Mark 12:35
Teaching Tuesday
Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while
he taught in the temple….
Notice what Jesus was doing in the temple, teaching. It seems that
Jesus was always teaching.
We are still reading events that happened on Tuesday of the Passion
Week \\#Mr 11:20-13:37\\. The gospel writers reveal two major
categories of events that happened that day: (1) Tempting Jesus and
(2) Jesus Teaching. It is very hard to separate those two because
even while the religious leaders were tempting Jesus, Jesus was
teaching them.
While they tempted Jesus with money and taxes question, He taught
them (and us) that if we want to play with their treasures, we have
to obey their rules.
While they tempted Jesus with marriage and death, He taught them (and
us) that marriage is an earth only institution. When we get to
heaven, we will not be married.
While they tempted Jesus with the greatest command question, He
taught them that to love is the greatest command of all.
Even in chapter 11, when the religious leaders tempted Jesus with the
question about His authority, Jesus used a parable to teach them what
happen to them. So through all of the temptations, Jesus was teaching.
But let’s notice some truths given that are very important, but that
we may have overlooked.
I. \\#24-27\\ Jesus taught that God is the God of the Living
A. Let’s reread the answer Jesus gave to the Sadducees when they
asked their extreme question about death on earth and
marriage in heaven.
Mark 13:24 And Jesus answering said unto them,
Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the
scriptures, neither the power of God?
25 For when they shall rise from the dead, they
neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are
as the angels which are in heaven.
26 And as touching the dead, that they rise:
have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the
bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob?
27 He is not the God of the dead, but the God of
the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
B. The big topic that Jesus was making in these verses is that
is the God of the living, but there are several smaller
thoughts either plainly taught or hinted at.
1. There is life after death!
a. Have you wondered why the Sadducees, a religious
group, would even ask a question that seems to mock
eternity and our state there?
b. The answer is that the Sadducees did not believe in
life after death.
(1) This is another religious group whose existence
makes no sense to me at all.
(2) Why exists if you don’t believe in life after
death?
(3) Don’t misunderstand me.
(a) If the TRUE God gave us a salvation just
like what we have (forgiveness, a personal
relationship with Him right now, the
indwelling of the Holy Ghost) and
everything else EXCEPT heaven, it would
still be well worth having.
(b) However, the Sadducees did not have any of
that because they did not worship the true
God.
(c) You ask, "Preacher, how do you know they did
not worship the true God?"
(d) Because whatever god they worshipped did not
give them life after death, and the TRUE
GOD does.
c. So the Sadducees were really poking fun at Jesus when
they asked Jesus the question about the widow with
seven dead husbands.
(1) They thought their question, "Whose wife will she
be?" was a question that would confuse and
baffle Jesus and make Him look foolish and
ignorant to the people.
(2) And it might have if it were not for what the
truth I pointed out last week.
(a) We don’t think like God thinks and we don’t
know what Jesus knows.
(b) The Sadducees had no idea that marriage
stops at death.
(c) As far as I know, there is nothing about
that in the Old Testament at all.
(3) Understand, knowing that does not in any way
diminish what heaven offers.
(a) You will not lose your memories, and the
love you have here for others certainly
not be less when our ability to love is
perfected.
(b) In my own mind, I think the love we have for
everyone will be so great that it will make
the love we have here pale in comparison.
(4) But we will not be married in heaven—not to other
human beings and that is probably because we
will all be married to Jesus. Jesus will be our
great Love in heaven.
2. Jesus further hinted that the ones that follow God on
earth are the ones that are going to heaven.
a. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob followed God on earth and
are the ones who live with Him in heaven.
b. More information has been given to us about HOW to
follow God since those men walked on the earth, but
the same type of people go to heaven, i.e. those who
follow God on earth must believe and repent.
3. And Jesus taught the Scripture is inspired and preserved
down to the very words and letters used.
a. Please notice HOW Jesus was teaching the religious
leaders.
(1) Jesus quoted what God spoke to Moses.
Ex 3:6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy
father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob….
(2) Jesus used the verb tense that God used to
prove that God is the God of the living and not
the God of the dead.
(a) God used the word "am" not "was."
(b) God IS the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob—not WAS their God.
b. Do you see how much we are to trust our Bibles? All
the way down to the verb tenses of the words God
used.
c. Please don’t try to sell me on these contemporary
thought-for-thought bibles.
d. If I can’t trust the words, I won’t trust the book.
II. \#32-33\\ Jesus taught that understanding and wisdom are
essential to salvation.
A. I am not saying that Jesus taught understanding and wisdom
GIVE you salvation, but they do LEAD you to salvation.
B. This teaching came after Jesus answered the question about the
greatest command of all in \\#30-31\\.
1. One of the company of scribes spoke up.
Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well,
Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is
one God; and there is none other but he:
33 And to love him with all the heart, and with
all the understanding, and with all the soul,
and with all the strength, and to love his
neighbour as himself, is more than all whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices.
2. Many in that religious crowd were there only to entrap
Jesus, but somehow a dove came in with the jackals.
a. This scribe apparently did not know that he was not
there to think, reason, or learn.
b. He was there to help kill Jesus.
c. If he did know what he was there for, he must have
temporarily forgotten for his statement showed he
understood something of the mind of God.
3. I say often that the many religious exercises we do is not
the end but the means to get to the end.
a. We do not pray, go to church, read the Bible, just so
we can say we did them.
b. We do those things to get into the presence of God.
c. And the sacrifices of the Old Testament were not an
end to themselves either.
d. They were the means to get the Old Testament saints
into the presence of God.
e. This scribe knew that even better than offering all of
the sacrifices was to live a loving life so you
would not NEED the sacrifices—at least not as often.
f. He had wisdom, understanding, and insight into the Law
and the mind of God.
C. Look at what Jesus told him.
Mark 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered
discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far
from the kingdom of God….
1. This man was not talking about salvation and the kingdom
of God. He was talking about love being more important
than sacrifices.
2. Why did Jesus make the statement He made at that time?
a. Because Jesus saw the wisdom in this man.
b. That is the type of wisdom that gives understanding
about sin, salvation, the Savior, and Satan.
c. With that kind of wisdom, you could easy come to
salvation if you desired to do so.
d. Faith and repentance may be the tracks that bring a
sinner to Christ, but they are held up by a truss
built from knowledge, wisdom, and understanding.
e. This man had much of what was necessary to be saved.
f. Sadly, many today do NOT.
(1) We wonder why so few are saved today? Why is
there no conviction? No remorse? No hunger for
spiritual things?
(2) The answer is that most people in this generation
lack the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding
necessary for conviction.
(3) They are not candidates for salvation.
(4) Add to that the fact that they are too proud to
listen, too haughty to be taught, and too
shiftless to care, and you end up with what the
Bible calls a reprobate generation.
(5) A reprobate means worthless, rejected, castaway.
III. \\#35-37\\ Jesus taught that Messiah was the eternal God.
A. Maybe I should say that Jesus began to teach that, but He did
not finish that teaching.
B. Jesus had been asked questions for a while so He figured it
was time He asked one.
Mark 12:35 And Jesus answered and said, while he
taught in the temple, How say the scribes that
Christ is the Son of David?
36 For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The
LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
37 David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and
whence is he then his son? And the common people
heard him gladly.
1. The question was not answered because the religious
leaders could not answer it.
a. Again, we don’t think like God thinks and we don’t
know what God knows.
b. Entering into a battle of wits with God is futile.
2. The question was, "How could David speak of and to the
coming Ruler of the world when the coming Ruler of the
world was to be his yet unborn Son?
3. The answer is David’s unborn Son would be the eternal God
born in the flesh.
4. From our perspective, the answer is obvious.
5. Once you accept that Jesus was God born in the flesh, it
is easy.
6. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful if one of the religious
leaders has said, "I don’t know, but I’d like to hear
what You think?"
7. They could have sat at the feet of God and learned!
8. But they would not.
9. Much like Jesus would say that week, "I would have
gathered you as a hen gathered her chicks, but ye would
not."
10. What a wasted opportunity!
But, how many have we wasted? How many are we wasting? May God
help us to waste them no longer.
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