Mark Devotionals
[Please read and meditate on the passage before (or after) reading the devotion.]
The Sadducees, a Jewish religious sect that did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, came to Jesus with their trick question. What they described was known as Levirate marriage, where a son-less dead man’s family name would be carried on by his widow marrying his younger brother and having a son by him. The Sadducees theoretical question was meant to put Jesus in knots, but as usual Jesus didn’t just “floor” them, he went to the heart of their own problem of misunderstanding and disbelief. Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” (v.24) But I think that’s true about many of our own questions, doubts, misgivings, impatience with God. Do we really know the Scriptures? Do we really know the power of God? If Scripture is all about God saying, “This is who I am – know about me; know me;” if through Scripture and circumstances God has been trying again and again to show us that He works His power on our behalf, for His children’s good… could it be that it is we who are deaf…and blind?
Prayer: Lord, have I been deaf to your voice, blind to your mighty acts of love? Your Word does say “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31) Why then do I question your love so often? Forgive me Jesus, if I have neglected your Word, and that neglect has let to ignorance. And that ignorance has led to deafness. It is even possible that that neglect has blinded me to your acts of love because I have been so taken up by the world. Forgive me, Lord. I know deep within me that every promise in your Word is true. Please teach me so that I can see past my own walls to your face of love. Amen.
