Mark Vol. 3 - Week 4 (12:18-27)
Mark 12:18-27
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The Certainty Of Resurrection
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Mark 12:18-27 〰️ The Certainty Of Resurrection 〰️
"You are badly mistaken" (v27b) is not something anyone would want to be told, especially in front of a crowd of people, and least by Jesus. But that is His response to the Sadducees here in Mark 12. This week's passage is the second in a string of consecutive interactions between Jesus and the religious leaders. In these short exchanges, the religious leaders challenge Jesus on His authority, interpretations of Scripture, and the application of the Law.
The Sadducees were a small group of upper-class Jewish intellectuals who had influence despite their differences from the more prominent religious leaders of the time. The Sadducees rejected "the truths of the resurrection, future judgment, and the existence of angels and spirits," accepting only the Books of Moses (Pentateuch) as authoritative Scripture.¹
So when they asked Jesus the question in this passage, they tried to trip Him up. They didn't even believe in a future resurrection of God's people (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:34) and sought to ridicule this belief. They wanted, again, a narrowed answer regarding the Law and its application, but Jesus responded by examining their foolishness. The Sadducees concocted this comical hypothetical scenario where a woman's husband dies before they can have a child, and so she, according to the levarite law, marries his brother. He dies as well before they have a child. Seven times in total, this happens, and so the Sadducees as Jesus: "In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?" (v23). Again, the religious leaders think they've pitted Jesus against the Word of God.
If God's people are to be resurrected, then in a case like this, to whom would this woman be married? Surely, this couldn't be true because God would have messed up royally! But Jesus responds with an answer that provides clarity and silences their mocking.
"Isn't this the reason why you're mistaken: you don't know the Scriptures or the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven." (v24-25)
Christ tells us that there will be no marriage in heaven and no one will be given in marriage, that is, an arranged marriage.
The world in which we live is broken and marred by death and decay. Marriage is necessary and suitable for this world as a safe container for procreation, fulfilling the creation mandate given by the Lord (Gen. 1:28-30). Jesus also describes the resurrection as being "like angels in heaven," twisting the knife in their argument. Lastly, He addresses the core doubt in their minds and hearts: that God cannot or will not raise the dead.
"And as for the dead being raised—haven't you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?, He is not the God of the dead but of the living" (v26-27a).
The Lord of Israel is God of all things, and death is not outside of His control and power. As the religious leaders approach Jesus with what they think to be the final nail in the coffin, He again responds with wisdom and clarity. Although there is no marriage between man and woman in heaven, there will be a glorious union between God and His people, and that is the marriage we have to look forward to in anticipation. Christ-centered marriages here on earth can serve as a reflection of this coming union with God.
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from the passage?
Does anything in this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Do you have any questions?
What did the Sadducees ask Jesus about in this passage?
How were they trying to trip Him up and what were they really asking?
How did Jesus respond to their questioning? How does His answer impact us?
Why do you think so many people believe in life after death? How could that serve as an opportunity to share the Gospel?
1. John D. Grassmick, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 162.