You Really Shouldn't Have Went There.....

Finishing out Matthew 22 makes me laugh.  After the Pharisees and the Herodians try to trap Jesus with His words, the Sadducee's come after Him.  They were the religious leaders who ran the Temple.  They were very strict about how worship should happen, but the rest of their lives outside of the church didn't reflect their faith as well.  They were typically wealthy, and adopted many of the Roman culture's customs.  They believed that only the Torah was God's word.  That's the part of the Old Testament that doesn't include the prophets writings (Isaiah, Daniel, etc.).  They didn't think that Rabbi's should be able to interpret the Bible either, so they really had issues with Jesus.

They ask Him this made up question about marriage in Heaven.  They didn't believe in the resurrection, or in life after death.  So they pose this crazy question about this woman who had been married several times.  Then Jesus uses the parts of the Bible they believe in to answer their question, and prove them wrong.

So, the Pharisees come after Him again, sending one of their best experts to get Him.  Jesus answers brilliantly about what is most important, because it is completely correct according to the Bible, yet it destroys all of the Pharisee's ridiculous laws about how to live.

Then, He asks them a question about the Messiah.  They know He is seen as the Messiah, and they want to disprove it at all costs.  So He stumps them with a question about the Messiah in public, and totally shuts them up.  I laugh so hard every time I read verse 46 "No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask Him any more questions."

He burned them so bad publicly that they ran and hid.

My point here is not to tell us to quit asking Jesus questions.  It's actually the opposite.  Ask away.  And know that He has the true answers.  You see, this is the difference between Jesus and the guys around Him.  He knew these answers first hand.  He had written the Bible Himself.  He had created Heaven and lived there.  He knew all that He needed to know, because He had made it, He had seen it, He had done it.  The other guys?  They had read about it.  That's a big difference.

We are the ones who have read about reality.  Jesus makes reality.  So ask Him your questions.  Then trust Him when He answers.  He knows what He is talking about.  Very, very, very well.  It's truth.  You can bank on it.