Luke 20:27-44 "A Small View Story"

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

Open your Bibles, if you will, to Luke chapter 20.

Luke 20 · chapter mention

This morning we're going to start reading at verse 27.

And we're going to read down through verse 44.

Follow with me as we read this portion from God's Word.

There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection.

And they ask him a question, saying,

Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children,

the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

Now, there were seven brothers.

First took a wife and died without children.

And the second and the third took her.

And likewise, all seven left no children and died.

Afterward, the woman also died.

So in the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be?

I mean, for seven had her as wife.

And Jesus said to them,

The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead,

neither marry nor are given in marriage.

For they cannot die anymore.

Because they are equal to angels and are sons of God,

being sons of the resurrection.

But that the dead are raised.

Even Moses showed in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.

Now, he is not God of the dead, but of the living.

For all live to him.

Then some of the scribes answered,

Teacher, you have spoken well.

For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

But he said to them,

How can they say that the Christ is David's son?

For David himself says in the book of Psalms,

The Lord said to my Lord,

Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

David thus calls him Lord.

So how is he his son?

Let me lead us in prayer as we approach the study of God's word.

Father, Father, we need your spirit.

We cannot in ourselves understand what you would have to say to us today.

And Father, I cannot in myself and in my weakness communicate what you would have to say to us today.

So all of us, those who are listening and those who are speaking,

We need you to be here in our midst by your spirit.

To teach us.

To speak into our hearts.

To reveal yourself.

To reveal ourselves.

And lead us to where hope can truly be found.

So would you come pour out your spirit?

And teach us.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You know, as I read this challenge from the Sadducees and the Pharisees before them,

I can't help but think again of a movie.

And that is the opening scene of the movie Gladiator.

In this opening scene, you've got Maximus, who is one of the great Roman generals,

and one of his senior leaders, Quintus.

They and the Roman legions are facing this barbarian horde.

And Quintus simply looks at Maximus and says, people should know when they're conquered.

Of course, Maximus replies and says, would you know?

Would I?

Obviously, the Jewish leaders don't.

You see them coming again.

And you just want to say, please, no.

Enough is enough.

Haven't you suffered enough already?

Just let it go.

But they come with the expected outcome.

You know, I love movies like Gladiator because it's a big story.

I mean, it's a big story of this great Roman general who, through a change of power,

was thought to be murdered.

He ends up a slave, has his family murdered.

And then, as a slave, rises back to prominence to save the Republic of Rome itself.

I mean, what a story.

So we love stories like this.

We love them because they're big.

You know, when we think of the Lord of the Rings, you know, you have the hobbits living

in the shire as if there was no place else in the world.

And they were perfectly comfortable, perfectly satisfied in a life that was perfectly managed

and very small.

Until a couple of them ventured outside on a grand adventure.

Normal, small view stories, which unfortunately describes many of us, are small.

They are manageable.

They are predictable.

They are controllable.

They are very, very limited in risk, but also in vision.

Such stories, though they may be very familiar, are not the kind of stories that Jesus has called us to.

He's called us into a story that is so much beyond that.

He has come to release us, in a sense, from these small views, stories of life.

That we might enter into this epic of the gospel.

And of eternity.

For us to experience the riches in all that God has to offer,

we must replace our predictable, small view story with the eyes of faith

that we might see the glorious, unfathomable, boundless life

that Jesus alone in the gospel can give to us.

Otherwise, we will remain imprisoned in a small view of life that goes nowhere.

In this story with the Sadducees, we see these guys demonstrating, in a sense,

what small view of life is.

And they do it in three ways.

The first is that they have a very small view of Scripture.

They have a small view Bible.

Secondly, we're going to see that they also have a very small view of the future.

And thirdly, we're going to see a very small view of Redeemer.

So let's begin with the first.

A small view Bible.

You know, in this particular challenge that we have here,

the Sadducees are coming to do battle with Jesus.

This is really the only encounter that Luke gives us of the Sadducees and Jesus.

He'll mention them in the book of Acts, but here, this is the only time.

There are a whole different class of Jewish leader from the Pharisees.

In some ways, the Sadducees are the kind of the political left.

But the Sadducees, you know, their appeal was primarily to the wealthy, elite classes of Israel.

But they were also very accommodating to Rome.

They did not mind kind of working with Rome,

making the most and the best of their occupation.

And so,

they did not fight against,

in some ways encourage,

some of the Hellenistic influences that were coming.

They knew their Bibles.

They knew them well.

But the only part that they liked

was what was called the Torah,

the first five books of Moses.

So, for them,

Moses was the only authority

that they trusted.

And in addition,

one of the things that Luke tells us here

about their theology is

that they did not believe in

or they rejected

the idea that there was a resurrection.

For them,

there was no life after death.

Life just ended.

And so,

when they thought of eternity,

it was how their name would be carried on

through their children,

through their names,

and so forth.

Which might also tell us

why they thought of this particular example

from Deuteronomy 25.

So,

they come to Jesus

with this very fanciful dilemma

based on what is called

leverate marriage.

And in leverate marriage,

that meant that if,

you know,

a man and a woman,

they get married

and the husband dies

before a son in particular

is born,

then that man's brother

or next of kin

was to fulfill,

in fulfilling the law,

was to come

and then take the wife

and bear children through her

so that the name of the brother

who died

could carry on.

It was also very helpful

for the woman

because for her

to have anyone at all

to care for her

in her older age,

she needed children.

And so,

this was for both

the carrying on

of the family name

but also the caring

for this widow.

And so,

they developed this scenario

that in their mind,

I mean,

it was a crazy scenario

but in their minds,

in their logic,

they believe

that this will

absolutely prove

that there cannot be

a resurrection

because this kind of thing

can never happen.

So,

though they thought

they had

Moses

as their authority,

you know,

actually,

in this case,

Moses

was under

their authority

because what

they were doing

was going back

to Moses

and finding

a place

that would prove

what they believed

instead of going

to the scriptures

to find out

what they should believe.

And as they did that,

you know,

they missed

everything.

They missed

a very foundational

doctrine

and a place

of hope

for their faith.

They missed

the possibility

of eternal life.

And so,

to them,

the Bible

was simply

a rule code

that they could

pick and choose

what they wanted

and just

leave out

the rest.

But we don't

do that.

You know,

it's interesting

how

two opposing

groups

can read

the very same

scriptures

and come

to two

totally different

conclusions.

Or to say

it says

something very,

very different.

different.

Those who are

on the conservative

side

will look

at the scriptures

and read it

as if,

you know,

it supports,

you know,

public morality,

it supports

capitalism,

it supports

all of these things.

It's like it was

written by Republicans.

But then you have

the other side

who will read it

with eyes

that find

where it says

all about mercy

and justice

and help

for the oppressed.

And who's

right?

The problem

is,

you know,

one may not

be more right

than the other.

But how did

they get there?

And unfortunately,

too often,

when we read

the Bible,

we're coming

with our own

ideas

and we press

them in

to make them

fit,

which is what

the Sadducees

had done.

A better way

to read

the scriptures

instead of

just going

to the scriptures

to find places

where we can

defend our

positions

is to read

it with the eyes

of faith

and go ask

the Holy Spirit

and say,

Holy Spirit,

show me

what I need

to see here.

Show me

what you would

have to say

to me.

Show me

where I'm

missing the boat.

Show me

what I need.

Make yourself

known.

Make me

known.

Let me see.

See,

we need

a Bible

that's big

enough

that will

actually

challenge

our way

of life.

If we

read our

Bibles

and it

does not

challenge us,

if it

doesn't

challenge

your political

positions,

if it

doesn't

challenge

your whole

sense of

what life

is supposed

to be

or your

values

or your

cultural

ideas,

then you're

not

reading it

with the

eyes of

faith.

you're

managing

it.

It's a

very small

view Bible.

So we

need those

eyes of

faith

where we

come to

the Bible

in

submission

and we

let the

Spirit

tell us

what we

need to

believe,

how we

need to

see

life.

we

need

big

view

Bibles.

Well the

second point

that he

makes here

and it

follows,

it flows

from the

first,

is that the

Sadducees

not only

had this

very small

view of

Scripture

but they

also had

a very

small view

of the

future.

Because of

their limited

respect for

Scripture,

they had

developed

this view

of life

that was

very small

and contained.

The Sadducees,

their view

of life,

it ended

at death.

They could

live on

maybe through

just their

name carrying

on through

their children.

But with

that reference

point,

then that

shaped everything

else they did

in life.

So they

lived their

life in such

a way that

they got

everything out

of life

now that

they could.

They loved

living with

the upper

crust.

They loved

living with

the elite

of society.

They prized

high position.

They prized

control.

In fact,

even as you

read their

discussion and

talk about

the way they're

talking about

marriage,

they lifted

themselves up

highly and

degraded

women.

They were

getting

everything

now.

Because there

was nothing

later.

Again,

I have to,

if I'm going

to quote

gladiator,

I've got to

use this

quote.

From basically

the same

scene at the

beginning of

the movie,

Maximus gets

his cavalry

off to the

side and to

encourage them

to go into

battle and to

be faithful

and courageous,

he makes

this statement.

He says,

everything we

do in this

life echoes

through eternity.

And he was

right.

This is not

all there is.

So do we

live with

eternity in

mind?

Or do we

get so fixated

as our view

of the future

and life so

small?

that what

this life

offers is

all there

is?

Is this

it?

Three things

Jesus says

that should

have sobered

the Sadducees,

especially in

regard to the

future.

The first

one was that

the very

scripture they

claimed to

trust taught

very clearly

that there

was life

beyond the

grave.

That God

was the God

of the living.

He was the

God of

Abraham and

Isaac and

Jacob.

Then and now,

the time when

that was spoken,

they were

dead.

Or were

they?

Secondly,

life in the

coming age was

totally different.

They were

looking through

the lens of

just the way

everything is

now and

were imposing

that on the

future,

especially in

regard to

marriage.

marriage.

And so

marriage in

this life,

though,

if we read

the scriptures,

is merely a

shadow of

something so

glorious and

wonderful to

come.

Are we going

to know our

spouses when we

get to heaven?

Well,

probably.

I hope so.

It's going to be

different,

though,

because the

real,

the true love

of my life

is going to

be right there

before my

face.

And we'll

stand there

together because

he'll be her

true love,

too.

And he'll be

glorious.

The third

thing that

Jesus says,

almost kind of

says it in

passing,

but he makes

sure he says

this.

He talks

about those

who are

considered

worthy

for the

age to

come.

And the

verb tense

is pointing

us here of

someone else

considering them

worthy.

It's not

they themselves

gaining worth,

but do they

measure up in

the eyes of

God himself?

God.

Our lives

will be

weighed in

that day,

will be

weighed in

the balance,

we will

give account

to the

true authority

and judge

to see if

we have

met up

the standards.

The Sadducees

had basically

wiped that

out of their

theology because

if death was

it and you

just kind of

ceased to

exist,

you lived,

you did not

live in this

life as if

judgment was

coming.

Convenient.

well, let me

ask this

question.

How does

life change

now?

If I

see clearly

that there is

another life

coming,

how does

a view of

eternity

change the

way I

approach

life now?

I mean,

how does

it,

you know,

if that

life is

far more

substantive,

far more

glorious,

if that

life is

something where

all that I

would achieve

in this

life mean

nothing,

how would

that change

the way I

live my

life now?

How does

life change

now?

you know,

when God

first,

when we

decided to

go to the

mission field

back in

1999 is

when I was

really challenged,

one of the

things that God

used to challenge

me was

simply this

idea that

my roots in

this life were

far too deep.

God's

because we

lived in a

really nice

little community

in South

Georgia.

We had a

nice little

church.

Our kids

were prospering.

They had a lot

of friends in

the community

and everything

was going

great.

We were,

in a sense,

living the

American dream

life where,

you know,

you got great

healthy kids,

they're happy,

and your church is good.

Then I found myself in Ukraine

wondering if God wanted more.

And I realized that my view of the future,

my view of life was way too small.

My view of ministry was way too small.

My view of ministry and what I felt like

was being accomplished,

I felt anybody could have come and accomplished that.

In fact, if I was really looking for evidence

that God was really at work in the midst of us,

I would have to question that.

And so I decided that we needed to go somewhere

where if the Spirit of God was not at work,

nothing would happen.

And we found it.

But sadly, as soon as we came back,

my bigger view of life contracted.

And now, unfortunately,

too much of my focus is just on my standard of living,

success in this life,

retirement,

and a new bike.

all the good things in life.

So what's the answer?

Well, I think we need to remember

that this life is momentary.

It's just a shadow.

It's not the substance.

It's the previews.

Nobody, if you like movies,

nobody wants to just live on previews.

We want the full feature.

And that's still to come.

And that story is so grand and glorious

that it will,

there's no comparison between it and the shadow.

So when eternity is clearly in view,

then I am freer to move my family to another part of the world

that may be a lot harder for life.

When eternity is fully in view,

I can experience hardship and persecution

because this life is only momentary.

And the real wealth,

anything that I would lose here

is worth nothing there.

If I saw eternity clearly in view,

how would life be different?

Well, the third point he makes is,

the Sadducees had this small view of Scripture.

They had a very small view of the future.

But now we're going to find out

that there's a very small view of a Redeemer.

And at this point,

after Jesus had given the answer,

to the Sadducees,

we find there's another group of Jewish leaders there

in the crowd,

and he mentions the scribes.

The scribes were friends of the Pharisees.

And the scribes and Pharisees

are a lot of times always mentioned together,

but they come from the conservative end

of the religious spectrum.

And so they also have,

you know, a high view of Scripture,

at least according to their mind.

But their idea of a Messiah

was released from Rome.

They were not like the Sadducees.

The Sadducees accommodated the occupiers,

not the scribes and Pharisees.

They resisted.

They fought against them.

They wanted nothing to do with them.

And their idea of what the Redeemer would accomplish,

what Messiah would bring,

is freedom from Roman occupation.

They wanted the Son of David

to throw off that yoke of Rome.

They wanted a political Savior

who would give them the freedom

to live and worship on their own terms

and not in slavery to some foreign power.

Rome was their problem.

And they needed a Savior from Rome.

And Jesus uses this psalm

and kind of puts all of that to the test

because the Son of David,

this political Messiah,

was supposed to be the Son of David,

the psalmist,

says,

wait a minute.

Jesus said, wait a minute.

This is what the psalmist says.

The Lord,

and if you read in the Hebrew,

it means Yahweh,

says to my Adonai,

which means God Almighty,

sit on your throne

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet.

And Jesus said,

wait a minute here.

The Messiah is the Son of David.

But the psalmist says

he's a whole lot more than that.

He's not just going to be a political redeemer.

He's not coming to just throw off Rome.

We're talking about God himself.

How could David say this

about his son?

They read the scriptures

just like the Sadducees.

They brought their own ideas into play.

And they missed the Messiah himself.

They missed what he would come to do

and to give to them.

And it was a lot more

than a better political leader.

And this is where,

again,

I just,

I really have to ask my question,

what do I look for in a Messiah?

What do I want from Jesus?

What do I want him to do for me?

What kind of Savior

do I want?

Well,

one of the best ways to figure that out

is to ask,

okay,

well,

what do I pray for?

Well,

when my dream life is threatened,

I pray for Jesus

to come and protect it.

And when he doesn't,

I can get despondent,

I can get angry

and think,

he doesn't love me.

When my health is threatened,

I pray for him to restore it.

When I fear I don't have enough,

I call on him to provide.

When I'm traveling someplace,

I want him to make sure

I don't get a flat tire.

I think it's called traveling mercies.

So what my prayers say

are most important things in my life

are travels free of disruption,

freedom from disease,

even colds.

Heaven forbid,

I would get a runny nose.

Successful children,

a comfortable retirement,

well,

we'll leave out that new bike.

But this is what I expect Jesus to bring.

Because this is all I ever ask him for.

Maybe not all,

but this is so much of it.

Is this all we want him to do?

Are these our big problems?

Are these the big dangers in our lives?

When God the Father

puts all of Jesus' enemies

under his feet,

one of those probably

will not be flat tires.

His primary agenda

is not to deal with all these,

what I consider external threats,

but he's going to come

and deal with the internal ones.

the ones that threaten

not just my convenience,

but eternity itself.

Those enemies are,

we read in the scriptures,

there's three,

they put them in three categories.

First is the flesh.

And that's me,

my heart,

my propensity

to look at life

all through this lens

that says self.

Self-sufficient,

self-determining,

self-glorifying,

self-satisfying,

self-righteous.

Life is all about self.

That's the flesh.

The second one is the world.

And that's kind of

corporate flesh.

It's this world system

that functions like

this is all there is,

so get with the program.

And so you have every system

that we have out here,

all of life,

is pushing us

toward this small view of life.

And conformity.

And the third is

Satan himself.

Who walks around

with a gas can

and sees these temptations

of the world

and the flesh

and pours gas on them.

It makes them so much worse.

These are the enemies

that Jesus comes to bring down.

These are the enemies

that threaten my very soul.

And what Jesus has come to do

is to take them on.

Through his life,

through his death,

and through his resurrection,

he breaks the power

of sin and death.

He breaks the power

of the fear of death.

He breaks the power

of the fear of judgment.

He tells me

that there is so much

a bigger world

and paves the way

for me to get there.

He comes and takes me

by the hand,

puts my small little world

to death.

and says,

come with me.

I give you life.

I give you eternity.

I give you joy

everlasting.

Jesus has come

not to make this life better,

but to help me throw it off

so that I will look forward

to a much bigger story,

a much bigger eternity

where I get God himself.

Is that the kind of Savior

you want?

Is that what you're looking for

in a Savior?

This Savior says,

come to me.

Come to me.

Come to me.

Come to me.

Come to me.

Let's come.

Let me pray for us.

Lord Jesus,

would you show us

how our views of life

and eternity

are way too small?

And would you show us

what you have in store for us?

And then would you defeat

the real enemies?

Would you set us free

from our slavery to self?

Would you set us free

from our slavery

to this world

and the pressures it brings?

And would you set us free

from the condemnation

and the deceptions

of the enemy

that we might look forward

to this glorious hope

of eternity with you?

Come to us

and draw us to yourself,

we pray.

In Jesus' name,

amen.

For more information,

visit us online

at southwood.org.

For more information,