Luke 20:27-40

Is there any question God cannot answer? Have you ever had any particular question or problem where it seems that not even the Bible could answer it? I sure have on many occasions, far more than I would probably like to admit. These questions and problems can nag at us for years, even lifetimes, and prevent us from growing in a meaningful and fulfilling way with the Lord. Unfortunately, I know from personal experience that these "unanswerable" questions or problems typically lead to disobedience. The Lord is calling us to follow Him, what problems do we have that are keeping us from obedience?

In today's Bible reading in Luke 20:27-47 we find the Sadducees confronting Jesus with a supposedly unanswerable question. Their question displays their problem with the resurrection. Very likely, the Sadducees had silenced many of their opponents with the question of whom a women would be married to in the resurrection, after she had multiple husbands die (v33). And so, because no one could answer their question, they persisted in their unbelief in the resurrection and in who Jesus was. The funny thing is, if we look at this passage of scripture closely, the Sadducees were only asking the question so they could persist in their unbelief. They really didn't want a good answer because they didn't want to follow the Lord. Unfortunately, we do the exact same thing. When we say, "I don't serve in the Church, give money, give time, get to know my neighbor, read the Bible, or whatever it might be because I...", we offer up excuses for our disobedience. Too often, we offer excuses and questions for God, not so we can become obedient but so we can remain disobedient.

In response to our unanswerable questions, Jesus does have an answer. We can expect the unexpectable for an answer. Jesus of course couldn't directly answer the question (in Luke 20:33) of, "whose wife will the women be?" He had to answer them in an unexpected way because their question was flawed. By exposing this flaw he exposes their unbelief and disobedience. It is the same with us. When we offer excuses for disobedience and unbelief, if we seek him, he will give an answer. That answer, however, will be unexpected and may not be what we want to hear. The Sadducees where caught off guard, they did not want to hear any answer at all, they wanted to silence Jesus. When we say, "I do not do _____," even though the Bible clearly calls us to, we only desire the silence of Jesus, just like the Sadducees. When we persist in sin we are pretending to ourselves that Jesus is silent.

But if we sincerely seek God for answers to our sin, questions or unbelief, he not only will answer us unexpectedly, he will change us. The answer will most likely not come quickly. We may have to seek God about the matter for a long period of time, but God does have an answer. The answer will be the unexpected and will change us. Seek the Lord in prayer, the Bible and godly counsel and he will answer. When I have sought after the Lord with problems or seemingly unanswerable questions, I have always been surprised by his amazing and unexpected answers. These answers, I have found on several occasions are life changing, and the harder the question or more difficult the problem, the more amazingly God reveals himself. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13