Mark 12:18-27
Notes
Transcript
We continue to hit on the questions that are posed to Jesus by various groups, religious leaders, pharisees, sadducees. All of whom are usually groups who oppose each other but for this reason have come together as a band of evil to oppose together God’s Word sent to us in the flesh of Jesus Christ.
Having answered the question of authority and the question of responsibility, Jesus now answers the question about eternity posed at Him by a group of sadducees who is a group we don’t hear a whole lot about from scripture, but enough to know what they’re about and enough to know that they’re speaking deceitfully and and cowardly here in this passage.
Let’s take some time to read the passage and discuss.
Read Mark 12:18-27
“18 Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring. 21 The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 None of the seven left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?” 24 Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. 26 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 Isa…”
V. 18:
V. 18:
18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying,
This is the only place in Mark where the Sadducees are mentioned. The group accepted only the Law of Moses as their religious authority. They did not believe in the existence of the soul, life after death, resurrection. Denied the existence of angels and other spirits.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
Were not the most popular group. Very liberal in really doing anything to please the Romans. But also very conservative in their theology and very closed off to anything other than what they believed. All references to them are in the writings of their enemies.
V. 19
V. 19
19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
They bring to Jesus this hypothetical question, based on the law of marriage given in Deut. 25:5-10. --->The Law provided that if a man died without a male heir, his brother was to marry his wife, have child until he has a boy so that his brothers name might be preserved and his property kept within the tribe and family.
V. 20-22
V. 20-22
20 There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
Something we must understand from their little story, is that that falsely presume that Jesus held the same materialistic doctrine os resurrection as did many Pharisees. This doctrine held that defects in the physical body and various earthly relationships would be carried over into future life.
V. 23
V. 23
23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
The Pharisaic answer may have been that the first would be the women’s husband following the resurrection.
Jesus though lifts this discussion to a higher plane like he usually did.
V. 24
V. 24
24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
The Sadducees thought they were smart, but Jesus pointed out their ignorance of two things:
Not knowing the content, and taking it as the truth.
Proper interpretation of their own Scriptures. ---> Not properly interpreting the scriptures in because of their shallow understanding of God’s power.
Calvin put it like this: “They committed the error of estimating the glory of the heavenly life according to the present state.”
Resurrection is not the restoration of life as we know it, it is entrance into a new life that is completely new and different.
The same God who created the angels and gave them their nature is able to give us new bodies that we will need for the new life in heaven.
38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.
V. 25
V. 25
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
Resurrection will be different than earthly life.
People will not marry and have children but in some sense will be like angels, either sexless or concerned only with serving and worshiping God!
Some people have feared that a future life without their spouses or earthly luxuries, will not be a happy life. ---->
Probably the best understanding is that no Christian will be deprived of any meaningful relationship with believing family members and friends. Not of grief of loss but the surpassing joy of new and equally meaningful relationships marks like in God’s family.
V. 26-27
V. 26-27
26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
In this we see the Sadducees ignorance of the scriptures. The claimed to accept the authority of Moses, but failed to notice that Moses taught the continuation of life after death.
Once again Jesus goes back to scripture. He takes the Sadducees to school.
The crux of the argument is the use of present tense in Ex. 3:6.
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been dead for centuries at the time that God spoke to Moses. yet God tells Moses That He was STILL their God at the time he spoke- thus implying that, from the perspective of the resurrection, they were still alive.
So what?
So what?
One of the reasons for a Christians assurance of future life and resurrection is the nature of a persons relationship to God.
The fact that the phrase “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” carried with it the idea of the covenant faithfulness of God emphasizes the central truth of Jesus’ words for Marks original readers. And also believers today.
GOD IS FAITHFUL. And we can rely on HIs promises.