Okay, wow, we covered a lot of verses yesterday (11:27-12:34). However, we did that so we could follow a series of conversations Jesus had with different religious leaders. All of them were ultimately trying to diminish the authority of Jesus because he was undermining their authority. The only thing standing between them and the self focused power they desired was Jesus. So they needed to tear Jesus down. They sought to do so by questioning Jesus and using questions to do so.
He spoke with the Chief Priests, who questioned his authority directly. Jesus went into the temple and turned over tables. Jesus didn't operate within their structures, so they asked what authority he was doing this by. They knew it was of God, which was ultimately proven through this intense and frankly awkward conversation. But that didn't stop them from seeking to tear him down.
The Chief Priests sent the Pharisee's and Herodians, who came up with some question about whether or not they should pay taxes. They were trying to trap him through a seemingly complex situation into saying something that opposed the scriptures. Jesus keeps it simple, saying to pay taxes and give to God. They marveled at his simplicity.
He spoke with the Sadducee's, who came up with some elaborate hypothetical situation about life after death. Jesus responded by pointing out their ignorance of the scriptures and the power of God. He points out that this has nothing to do with the simple practical things of this life. They were trying to create an unnecessary complex situation and thereby avoiding embracing the simplest of truths. These intellectual gymnastics showed their wrong mindset.
He then spoke with the Scribes, who basically asked him to boil down the entire Old Testament Law into one priority. Jesus actually did it by saying the top priority is loving God with all of our being and loving others as ourselves. They were the only ones that responded positively to Jesus and were actually affirmed by him too.
The bottom line was these people were questioning Jesus by asking questions. They wanted what they wanted and needed to diminish Jesus' authority in their lives (and others) to do so. This is why, besides the scribes, each responded to his answers with frustration and intentions of vengeance.
The application for us was realizing that we can do the same things as these people, we just don't realize it as being the same thing. We too can diminish Jesus to get what we want. We question his authority to do certain things in our lives when we are frustrated that He allowed something painful to occur. We can downplay or try to explain away the scriptures in order to do what we want. We can come up with hypothetical situations and extreme "what-if" scenarios to avoid embracing the simplest of commands.
Asking questions about God can be good, but may we diligently avoid crossing the line into those turning into questioning Him. And, may we not dwell on all the complexities of God (hypothetical or theological) but instead stay focused on the simplicities of the gospel. Love God. Love people. Serve. Deny ourselves for the benefit of others and the furthering of the gospel.
We can talk theological circles around people, but that does no good unless we are embracing the simplest and most basic truths in our every day lives.
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