July 26, 2026 · Mark Bishop
Cut To the Point
“There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.” And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him any question.”
Luke 20:27-40 →
## It's a Trap
After I became a Christian in high school, I started to explore different beliefs. To my knowledge, I had never read the Bible before, but do recall hearing a few stories from it such as the nativity story we read during the Christmas season as a young boy. To further my knowledge of Scripture and belief, a friend and mentor of mine taught one class during the summer at church about knowing God. In the class, he started with an argument where he portrayed an atheist to us students and simply asked, “Prove to me God exists.” We all came up with different answers and approaches to try to stump him, but he was too quick witted and intelligent for us. He had an answer to everything and there was nothing we could say to make him stop. He became a key person in my life that pushed me to
search, defend, and always be open to opposing ideas because truth always wins. As I studied more, I began to listen to arguments and discussions before I jumped in with my own opinions. I used to love to just argue for argument sake, but it doesn’t do anything to either side. You both leave without being challenged to revisit some things, and instead leave angry and think the other side knows nothing. Most arguments are really about sidetracking you and pushing you to become defensive. When we listen to what is being said, it allows us sometimes to simply ask a question for further clarity. For example, when one says, “There is no absolute truth,” you could start to argue and fight back; however, if you listen closely to that phrase you realize, that statement is claiming to be absolute. Therefore, absolutes exist.
## It’s Not in This Hand
Magic tricks lure the audience because it creates this “how did they do that?” thought in our eyes. When we see a card trick or a lady sawed in half, we start to think about how the trick was done. If you listen to those performing, you’ll hear all about the word illusion. It’s about taking your attention off of something and creating a mystery. The Sadducees thought they had it all figured out and they were going to be the ones to stump Jesus. I tend to think this question had created debates before between them and the Pharisees, and since they still brought the question up, the Pharisees didn’t have a good answer for it. The wheels were turning and they were waiting to see how Jesus would answer, but He answered it in a unique way. While He lightly addressed the marriage relationship in the resurrection, He gets more to the point and avoids the trap altogether. The resurrection is about life. If God is alive, then why wouldn’t there be a resurrection of the dead? God is a living God.
## Self-Check
Arguments are all around us. Questions will never stop. Paul says if the resurrection is not true, then everything we are and do is in vain (1 Corinthians 15:12-49). The one thing we need to defend and hold
onto is the Resurrection of Christ. If Jesus remains dead, then we will remain in our sins. On the other hand, if Christ Jesus did rise again and the resurrection is true, we can be made alive with Him.
## King of the Promise