DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD

DAD'S RAMBLINGS –

THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD

"And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did any one dare question Him anymore." (Matthew 22:46)

Jesus made it a practice of silencing His critics by quoting God's Word. He did it to Satan in the temptations recorded in Luke Chapter 4. And He did it again here in these incidents in Matthew Chapter 22.

In this passage of Matthew account there were two attempts by His adversaries to trap Him with questions, and one question that Jesus asked them.

The first scenario was when a group of Sadducees asked Jesus a question about the Resurrection. This would be laughable is it was not so patently absurd because the Sadducees did not believe in the Resurrection. But Jesus did, and He cornered them by quoting what God said – " 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead but of the living." (vs. 32). These religious leaders were supposed to be authorities on God, but Jesus said that they did not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.

Next in line were the Pharisees, asking what the greatest commandment is. They should have known better. Again Jesus answered the test with Scripture -­- " 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind' " (vss. 37-38). The fact was that the Pharisees loved the praises of people more that they loved God.

The third interchange was a question Jesus posed to them about whose son the Messiah would be? They answered, "The Son of David." But if that is the case, Jesus countered, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him Lord?'" quoting Psalm110:1.

In all of these cases, Jesus used the Scriptures as His defense. I believe that is a good model for us when our faith is tested. There is power in the Word of God. It is a resource that God has given us. The testing of our faith does not always come from people. Sometimes it comes from circumstances. But the Word of God is the best defense. The truth is, we need to know God, His Word and His power.

Love, Dad