“Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” (Mark 12:24 NIV)
The one person you can never underestimate is Jesus. He says it right here. He’s responding to the Sadducees. The dictionary defines Sadducees as: a member of a Jewish sect or party of the time of Jesus Christ that denied the resurrection of the dead, the existence of spirits, and the obligation of oral tradition, emphasizing acceptance of the written Law alone. They are another set of religious leaders Jesus had to deal with during His ministry. They were questioning Him about one of the laws on marriage. They’re question: If a woman had been married 7 times because her husbands had died, whose wife would she be at the resurrection? (Matthew 12:18-23 NIV) Jesus responds with today’s verse. The religious leaders learned quickly, don’t underestimate the Scriptures or Jesus.
We are no different from the Sadducees. We underestimate Jesus because we don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God. We all share this mistake because we are all human. We don’t have the capability this side of heaven to understand the full extent of God’s power. Even when we do see miracles happen in our own lives, we forget them too quickly. When we have problems arise, we try to fix them ourselves instead of turning to God. We may know the Scriptures well, but we don’t always apply them to our lives. Jesus, the Master that He is, knows this about us and loves us anyway. The one person you can never underestimate is Jesus.
The one person you can never underestimate is Jesus.
The Israelites underestimated God when they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years (Joshua 5:6). David underestimated God when he saw Bathsheba on the roof (2 Samuel 11 NIV). We underestimate God when we put ourselves before Him. The Israelites had witnessed God do countless miracles to lead them out of Egypt, yet they didn’t trust Him for their well being. David already had a wife, yet when he saw Bathsheba, he wanted her too. Instead of obeying God, he found a way to get what he wanted. When we take matters into our own hands, instead of trusting what God’s word says, we’re underestimating God.
The only way to not underestimate Jesus is to let Him do the leading. We have to wait on His timing, His answers, His provision. His ways are not our ways, His thoughts, not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV). Because we don’t naturally act or think like God, we underestimate Him. No one thought the Savior of the World would be born in a manger, but He was. We can’t underestimate Jesus when we follow Him. When we let Jesus do the driving, He’ll take us places we never thought we would go. But first, we have to stop underestimating Him.
Question of the Day:
What area of your life are you underestimating Jesus today?
Further Reading: Numbers 4:1-5:31NIV, Mark 12:18-37NIV, Psalm 48:1-14 NIV, Proverbs 10:26 NIV
