More than Meets the Eye

Scripture
 
Luke 20:27   Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him 28 and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.  29 Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless;  30 then the second 31 and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless.  32 Finally the woman also died.  33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Luke 20:34   Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage;  35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.  36 Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.  37 And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  38 Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”  39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”  40 For they no longer dared to ask him another question.

Observation

Some Sadducees posed a problem that they thought would stump Jesus. They were materialists, that is, they believed only in this physical world — the things that can be touched and felt. Therefore, hearing Jesus’ preaching, they thought that they would try to get him to explain a difficult problem regarding marriage in heaven. What he made clear to them was that while they did not accept the resurrection, even what they did understand they were basing on their own teachings. Their understanding of the resurrection was based on their materialistic understanding of this world.

Jesus’ message was about more than what meets the eye. He preached about transformation in the physical world, but also about eternal life in the world to come. Jesus came to make it possible for God’s children to be restored in the image of God and to be perfected in holiness.

The need for marriage and procreation were necessary because of death, which was the result of sin. Where there is no sin, there is no death and this changes everything. The world and possibilities about which Jesus preached were far beyond the physical and more than what meets the eye.

Application

We limit God when we restrict our faith to those things which we can see and touch. Knowing Jesus leads us into a daily faith walk. In this journey we discover the spiritual world is more than what meets the eye. When we try to explain the kingdom of God from our limited human experience we begin to set boundaries on what God can and cannot accomplish in our lives. The Sadducees couldn’t imagine the resurrection from the dead because they refused to allow their faith to be expanded. Jesus is stretching us, helping us understand that faith requires us to believe in more than what meets the eye.

Our current circumstances have more options for resolution than we can imagine for we are bounded by our finite understanding. When we are in a relationship with Jesus, we are on a journey of transformation or perfection into the image of God. Living daily in that relationship leads us to a deeper understanding of the things of God. We begin to see beyond the here and now and we embrace the things of Christ and his kingdom. It’s in that space that we begin to understand that kingdom life is much more than what meets the eye.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the experiences of life that become faith builders. Amen.