May 7 Devotion: Riddle Me This

Matthew 22:23-28

23 The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

24 Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

25 Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:

26 Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.

27 And last of all the woman died also.

28 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

         I wonder if the Batman character, the Riddler, was based on the Sadducees. They are proposing a riddle to Jesus, trying to trick him with their supposed cleverness. They set up an odd scenario and present it to the Lord. He did not take the bait. What Jesus did was head straight to truth and cut through all this trickery. (Read the rest of the context.) He knew what they were doing was just “idle words”. They were not seeking truth. They were playing games, attempting to discredit Jesus. It did not work and it never will.

         I have been asked questions many times that were intended to discredit the Bible. (The most infamous is, “Where did Cain get his wife?” as if there is no answer and therefore, the Bible is ruled invalid.) This is foolishness. The truth is, the Sadducees and the like are not asking questions because they want to know the truth, but because they don’t want to believe the truth. If the truth is true, then they know they are walking contrary to it. Rather than embrace the truth, they would prefer to attempt to discredit it. It will not work. God’s word is eternal and forever settled. It will remain when the naysayers are long gone.

         Instead of seeking controversy, let us seek the truth. It is the truth that will make us free. It is the truth that guides us down the right path. It is the truth that leads us to God. If you try to discredit it, you will fail, and your attitude toward the truth will be your demise.

Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

In Christ’s Service,

Bro. Adrian Moore

2 Cor. 4:5