Greatly Mistaken!

Monday afternoon, April 21, 2008
On this particular day, some of the Sadducees (those who insisted that there could be no resurrection) came to Jesus to question Him, obviously not trying to find truth but to prove Him a blasphemer and a phony. After setting the stage with this quote from Moses, “If a man’s brother dies, and leaves behind a wife, and leaves no child, his brother should take the wife, and raise up offspring to his brother,” they created this question: “There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died, leaving no offspring. And the second one took her, and died, leaving behind no offspring; and the third likewise; and so all seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.”
This was His response: “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures, or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of these Sadducees, none whatsoever; they were truly convinced that they were correct regarding the impossibility of anyone being resurrected from the dead. In my opinion, they were just as sincere in wanting to prove Him wrong!
Just for the record: I will take what Jesus said as truth—these Sadducees were greatly mistaken regarding the reality of one’s resurrection from the dead, and it goes without saying that they were just as mistaken regarding their ability to prove Him wrong.
Have there been any times in your life when you were positively convinced that you were “right” and everyone else was “wrong,” only to learn (usually the hard way) that you were greatly mistaken? Do you remember how you tried so hard not only to prove them wrong, but also to prove that you were right, only to have to eat a large slice of “humble pie” when the truth became evident?
Gosh, I can remember many of these experiences from my own life. For example, I well-remember being absolutely convinced, positively-no-doubt-about-it convinced, that a believer could lose his/her salvation AND, I might add, I also well-remember trying to convince everyone, who believed otherwise, that they were greatly mistaken. I also remember that HUGE slice of humble pie! I also remember being just as convinced that Jesus’ atonement was for everyone and, as a result, trying to convince everyone, who believed otherwise, that they were greatly mistaken. Another HUGE piece of humble pie!
Anyway, I have lived long enough to be good-and-tired of being greatly mistaken, DECEIVED is a better word, and having to eat humble pie. The longer I walk with Him, the more I realize that there is very little that I need to “cast in cement;” in fact, only one thing—JESUS IS LORD, MY LORD! Anything else, I leave open for discussion—