Priests View the Cross 1

We apologize for the late publication of the 10/2 Grow, however, schedule and workload prevented timely completion of the devotion.


Mark 12:18-24

As we enter into the season of Lent, that forty-day preparation for Easter, we will be examining the different views of the cross. More accurately, we will be looking at the various ways of seeing God. What motivates or influences the different perspectives, and more importantly, are any of these views or attitudes the correct one?

In one of his many stand-up comedy routines George Carlin related about how he and his friends in parochial school would ask ridiculously hard questions of their priests. “If God is all-powerful, can He make a stone so large even He cannot lift it?” The questions were meant o stump the priest and to stall for time, to distract the teacher from assignments or work, or they were simply asked out of boredom.

This same sort of attitude seems to be exemplified in many of the encounters Jesus had with the high priests and religious leaders. Many of their inquiries seemed to be intent on trapping or fooling Jesus rather than uncovering any truths. In this section from Mark, what complex situation is put forth? What do you think their motivation is in asking the question in verse 23? How does Jesus resolve the entire issue?

The Sadducees, an aristocratic sect of religious leaders, did not have a correct view of the cross. They did not necessarily see God, or at least Jesus, as the powerful and mysterious God of the universe. They saw Jesus, it would seem, as some sort of sideshow in town, some upstart who needed to be put in his place with difficult questions.

These Sadducees did not believe in resurrection or an afterlife, yet they approached Jesus with a convoluted and impossible scenario involving the afterlife. Their intentions were to trip up this teacher, to confuse him, to make him look foolish.

But Jesus swept it all away with a simple and wise response. He simply pointed out that they did not know what they were talking about because they didn’t know the power of God.

What is our approach to God? What is our view of the cross? Do we see God as someone who can be outwitted? Is God an entity that needs to be tricked or one which can be tricked, allowing us in a sense to slip in to heaven through the back door?

We can sometimes fall into this category when we think we understand the Bible, but encounter passages we cannot understand. Instead of accepting that God’s power is beyond our ability to understand, we work out some twisted and intricate approach or solution. We forget the power of God.

Perhaps we need to thoroughly know the Scriptures. And perhaps we need to realize that God has powers beyond our comprehension.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How would you describe the power of God?