The Greatest – Reflections on Muhammad Ali and My Dad

I’ve been thinking about my dad lately. Maybe because Father’s Day is coming up, but to tell the truth he is never far from my thoughts. And at the same time the death of Muhammad Ali has been all over the news.

Both men were boxers. Everybody knows Ali was an incredible athlete, Olympic gold medal winner, three-time heavyweight champ.  But of course his influence transcended boxing. He seemed larger than life.

My dad fought Golden Gloves as a young man. I don’t know how many boxing matches he won because, like many men of his generation, he was reluctant to place himself in the spotlight. But as a little kid I prevailed upon him to give me details of some of his exploits.

Another Divine Smackdown

Like the other enemies of Christ, the Sadducees also tried to match wits with Christ. They thought they could trap Him and publicly discredit Him.

For them, the resurrection of the dead was absurd. So they tried to trick Jesus into proving their point.

They spun a scenario about seven brothers. The first brother died, and his widow married the next brother. He also died, the widow married the next brother, he died, the next brother married the widow...well, you see the pattern.  Anyhow, they laid out their verbal trap: "In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife" (Mark 12:23 ESV).

Jesus' enemies were probably mentally high-fiving one another for their brilliance. Not only would they demonstrate how ridiculous the resurrection is, but they'd put one over on Jesus. Yeah!

But Jesus out maneuvers them effortlessly. "Here's why you're wrong," He said. Rather than answer their question (and buy into their silly scenario), He swept all their artifice away. Their problem, He said, is they knew neither the Scriptures nor the power of God Himself (v. 24). And with a final smack-down, Jesus quotes the Scripture: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (v. 26, from Exodus 3:1-4). His point: "resurrection" flows from the very nature of the Almighty--the God of life! (v. 27)

I admire Jesus' intelligence and moral insight. He is the most brilliant, and purest, One who has ever lived.

Boxing with Christ

I admire the way Jesus so easily overcame the verbal attacks of His enemies. None of them was ever a match for Him. He was always just too smart, too strong, too pure, and too wise.

Like the time the Pharisees and the Herodians conspired to ensnare Him in His public statements (Mark 12:13). They started with flattery: "Teacher, we know you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion...but truly teach the way of God" (v. 14).

Then they set the their trap: "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" If Jesus said, "Yes, pay taxes," the Jews, who hated Rome, would think He was compromising. But if He said, "No, don't pay taxes," it would sound like insurrection to the Romans.

Many a clever politician has been brought down by this very strategy. Get a person to take an untenable position, or to say something he doesn't really mean, or that seems to contradict earlier statements--trip him up and you've got him.

But Jesus saw this coming a mile away. He brushed aside their fake respect and stated plainly that He knew what they were trying to do: Why put me to the test? (v. 15a).

Then holding up a coin, He said, Whose likeness and inscription is this? (v. 16) They had to admit, "Caesar's." Effortlessly turning the tables, He revealed His spiritual mastery and exposed their corruption with a single command: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. (v. 17).

Wow.  As someone famously observed, "Your arms are too short to box with God."