Good and Evil Tests

Some people test God because they sincerely want answers. But some people test God because they want to prove Him wrong. That was true throughout both the Old and New Testaments. When the Pharisees asked Jesus if they should pay taxes, Jesus understood they had an evil purpose. He said, Why do you test me. . . ? (Mk. 12, 15,17 NKJV) He knew they weren’t interested in the answer. They just wanted to trick Him.

Next, the Sadducees tested Jesus with evil in their hearts. (v. 18-27)

Then one of the scribes came. . . . (v. 28) And this man was different. Although he tested Jesus by asking a hard question, he did so with a pure motive. Jesus answered him, and the two had a discussion. Jesus recognized the scribe’s motives—and appreciated the scribe’s wise replies. Jesus said to the scribe, You are not far from the kingdom of God. (v. 34)

The scribe desired truth. Jesus’ response to him demonstrated His pleasure in a person who tests rightly—who asks questions because he seeks God.

Originally published May 5, 1989.

He Is God of the Living

The Sadducees were a religious sect of Jesus' time that did not believe in either the resurrection from the dead or in eternal life. Jesus came against their doctrine by reminding them of God’s Word to Moses: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (Mt. 22:32a NKJV)

I AM is present tense, and in His discussion with the Sadducees Jesus provided a reasoned argument. Although the Sadducees thought the I AM statementwas a cornerstone of their theology, they did not understand the implications. If the I AM God was currently the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—those men who had been dead for centuries would still have life. Jesus said, God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Mt. 22:32b) God could not have been the patriarch's I AM God if the men were not still alive.

We can use the same verse and the same reasoning to refute reincarnation. If God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—and if He is God of the living—then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob exist as the people they were when they walked on earth—or God could not be their God.

But God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And He is the God of the living!

Originally published January 15, 1988.