redeemer, and will end with the resurrection of the redeemed. Between lies
the spiritual resurrection of those called into new life through faith in
Christ. so we live between two Easters, and in the power of the first Easter we
go to meet the last Easter…
This is not a small point of doctrine open
to discussion, it is at the core of biblical Christianity! It speaks about the
basis, the power, and the hope of the Christian life! Paul called it a doctrine of first importance (I Cor 15:3) and then
said a few verses later, “But if there is no resurrection of the
dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is
in vain and your faith is in vain…” (I Cor 15:13-14). Our faith stands or falls on the truth of the
resurrection, and the future resurrection of believers, according to Paul, is
inseparable from the resurrection of Christ. That is what is being challenged here.
Different groups from the leaders of the Jews have come to Jesus,
looking for a basis to condemn Him, trying to catch Him in His own words. The
Sadducees denied the idea of a future resurrection. They denied any idea of an
afterlife. The best someone could hope for is to “live on” through the progeny
they left behind.
In contrast, we see The Maine* Idea in this
passage: Believers in Christ are promised a future resurrection and fullness of
life in the presence of the King.
I. A Hypothetical
Problem rooted in unbelief (18-23).
18 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."
First of all, we see here the
danger of bad theology in the example of the Sadducees. Mark wants
us to know at the outset that this next group of leaders that came to Jesus had
a theological problem with some of the Lord’s teaching. In contrast to the Pharisees,
the Sadducees were a wealthy, aristocratic class, tied to the priesthood in
Jerusalem, and they denied any idea of a future resurrection. It is
interesting that so far in Mark, Jesus had more confrontations with the
Pharisees and the scribes over their elevation of human tradition than He had
with the Sadducees. After the resurrection, it is the Sadducees who are
especially offended by the preaching to the apostles. Why? Because they
preached the resurrection of Jesus, as well as the future hope of believers! That
theology did not fit the Sadducees belief system. Do you remember the scene in
the book of Acts when Paul is hauled before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem? We read
in Acts 23:6-10,
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the
other Pharisees, he cried out… "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of
Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that
I am on trial." 7 And
when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees... 8 For the
Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the
Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9
Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party
stood up and contended sharply, "We find nothing wrong in this man. What
if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?"
Paul seized on something he had in common with the Pharisees, knowing
that that would divide the council! His gospel preaching focused on the death
and resurrection of Christ, and he tied that to the hope of a future
resurrection for those who believe. The Sadducees’ would not consider such a
message!
Here, in our passage in Mark 12, we see the hypocrisy of determined
unbelief: “Teacher, Moses
wrote to us…” As with the leaders who attempted to trap
Jesus with their question before, these men were not seeking answers! They address Him as “teacher,” seemingly with
respect, but their question reveals their intentions. This is probably a
question that would often be used to ridicule the idea of a future
resurrection. They were not seeking to understand, they did not want to learn,
they were trying to confound Jesus (as if that could happen!) or to expose what
they viewed as an irreconcilable situation. “Look at the ridiculous problems
such a doctrine would cause!” If fact, their question exposed their own
ignorance of the Scriptures and of God’s power.
An insincere question that twisted the
intention of Scripture… The Law of
Levirate marriage is indeed rooted in Scripture (Dt 25:5ff). As the new
generation of the children of Israel were preparing to enter the promised land,
God inspired Moses to write Deuteronomy, largely a restatement and summary of
the Law for the nation. To not have an heir to carry on the family lineage was
considered a tragic situation, and this law, in certain circumstances, would
allow a man’s name to continue in Israel. The child of such a union would carry
the deceased’s name.
The same principle is reflected in the kinsman-redeemer practice which
is at the center of the book of Ruth. Naomi’s husband died, her sons died, and
one of the daughters-in-law, Ruth, returned with Naomi to the Land. When Ruth
made herself known to Boaz, that beautiful story of redemption unfolds as he
pays the redemption price, and takes Ruth as his wife. Her son, who in the
story is also called the son of Naomi, became the grandfather of King David,
and so a part of the line that finally brought the Messiah, Jesus. God had a
purpose for Israel, and each of the tribes had a portion in His plan. The law
of levirate marriage would assure the name of the deceased would continue in
the land. It had a purpose. The Sadducees here are attempting to pose a
scenario, perhaps possible, though highly unlikely, that would show the idea of
resurrection to be absurd… The woman had seven husbands! Would she have a
“harem” of husbands in the resurrection? (My own grandmother became a widow at
the age of 29, and out-lived two more husbands!). They weren’t asking a
question, they were making a statement. They wanted to show how ridiculous the
idea of resurrection was. But they didn’t understand their own Scriptures… or
God’s power! Believers in Christ are promised a future resurrection and
fullness of life in the presence of the King.
II. God’s Perfect Plan is revealed
in Scripture (24-25).
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.
Jesus frames his answer, using the same
verb twice. In v.24 He says, “…is this
not the reason you are wrong…” Then in v.27 “You are quite wrong…” The verb here is planao, “to wander, go astray.” It is the word from which the word
“planet” was derived, as early astronomers noted that the visible planets seemed
to move through the constellations in contrast to the stars which appeared to
be stationary in relation to each other. The planets looked like “wandering
stars.” Here Jesus uses the verb “wander,
go astray” twice, emphasizing the fact that the Sadducees had “wandered off
course.” In fact, the verb is passive, they had been led astray. How and why? They
did not know the Scriptures, nor the power of God. There is a not too
subtle warning here for us as well. There are a lot of competing theologies
out there, a lot of ideas about how God works and what the Bible says. They are
not all correct. Truth is absolute. The religious leaders in general, and
in this case the Sadducees, were mistaken about Jesus. Their own Messiah stood
there in front of them. For at least a few days now He has been in Jerusalem,
teaching in and around the Temple. Think about that: God incarnate, teaching in
the Temple in Jerusalem, the very place that He had chosen to be especially
present in the midst of His people. The one who spoke to Moses from the burning
bush and who parted the Sea and had caused the mountain to tremble as He gave
Him the command-ments on Sinai was there. And they were missing Him! Why?
Because their theological system conflicted with what He seemed to be and some
of the things that He said. We need to seek Him, openly, diligently, with an
open heart and a teachable spirit. These men were led astray because they
missed the mark on two levels.
First,
Jesus said, “…you know neither the Scriptures
nor the power of God…” The Sadducees had a more restricted view of
authoritative Scripture than other groups among the leadership. They viewed
the Torah, the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, as the only authoritative
source of doctrine. It seems they acknowledged value in other writings,
such as the prophets and the Psalms, but only Moses was given the Law. In a
certain sense, they had a “canon within the canon.” We need to know what the
Bible says, the whole Bible. One of the reformers said, “Since God makes
known His will clearly in the Scriptures, the want of acquaintance with them is
the source and cause of all errors…” They erred, not knowing the Scriptures!
That is a good warning to us not to
forget that the entire Bible, 66 books, Old and New Testament, is the fully
inspired and infallible Word of God. The
one true God, Yahweh, the God who is, authored it all. He has spoken! We have His word, written. When Jesus spoke
to the disciples after the resurrection He said to them in Luke 24:44, "These are my words that I spoke to you while
I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and
the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." The Law, the prophets,
and the writings, then entire Old Testament (at the time, all the Word
of God written!) was authoritative, and all of it pointed to Jesus and found
its fulfillment in Him. We have all 66 books. Complete. The entire canon given
by God to the Church. We need to read it! All of it, consistently,
systematically, longing for the pure milk
of the Word.
The Sadducees didn’t know the
Scriptures, I think part of that is that they didn’t recognize the totality of
what is Scripture. But Jesus doesn’t attempt to convince them of that
truth, He doesn’t appeal to the Psalms or the Prophets. Rather, He starts with common
ground, what they did acknowledge, that is, the Law of Moses. Jesus is
making the point that even though you don’t acknowledge the whole counsel of
God, including the Scriptures where the resurrection is explicitly
taught, it is none the less implicit even in the writings of Moses.
“…nor
the power of God…” Knowing the power God comes with a personal and
experiential relationship with God. The attempt to test Jesus with this
intentionally absurd illustration of seven successive brothers marrying a woman,
shows their limited human understanding of God’s plan. They are assuming that
the resurrection life that Jesus taught about was merely a continuation of life
as it now is in this fallen world. Yes, there will surely be continuity, but
there will also be marvelous transformation! Paul is quoting from the prophet
Isaiah when He said,
But, as
it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man
imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"- 10 these things God has revealed
to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths
of God… (I Cor 2:9,10; cf. Isa 64:4)
Verse 9 (quoting in part from
Isaiah) tells us that God’s plans for us are more and greater than we can
imagine. V.10 gives Paul’s commentary: “…these
things God has revealed to us…” The prophets had revelation with respect to
the future resurrection life that God has for those who know Him. The apostles,
from their post-cross/resurrection perspective, were given still greater
insight and revelation. Still, we know in part. We see in a glass, dimly.
What we do know is that God has a future that is even more beautiful, more
delightful, more joyful, than anything we have known or will know in this life.
One writer said that “God is most glorified when we find our greatest pleasure
in Him.” We can only imagine what He has in store for us!
“…for when they rise from the dead they
neither marry nor are given in marriage…” For those of us who are happily married, and
can’t imagine that relationship being different in eternity, this can be a
difficult teaching! When God created Adam and Eve they were the only humans.
They were given a mandate to multiply and fill the earth. They were told to
exercise dominion in the world. God’s good creation was plunged into chaos by
the Fall. Everything was corrupted, including the relationship between the
man and the woman. Even so, when Jesus chose a relationship that could
illustrate His relationship with the church, He chose the marriage
relationship. The church is the Bride of Christ. We are not just going
to resurrect and live a life that is simply an improved version of the life we
now have. That we could easily imagine! The Bible says, “…eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart
of man, the things that God has prepared…” We can read what he tells us, we
can only imagine what it might be like, but when we experience the life for
which we were created I believe it will be more and better than anything we
imagined!
“…but
are like the angels in heaven…” Don’t get this wrong, Jesus was not
saying that we get turned into angels! We don’t grow a set of wings. Angels are
angels, humans are humans. But as angels don’t procreate, filling the heavens,
we will no longer need to “be fruitful
and multiply and fill the earth…” Some
might think, “Wait a minute, if I can’t be married in heaven I don’t think I
can be happy!” Consider the most joyful, meaningful, moments you now
experience and realize that doesn’t compare to what God has in mind for us!
We can trust Him! But will we know each other? Strauss said, “…we can assume that all relationships in
God’s presence will be profoundly deeper than anything we experience in this
life… our relationships with our spouses and families will no doubt be more
intimate, not less, in eternity…” (Mark, 537). After hearing a talk about eternal life
someone came up to the speaker (Spurgeon?) and said that he was afraid that he
would not know his wife in eternity. The preacher replied, “Do you think for a
moment that you will be even more stupid after the resurrection than now?” Believers
in Christ are promised a future resurrection and fullness of life in the
presence of the King.
III. The Divine Power to keep His
promises (26-27).
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."
Rather
than appealing to Isaiah or the Psalms, Jesus essentially says that the Torah,
which you Sadducees affirm, assumes a future resurrection! He references
Moses, and as the Jew typically would do He refers to something in the context
that would allow them to identify the passage He had in mind. Remember there
were no chapter and verse divisions! The “passage
about the bush” would immediately be recognized: God’s appearance to Moses
in the burning bush (Ex 3, see especially v.6).
In view of the I AM statements we see in
John, I believe it was the pre-incarnate Christ who spoke to Moses from the
bush and said, “…I am the God of Abraham,
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…” He didn’t say that He was their God, but that He is their God, even though they
had died long before. He had made
promises to the patriarchs, and those promises are irrevocable. As one writer
said, “God’s covenant-promise to
save His people would not be of any significance if it were overcome and
shattered by death…” Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (cf. Rom 8:35-39)! And so, He says to the Sadducees, “You are badly mistaken…” i.e., “You
are way off course!” (v.27).
What
is God saying to me in this passage? Believers in Christ are promised a future
resurrection and fullness of life in the presence of the King.
What would
God have me to do in response to this passage? Has our future hope been shaped by Greek philosophy,
or by Scripture? Do we get our theology
from Hollywood, or from the Bible?
Do we think about going to “heaven” someday, but forget about the hope
of the resurrection, the promise of an earthly kingdom (with the King
present!), and the promise that this
corruptible will put on incorruption, this mortal, immortality?! I can
only imagine! How then shall we live? With hope! At the end of Paul’s great
chapter on the resurrection, he says in I Corinthians 15:58,
“Therefore,
my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of
the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
AMEN!
No comments:
Post a Comment