Three Difficult Questions (plus an Impossible One), Updated 15Jan2013
This sermon was delivered to:
KTAR CF, 24Oct2000 and to
Bandar Baru Kampar Methodist Centre, 24Jun2001.
Introduction:
Today's passage reminds me of some difficult questions that I have heard over the years:
- Children's questions: can God see every body every where?
- An atheist's question: can almighty God create something so big that He himself cannot carry?
- A philosopher's question: if God exists, why is there so much suffering in the world?
- A poor man's question: if God exists why am I so poor?
- A sick man's question: if God loves me, why am I so sick?
Tonight : what is your question? Do you have a question to ask our Lord Iesus Christ? In our Bible passage tonight, we read about Iesus' enemies asking Him 3 difficult questions. Verse 15 says "how they might entangle Him in his talk." We know that Iesus made many enemies while He was here on earth. He wasn't a very good politician. He offended many people. In verse 16, his enemies described Him as a person who "cares not, regards not" people. Our Lord's enemies would not leave Him alone. Verse 15 says they "took counsel together". Both verse 34 and 42 say "they gathered together."
(1) A Question of Loyalty v16 - 22
- from the Herodians - who admit no disloyalty.
"Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?" v17
Yeshua's reply, "Why tempt (test) me, ye hypocrites?" he perceived their
wickedness v.17
Asked for penny, whose image? Caesar's
v21 render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God
the things which are God's.
What belongs to Caesar? What belongs to God?
Nobody had ever thought of that - they marvelled v22.
(2) A Question of Life v23 - 33
from the Sadducees - who admit no resurrection..
Verse 24 = Deutoronomy 25: 5, 6.
"In the resurrection, if there were a resurrection, whose wife shall she be of
the seven brothers?" v24 - 28
This was a 2 -in-1 question. First, is there such thing as resurrection?
Second, if there is, whose wife will this woman be?
Yeshua's reply: v29, "Ye err" - you think you are right, but you are wrong. Ye
know not the scriptures - you think you know a lot, you don't know the word of
God.
"Ye know not the power of God" - you don't know how powerful God is, that he
can transform us into new bodies after the resurrection.
"In the resurrection - they live as angels in heaven."
Further: have ye not heard, v31, 32.
Exodus 3: 6 - "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob ... "
God is the God of the living, not the God of the dead. One day Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob must be raised. There must be a resurrection.
Nobody ever noticed that - the multitude were astonished v33.
(3) A Question of Law v34 - 40
from a Lawyer - who admits no transgression.
v36 - which is the greatest commandment in the law (testing him)?
The lawyer asked for one greatest commandment, our Master Yeshua gave TWO
commandments.
First, Deutoronomy 6: 5 - you shall love the LORD with all your heart, soul
and might. Compare Matthew 22: 37 says heart, soul and mind, but Luke 10: 27
says heart, soul, strength and mind.
Second, Leviticus 19: 18 - thou shalt not avenge, bear grudge against children
of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
The lawyer could not see - out of more than 600 commandments in the Old
Testament Law - that the entire law and the writings of the prophets were
based on these 2 commandments!
(4) An Impossible Question from The Master v41ff
To the Pharisees (v 41) - who had not asked him any question.
"Whose son is the Messiah?" (v 42)
Now they all know that the Messiah will be a descendant of King David - son of
David.
But King David wrote Psalm 110: 1 - "YHWH said unto my Master (Messiah)
..."
How could David's descendant also be David's Master? How come?
No one could answer that question. From that day, no one asked any more
questions.
P.S. : I preached the above sermon to a small group of Christian College
Students at a Chinese Methodist outreach back in October 2000. At that time, I
believed in the doctrine of the Trinity and my answer to the Master's
Impossible Question was, not surprisingly, "because the Messiah is God. He is
part of the Trinitarian God-head. That's why King David addressed him as his
Master" . . .
Today, 15 Jan 2013: Thirteen years have passed. I have become a
Monotheistic Believer in YHWH.
About a week ago I realised that the answer to the Impossible Question can be
found in Peter's message to the people in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost
(Shavuot) in Acts chapter 2:29 - 36, especially v33 and 34. In his sermon,
Peter explained that
- It was not David who went up to heaven (v34).
- Instead, it was David's descendant, Yeshua the Anointed One.
- - who was raised to the right hand of God, His Father,
- - who received the Holy Spirit from God,
- - who poured out this gift of the Holy Spirit "on us" (v33)
This Yeshua, who is crucified, is the one that God has made Master (Adon) and
Anointed One (Messiah).
So why did King David call the Messiah, who is his descendant, "Adoni" (Master)? Because the Messiah went up to heaven to be at the right hand of His Father.
