Is Heaven for Real? (Luke 20:27-21:4)
Sermon Link
Is the Resurrection Real? (20:27-40)
The Sadducees, who believed the soul perishes with the body at death, seek to trap Jesus with an impossible question in order to squash the notion of a resurrection. Jesus responds not by picking apart their flawed argument, but by simply stating the truth. He draws the distinction between this age and that age. The Sadducees could not see the difference between this life and the life to come, the temporal and the eternal, Earth and Heaven. He is not only answering the absurdity of the Sadducees, He is also showing that Heaven is not merely a continuation of this life, but that there is a significant change in quality just as much as quantity. Heaven is so much greater than this age that things like marriage and parenting are no longer necessary because of the greatness of being with Christ. Those who are considered worthy to attain to the life to come are not worthy in and of themselves, but they are considered worthy because of the imputed righteousness of Christ.
– The Sadducees refused to believe that there was a resurrection from the dead. While we know that there is an age to come, we are tempted to live like practical Sadducees, as if this life were all there were. In what ways does the hope of a resurrection and an age to come affect the way you live now?
Savior or Son? (20:41-44)
Turning the tables, Jesus now poses a question of His own. To those in Jesus’ day, the idea that He is both David’s Son and David’s Lord would have seemed like a contradiction. While it could be accepted that the Messiah was to be a descendent of David, the idea that a descendent of David could also be David’s Lord seemed impossible. Jesus is David’s Son according to earthly genealogy, but He is greater than David according to heavenly descent. In fact, Jesus was David’s Lord before He became David’s Son (Revelation 22:16, John 8:58). With this question and answer, Jesus is boldly and clearly claiming to be the Messiah.
– The Jews might have been willing to accept the the Messiah was a Savior, but they couldn’t accept the fact that Christ was David’s Lord. Are you living in light of both Jesus’ exclusivity as Savior and His supremacy as Lord? In what ways is the lordship of Jesus over your life affecting the way you live?
Appearance or Affection? (20:45-21:4)
As Jesus is outside the temple teaching and answering questions, He notices some fraudulent hypocrites and their false worship. They were men who were concerned with an outward appearance of obedience and offered long prayers, but were completely lacking any heart for God. However, in contrast to these Scribes, Jesus points out that the widow that puts in two small copper coins, the smallest unit of coinage in Jewish currency, has given more than all of the self-righteous hypocrites combined. The Lord measures our giving not by what we give, but by what we keep. The rich had plenty left, but this poor widow had nothing. Though unnoticed by everyone around, the all-seeing eye of the High King of Heaven takes notice of the sacrifice and praises her.
– In what ways or in what contexts are you particularly tempted toward focusing more on appearance before others rather than heartfelt affection toward God? In what ways does it manifest itself? How can you grow in casting off hypocrisy in that area in order to serve God from a heart of humility and genuine love?
– The question we should ask is not, “How much/large is my gift?” but instead, “How much of the gift is from my heart?” What might it mean for you to live on the words we sang on Sunday, “Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold?”