Thursday, March 5

THURSDAY, MARCH 5, 2015

Numbers 4:1–5:31

Mark 12:18–37

Psalm 48:1–14

Proverbs 10:26

 

 

In the three snippets from Mark 12:18–37, we find Jesus’s communicating about His Kingdom and its characteristics even during the week of His Passion.  These three interactions point to three crucial outcomes for believers:

 

1.       The Kingdom has a living King and includes His servants from all eternity.

 

In the discussion about marriage at the Resurrection, the Sadducees sought to trap Jesus in a logical fallacy.  These Jewish teachers denied the existence of a resurrection, and the scenario they suggested offered a means of discounting the entire idea.

 

Jesus carefully pointed them to the reality of resurrection, grounded in the “Scriptures” and the “power of God.”  He declares that, “when the dead rise,… they will be like the angels in heaven.”  He firmly explains that the resurrection will involve spiritual bodies for those chosen for it.  This statement suggests that, while our bodies will die, our spirits will live forever.

 

He also indicates that, in Moses’s encounter at the burning bush, God revealed Himself as the God of the living – “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”  These faithful patriarchs had come to know God personally through His revelation; in turn, Moses would come to have a similar relationship with God.  In fact, each faithful believer throughout the ages would each come to know God in a personal way.  Jesus Himself came to reveal God’s character and love to us.  Those faithful ones who had come to know God personally – with their faith credited to them as righteousness – their spiritual bodies would live forever as part of God’s Kingdom:  “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

 

 

2.       The Kingdom’s main ethic involves love for God and love for others.

 

Again, another teacher of the law seeks to place Jesus in an awkward position by singling out the “greatest commandment.”  The Jewish religious leaders had added hundreds of commands to the Mosaic law and had divided on their interpretations thereof.  A human spiritual leader might have revealed his biases or other shortcomings with this challenging question.

 

Jesus, however, pointed to the heart of all the commandments:  love for God and love for others.  Love plays itself out in obedience to God (John 14:21) and in looking out for others’ interests above our own (Philippians 2:1–5).  Love does not demand repayment, but rather it joyfully serves.  As 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a teaches, “love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres….  Love never fails.”

 

Were we to live with this type of love, we would experience a deeper sense of God’s presence, and the world may see the Kingdom manifested within us.  For the believer, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – and our faithfulness to confess sins and cling to God – brings forth His character within us.  Paul describes this reality in Galatians 5:22–25:  “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

 

 

3.       While the Messiah would descend from David, He pre-existed Him, suggesting His equality with God.

 

Jesus brought forward this same conclusion in another context by declaring His “always” existence in reference to Abraham, the father of faith (Romans 4:16,17)  In John 8:58, Jesus declared:  “Before Abraham was, I am!”  This statement pointed back to God’s self-revelation to Moses at the burning bush, where God proclaimed Himself to be “I am Who I am.” (Exodus 3:14)

 

Since Jesus pre-existed creation, His character is therefore consistent and does not change:  “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

 

 

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your clarity on the Kingdom.  Even with these truths, we still struggle to understand how the Kingdom works and how we may become more committed to Your purposes.  Please reveal more of Your heart through our study of Your Word.  Thank You that Your Kingdom is eternal and marked by love.  Thank You for always being the same, so that we may always trust You.  In Your Name, amen.

 

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