MATTHEW 22:23-33

ILLOGICAL LOGIC

Life of Christ #49

 

Here are some tongue-in-cheek food safety “facts” from New York’s Miner Institute:

·       Nearly all sick people have eaten carrots. Obviously, the effects are cumulative.

·       An estimated 99.9% of all people who die from cancer and heart disease have eaten carrots.

·       99.9% of people involved in car crashes ate carrots within 60 days of their accidents.

·       93.1% of juvenile delinquents come from homes where carrots are served regularly.

·       Among the people born in 1839 who later ate carrots, there has been a 100% mortality rate. http://www.bible.org/illus.php?topic_id=904

 

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend by the name of Common Sense who has been with us for many years.  No one knows for sure how old he was since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

 

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm and that life isn't

always fair.

 

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge).  His health began to rapidly deteriorate when well intentioned, but overbearing, regulations were set in place.

 

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate, teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch, and a

teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student only worsened his condition.

 

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer aspirin to a student; however they could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

 

Finally, Common sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense finally gave up the ghost after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot, spilled a bit in her lap, claimed McDonalds did not warn her and was awarded a huge settlement.

 

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived, however, by two step-children; U. A.Victim and Ima Whiner.

 

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.  Daily Sonshine by Jerry Belton http://www.ilovejesus.com/worship/dailyson/

 

Think of logic as a system of reasoning.

Think of illogical as senseless.

Illogical logic is senseless reasoning.

That’s what the story about the carrots was – senseless reasoning.

That’s what the lack of common sense is – senseless reasoning.

That’s what some of Jesus’ enemies practiced – senseless reasoning or illogical logic.

 

We return to our study of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ this morning.  It is the last week of Jesus’ life, probably the Wednesday before He was killed.  Jesus was in the temple and had been confronted by those who wanted to trap him in his words so they might accuse him.

 

The Pharisees and the Herodians had confronted him about whether taxes should be paid to the Roman Government. Jesus asked for a coin, He had them acknowledge that Caesar’s picture was on the coin. Then He gave a profound answer in Matthew 22:21 …Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

 

They walked away defeated by Jesus.  But there was another group that also wanted to see Jesus destroyed.  They were the Sadducees. The Sadducees were the smallest sect trying to have control in Israel. However they were the wealthiest and the most influential.  The high priest and his family were members of this party which made money off temple businesses and had their power enforced by Rome.

 

·       They did not believe in the eternal state of the soul or the resurrection. They thought that once you were dead, that was it.

·       They did not believe in angels.

·       They did not believe in the many interpretations of the law that were written like the Pharisees did.

·       They used the Pentateuch as their basis for religion, and took little stock in the rest of the Old Testament.

·       They saw Jesus as a threat to their authority and wanted to eliminate Him.

 

The Sadducees came to Jesus with a piece of logic designed to prove their point.  It was a way of thinking that justified their belief that there was no resurrection.  It turned out to be illogical logic or senseless reasoning.

 

There are times when Christians and non-Christians alike use illogical logic, senseless reasoning to justify their thinking.  We must be careful that we do not fall into that trap.

I’d like us to consider three things about illogical logic this morning.

 

HOW WE FOOL – Vss. 23-28

WHY WE FAIL – Vs. 29

WHERE’S YOUR FAITH? – Vss. 30-32

 

HOW WE FOOL – Vss. 23-28

 

First of all, let us establish an important fact.  The Old Testament does teach the resurrection from the dead.

 

Daniel 12:2 - And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

Isaiah 26:19 - Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

 

Job 19:25-27 - For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: [26] And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: [27] Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

 

The Sadducees did not choose to believe in the resurrection, so they fooled themselves into thinking they were right by making up arguments against it.

 

Vss. 24-28 – The Sadducees tell of what was probably a hypothetical situation involving an Old Testament Law.

When a man was married and died without any children, a brother was to go into the man’s widow and father a child in the name of the brother.   This is called a levirate marriage.

 

Deuteronomy 25:5-6 - If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. [6] And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

 

In this illustration the Sadducees are trying to point out the folly of resurrection.  Because there were seven who had been married to her, whose wife would she be in the resurrection?

 

The Sadducees didn’t like something, so they tried to make it look stupid.  And if you tried to answer them with the Scriptures about the resurrection that I quoted a few moments ago they would claim that they weren’t authoritative because they were not in the Pentateuch.

 

There are times when we are no different than the Sadducees.  God will clearly teach something in the Scriptures but we will discredit what is said, or reason it away, or claim it does not apply to us.

 

As an example, many a gal and guy has not taken seriously the command not to get involved with an unsaved person.

 

2 Corinthians 6:14 - Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

 

They can come up with all sorts of illogical logic that justifies them marrying an unbeliever. They will be the exception to the rule.  They will be able to win their unsaved spouses to Christ.

 

Let me tell you something, many an unhappy marriage has been the result of a Christian disobeying God’s clear directive.

 

Another example is when someone feels called of God to become a missionary, a pastor, a Christian School Teacher, or some other type of full time Christian servant.

 

Then the illogical logic begins, and a person can give all sorts of excuses and reasons why they should not heed the call of God.  And what happens?  A person misses God’s best for their lives.  When God calls, it is easy for us to use the illogical logic to justify disobedience.

 

Luke 9:57-62 - And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. [58] And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. [59] And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. [60] Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. [61] And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. [62] And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

 

Don’t use illogical logic to:

·       Keep you from praying

·       Keep you from attending more than one service a week

·       Keep you from teaching a Sunday School Class or serving on the council

·       Keep you from acting morally

·       Keep you from studying the Word of God

·       Keep you from being dependent on God

 

HOW WE FOOL

HOW WE FAIL – Vs. 29  

 

Matthew 22:29 - Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

 

As the great diagnostician Jesus analyzed why the Sadducees were in error.

 

First of all, they were in error because they did not “know” the Scriptures.

There are two ways to know the Scriptures.  First, you can know what Scripture says.  You can know the teaching of the Scriptures.

 

The second way you can know the Scriptures is by knowing what it says and believing it enough to accept what it says and obey it.

 

Some of the Sadducees may have known the Scriptures in that they knew what it said in theory.  But they did not know the Scriptures by believing them experientially.

 

Secondly they did not know the power of God.

Again, in theory they may have known that God was all-powerful, but in practice they did not believe that God was powerful enough to raise the dead.  

 

We fall into error for the same reasons.

We fail for the same reasons.

 

If you know this verse, say it with me,

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

 

Many people know this verse in that they can quote or familiar with it when it is quoted.

 

And yet they don’t know this verse because they have not actually done what the verse says.

 

They have not acknowledged their total sinfulness before God.

They have not believed that Jesus gave His life on the cross for them to pay for their sins.

They have not put their full trust in Christ for salvation.

Hence, they really don’t know this Scripture, or the power of God to save them and to change them!

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 

And we Christians run into failure as well.   

 

We know in theory that the Scriptures promise victory over sin.

Romans 6:14 - For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

 

We know in theory that the Scriptures teach us to abide in Christ.

John 15:4 - Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

 

And we know in theory that we are to pray continually.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray without ceasing.

 

And we know in theory that we should be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18 - And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

 

But we fail because we don’t know these verses experientially that is, in practice or reality. 

In other words, we do not know these truths by faith, actually trusting God to enable us to do these things!   

   

We know the Scriptures when we believe them enough to obey them.

We know the power of God when we trust God to empower us to obey His Word.

 

Like the Sadducees we fail because we do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

 

HOW WE FOOL

WHY FAIL

WHERE’S YOUR FAITH?– Vss. 30-32

 

Jesus points the Sadducees back to the Word of God.

Our faith is always to be based on what God has said.

We need to know the Scripture in theory – what it says.

We need to know the Scripture experientially – believing it and practicing it.

 

Romans 10:17 - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 

Could Jesus have quoted the verses the Old Testament Scriptures that I quoted earlier proving the resurrection?

Of course he could have.

He didn’t, because the Sadducees would not have accepted them.

So Jesus goes to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible to prove his point.

 

Vs. 30 – Jesus first clears up some misconceptions about the resurrection.   

 

The Jews that did believe in the resurrection thought that they would have bodies identical to the ones they had in this life.

Instead Jesus points out that their will be no husband and wife relationships.  There won’t be marriage, sexual intercourse, and having more children.

 

We will be like the angels in that we will remain single.

But we will also be above the angels, because, we as part of the church will be the Bride of Christ.

 

Will we know our loved ones in Heaven and be reunited with them?  I firmly believe that we will be. We will just not have the exact same relationship.

 

Vss. 31-32 – Jesus is quoting the Pentateuch here.

He is quoting God who made the statement quoted there many times. The first time He said it was in Exodus 3:6,

Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

 

God said, “I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

He does not say, “I was”, even though they were dead.    

 

God is not the God of the dead, but of the living Jesus said.

If God said “I am” their God he meant that they were still alive.

Their spirits are very much alive along with the spirits of all believers.

 

2 Corinthians 5:8 - We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

 

The God of the living souls of all believers will also give these living believers new bodies, as promised in other Scriptures outside the Pentateuch.   

 

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 - Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

 

So, where’s your faith?

Is it in the promises of the Word of God?

Are you trusting in God for your own resurrection?

Are you trusting in God for forgiveness and eternal life?

Will you believe God for the ability to be obedient in this life?

 

Have you been practicing illogical logic, senseless reasoning?

Turn from it today!

 

HOW WE FOOL

WHY WE FAIL

WHERE’S YOUR FAITH?