30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 20 27-40 He is not the God of the dead but of the living 19 Luke 20 38-40 A heart of simplicity
📖 Luke 20:27-40
07Apr2021 - *A heart of simplicity* - _Luke 20:27-40_ - HE IS NOT THE GOD OF THE DEAD BUT OF THE LIVING 19 – Bible reading: _John 12:42-43_
The Lord had effectively and conclusively presented to the Sadducees that God was alive and He was God of the living and not of the dead.
_Luke 20:38-40 For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." (39) Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well." (40) But after that they dared not question Him anymore._
The position of the Sadducees that there was no resurrection and that there were no angels, was wrong. Jesus had turned it around and brought closure to their question by showing the big picture and how we live in God.
If they were genuine in their questioning, they should have repented and surrendered to the King of all kings but their self within them remained entrenched and they did not submit to the Lord.
Amongst the Jewish elite, there were various groups such as the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Scribes and the Herodians. The Sadducees were those who were at the very top of the Jewish religious hierarchy. The Sadducees did not openly acknowledge that Jesus was right about resurrection though their position was clearly refuted. The evidence here is that no one dared to question Jesus anymore.
We find that there were some scribes who acknowledged that Jesus had spoken well. Even though the Scribes said that Jesus had spoken well, they did not take the next logical step, which should have been to repent and accept Jesus as the Lord and surrender to Him completely and unequivocally.
Here again as see the heart of man. Though people know the word of God and know that they must surrender and give their life to Christ, yet they refuse to do so. Instead, they give excuses.
This is the heart of the problem of man’s sin, which is the self. The self is strongly entrenched in man and refuses to repent and surrender to the lordship of Christ. *A childlike simplicity is what is required* but man refuses to come to that place of brokenness and repentance.
We see another similar incident.
_Mark 12:32-34 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. (33) And *to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices*." (34) Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." But after that no one dared question Him._
This scribe had processed what Jesus said and knew the importance of the Lord’s teaching, which he understood was more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Once he had reached this place of understanding, he should have repented and surrendered to the lordship of Christ but he did not. This is the reason why the Lord told him that he was not far from the kingdom of God. He was close but he needed to come into a kingdom relationship with Jesus, where Jesus is King.
Though the majority of the ruling elite of the Jewish community and the religious leaders did not acknowledge or accept Jesus, we know that many of them did believe in Jesus. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were two of whom we are familiar.
_John 12:42-43 Nevertheless even *among the rulers many believed in Him*, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; (43) for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God._
_John 19:38-42 After this, *Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus*, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. (39) And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. (40) Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. (41) Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. (42) So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews' Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby._
People need the heart of simplicity to repent and surrender their life to the lordship of Christ.
*Thought to ponder*
```Jesus told us to be converted and become like a child to enter into His kingdom.```