Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

The first time I walked to the studio in the dark about 4:30am, it was a clear starlit sky. But the second time, about an hour later, there were no stars visible. Clouds rolled in fast. It’s still that way. But I’d like to head back to the sawmill project that we commenced yesterday and invest a few more hours. Not yet sure if Thano will join me.

Have a good day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Who are “they”?—these guys who are so “greatly disturbed” over the performance and preaching of Peter and John? It says they were “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees” (v. 1). Obviously, all of them wanted Jesus dead and done with because He posed such a threat to their religious power and influence. But this last group mentioned, the Sadducees, are particularly interesting to me this morning—enough to prompt me to read up on them in my UNGER’S BIBLE DICTIONARY.

There are those who view the diversity of interpretation, doctrine, and organization within the Christian Church as sufficient reason to reject the whole big bunch of confusion. They could reason, “Why would I want to join and participate in such opinionated chaos and competition?” That reasoning is somewhat understandable. But the big risk is “throwing out the baby with the bath water.” The point I wish to make here is that there was (and is) a good deal of “denominationalism” within the ranks of Judaism as well. And the Sadducees were a very strange case in point—disbelieving in anything spirit—and definitely not anything eternal—no hereafter—no rewards or consequences beyond the grave. Yippee! What a wonderful ideology to live and die for! But it is confirmed that they were very focused on politics and government in the here and now—kind of like a modern liberal progressive—bigger government, the better—as long as they could be in charge. So when Israel met with such national destruction under the control of Rome, their hopes were dashed and their “denomination” collapsed.

Back to the critical issue—let me cut to the core: DID JESUS RISE FROM THE DEAD—OR DIDN’T HE? That is the question. It occurs to me that that question is really not far off from a more basic one: IS THERE A SOVEREIGN GOD—OR ISN’T THERE? If there is, the question over the resurrection of the dead in general, and the resurrection of Christ in particular, is little more than trivia in the context of Sovereignty—like a no-brainer. Without question a Sovereign God Who creates life from dead ingredients in the first place will have no problem re-creating life in that which was previously living.

Here’s the deal as I see it: If Jesus did was not rise from the dead, then I conclude that the whole of both Bible and Christianity is just another bunch of nonsensical religious gobblygook. But if it is true that He did rise from the dead as the Bible affirms, then we are all in a bunch of trouble apart from that Special Baby that so many want to throw out. For me, the familiar song sings it well—“I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today.”