8-26-18 Today in the Word

Today in the Word
June 2018
Hearing God in the Silence
SILENCE AND THE GOSPEL: PHARISEES’ SILENCE OF DEFEAT
Tuesday, June 26, 2018 | Luke 20:20–26
Atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell was asked what he would do if he died and Christianity turned out to be true. He would arrive at the gates of heaven and God would ask, “Why didn’t you believe?” What would he say? Russell said he would answer: “Not enough evidence, God! Not enough evidence!”
God has already given His reply—the evidence is sufficient (Rom. 1:18–20). But for those who refuse to believe, there is never enough “evidence.” That was true for Bertrand Russell, and it was true for the religious leaders in today’s reading. Despite Jesus’ miracles and authoritative teaching, they simply refused to believe. Instead, they asked trick questions to try to trap and discredit Him.
By this point, they weren’t coming in person, for that would have been too embarrassing. Instead they sent “spies, who pretended to be sincere” but whose goal was to get Jesus in trouble with the political authorities (v. 20). They thought they had the perfect question: “Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” (v. 22). It was a lose-lose question. If He said no, He would be in trouble with the government. If He said yes, He would be in trouble with the Jews, who hated collaborators (like tax collectors).
Jesus saw through their duplicity and gave the perfect answer (v. 25). So the silence in this story is the silence of their defeat (v. 26). One wonders why they were “astonished,” since every previous trap question had also failed. Predictably, the Son of God was smarter and a better debater, not to mention that He had a perfect knowledge of truth. The Sadducees would make one more run at Him on the topic of the resurrection and marriage, but after that no one dared to ask Him any more questions (vv. 27–40).
APPLY THE WORD
Some skeptics are hardened against Christianity. Others are genuine seekers who want to know why we believe. One insightful book that has stood the test of time is Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. Another, more contemporary resource that has helped many is The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Timothy Keller

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9-16-23 Little-Known Prophecies of Christmas, Pt 3: Genesis 17:19

Little-Known Prophecies of Christmas, Pt 3: Genesis 17:19 :: By Paul J. Scharf Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles The Messiah was a descendant of Abraham. More than that, we considered last time how He was, in fact, promised within the covenant that God made with Abram (Gen. 12:1-3). According to the Apostle Paul in Gal. 3:16 and 19, He is the ultimate recipient of that covenant! Our Savior Jesus Christ is finally the One through whom “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Paul also quoted and discussed that portion of the covenant in Gal. 3:8-9. We ended last time with the realization that the promised Messiah would be the final Davidic king over Israel. As declared then, however, there are several intermediate steps, with accompanying prophecies, which are given between the times of Abraham and David and speak about His coming and the offices He would hold as the greatest prophet, priest, and king. And there are also more ance
Read more

9-17-23 Christians Using Science Badly: Part 2

Christians Using Science Badly: Part 2 :: By Wilfred Hahn Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:General Articles, Wilfred Hahn Christians Using Science Badly: Part 2 :: By Wilfred Hahn Reviewing the “facts” that we cited in Part 1, we noted the hyperbole and downright dishonesty in some instances to support global warming claims. Why is there such bias? Money Precedes Truth Global warming has become big business. Armies of global consultants are peddling false information because it is profitable to do so. Many claimed urgencies are exaggerated by factors of 10X … indeed, 200X in some instances and more. Governments are particularly susceptible to this hype, promising infrastructure programs estimated to cost upwards of trillions of dollars. According to a new report,1 an estimated $3.4 trillion will be invested in renewable energy during the next decade, including $2.72 trillion in wind and solar. By 2030, 54.1% of installed capacity will be renewable (including hydropo
Read more

9-16-23 It Is Coming

It Is Coming :: By Daymond Duck Published on: December 24, 2022 by RR10 Category:Daymond Duck, General Articles On Dec. 17, 2022, it was reported that Rep. David Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island, has introduced legislation to permanently bar former Pres. Trump from running for president again, and 40 Democrats have signed on. Cicilline is accusing Trump of orchestrating an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. At the time of this writing, it is debatable as to whether Cicilline’s legislation will get voted on before the new Congress takes office in 2023, but some conservatives have said from the beginning that the main purpose of the Jan. 6 fake show-trial was to stop Trump from being elected again. Some, including this writer, have said there is no telling what the U.S. shadow government will do to prevent making America great again (MAGA) because they want to surrender the sovereignty of the U.S. to the New World Order (coming world government). It was easy to see this coming, and
Read more