In major cities the past few years tourists and shoppers have been the victims of “the knockout game.”  A street thug will approach an unsuspecting victim, usually from behind, and simply knock the victim to the ground with a sucker punch.   The victim does not see it coming and usually ends up unconscious or otherwise seriously injured.  The Sadducees tried to play “the knockout game” with Jesus by approaching him in a crowd and asking seemingly difficult, out of the blue, blind-siding questions, not unlike the intellectuals of our day do with Christian students. 

The wild West was “wild” in the truest sense of the word. As untamed and unpredictable as a wild bronco, a man could get lost for good in its vast arid prairies and harsh mountain terrain. Many did. But the West was also a place where wanderers could find a home. He could hire on with one of the great ranches that had staked their claim out there and then he could ride for the brand.

"We keep track of our days by the numbers.  An eight-hour workday or a 60-minute football game--seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months mark our work and our play.   Fathers count fingers and toes upon the birth of their children.  Dieters count calories. We even learn to paint by the numbers.