The Truth About the Resurrection

If you have your Bible and I hope that you do, please turn with me to Mark 12. We will be learning today about our future resurrection. It’s hard to think about our lives after we die. For many of us we look forward to dying because it means a wonderful union with our Lord and reunion with loved ones in Christ that have gone into His presence before us. For others, dead is a mysterious shroud filled with fear and trepidation.

For many atheists, death is the end. The brain ceases to function and when consciousness ends, it is the end of self. Some people view life after death through the lens of memories and family and the monuments that are built. A growing number of Americans view themselves as spiritual but not religious so they believe in an ambiguous spiritual existence without any certainty of what lies ahead. Some believe in reincarnation where the soul is reborn based on their actions in this life. Others believe in the departed souls lingering on earth as ghosts.

But what actually happens? What will we be like? We’re going to examine that today and much more! Please stand with me in honor of God’s Word as we read Mark 12:18-27

Mark 12:18–27 ESV

And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “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. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor 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. 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’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Over the last month or so, we have been examining these different conflicts in the Gospel of Mark. Day after day since the Triumphal Entry, we have seen Jesus have greater and sharper conflicts with the religious leaders: namely the chief priests, scribes, and elders. Now, most of the people that have been in conflict with Jesus have been from the Pharisees and the Herodians.

Today, we’re meeting a new group called the Sadducees. The Sadducees were the materialists of the Jewish world. Josephus, the famous Jewish historian said, “But the doctrine of the Sadducees is this: That souls die with the bodies,” so they’re annihilationists and… “[they] suppose that God is not concerned in our doing or not doing what is evil; and they say, that to act what is good, or what is evil, is at men’s own choice, and that the one or the other belongs so to every one, that they may act as they please. They also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades.”

They sounds like many people in our world don’t they? The Sadducees reject life after death, morality, and a ton of other beliefs. Mark clarifies for the Roman readers that this group “say that there is no resurrection.” Luke writes this about them in Acts 23:8

Acts 23:8 ESV

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

This group was made up of the wealthy elites of the ancient world and made up the second most influential group of the Sanhedrin. The Pharisees were the conservative Calvinists of the ancient world. They focused on the sovereignty of God. The Sadducees were the antinomians and liberals. They believed that it was only the first five books of the Old Testament that were authoritative. Anything beyond the book of Deuteronomy was interesting, but not to be used in their theology.

The Pharisees accepted the whole Old Testament. Point of clarity for you guys— The Jews accepted the 39 books of the Old Testament that we have but rejected books like the book of Enoch, Tobit, Sirach, etc. Those are rejected because they don’t follow the many rules of developing canon. But the Sadducees rejected all the Old Testament except for the first five books of the Bible. It is this view of canonicity that leads to much of their heretical beliefs.

The Sadducees attempt to use an old tactic of argumentation called reductio ad absurdum, which is a method of reasoning that shows that a claim is true by demonstrating that its opposite is absurd. Basically the argument goes 1. Assume the claim is true. 2. Show that the claim leads to contradictions. 3. Conclude that the claim is false because it's untenable. Example: "There is no absolute right or wrong; morality is entirely subjective…. Okay, if morality is entirely subjective, then actions like murder or slavery cannot be condemned as truly wrong. If someone believes murder is morally acceptable, then by your logic, we cannot say they are wrong. But that conclusion is absurd—there must be objective moral truths."

The Sadducees believe that they’re right and they’re going to make Christ appear like a fool. So they start their line of argumentation and challenge the Lord in this issue of the resurrection. Let’s look at what they say in verses 19-23 again “And they asked him a question, saying, “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.” This is from Deuteronomy 25:5 and dealt with the issue of a levirate marriage.

The Sadducees continue, “There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

The question is regarding something they don’t believe in and how it will work in the afterlife. Among the Jews there was a popular belief that the righteous dead continued in their relationships that they had on earth. So they believed that men would remain sons, husbands, and fathers in the afterlife; women would be daughters, wives and mothers.

The truth is that the Sadducees misunderstood the resurrection.

The Sadducees' Misunderstood the Resurrection

And so this is the religious teaching of the day. The Pharisees had a lot right. The resurrection is where God, when He brings history to a close, will raise up the bodies of all humans from the grave and reunite them to their souls. The righteous in Christ to eternal life with God and the unrighteous apart from Christ being raised to eternal torment away from the presence of God. They got some key parts wrong though too. Theology matters guys. I know too many Christians that don’t know what they believe or why they believe it. And bad theology hurts people. It leads to at best error and at worst a departure from the truth.

Let’s look at Jesus’ response here and He gives His response in two answers: The first response is in Mark 12:24-25

Mark 12:24–25 ESV

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor 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.

He just opens up with the fact that the Sadducees are wrong. And He states two reasons why: They don’t know the Word of God and they don’t know the power of God. Ignorance of God’s Word will always lead to incorrect beliefs. These men rejected God’s Word from the books of history and prophets and as a result they were in error. When we take away from or add to His Word it will lead to error and as Christians we should be gravely concerned with error and truth.

Jesus points out that they are wrong. This is the Greek word planasthe which means to be misled, deceived, or drawn into rebellion. This is the danger of being ignorant of the Word. So Christian, read your Bible. Don’t add to the Scriptures. Don’t take away from them. If you do, you could be misled, deceived, or drawn into rebelling against the Lord.

Secondly Jesus said they are ignorant of God’s Power. Ignorance of God’s Power is to be ignorant of His Person. God is God because of Who He is! He is the God Who Created Everything! He is the God Who Parted the Red Sea. He is the Almighty! Yet, the Sadducees live and believe that God doesn’t care how we live and that our lives only matter here and now. They’re just like the false teachers that Paul warned Timothy about in 2 Timothy 3:1-5

2 Timothy 3:1–5 ESV

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

The Power of God can be known through a growing knowledge of Jesus Christ. And a growing knowledge of Jesus Christ leads away from these sinful characteristics and lead us to godliness. Godliness is understood as a God oriented way of living. It is externally focused on a Godward view of life rather than inwardly focused on ourselves. When Jesus tells these men that they don’t know the power of God, He means it. He’s already said that this is the reason you are wrong, mistaken, and deceived. They don’t even know God.

So then Jesus gives a response: “For when they rise from the dead” not if they rise— when! Jesus affirms that the resurrection is a FACT. John Owen said, “The bodies of believers shall be so glorified as to be made like unto the glorious body of Christ. They shall have a beauty, a brightness, and an immortality in them, fitting them for eternal communion with God.” The resurrection is THE HOPE of the Christian. We have so much more to look forward to once we close our eyes on this bleak earth.

Yet Jesus also clarifies where the culture gets it wrong— they neither marry nor are given in marriage” I’m sometimes asked by my wife if we will be married when we’re in heaven. The truth is clearly taught here that no, Amber and I will not be married in heaven. You and your spouse will not be either.

One of the reasons for marriage according to the Lord, aside from having a help-mate, is for the purpose of procreation. This is why Paul teaches that widows that can bear children should get remarried and manage their households because this is part of God’s good design for marriage. In heaven, we will not have marriage even though it was part of God’s good plan in creation from the beginning before the Fall it won’t be a part of His new creation in the consummation of the Kingdom.

Jesus continues with why we won’t be married in heaven. He says “but are like angels in heaven.” Okay… this is a bit mysterious isn’t it? A misunderstanding of this verse is why some people mistakenly believe that we become angels once we die. Jesus doesn’t say that we will become angels, but rather we will be like angels.

So what did Jesus mean by this? Well, I believe it means that we will share many of the characteristics of angels that negate the need for marriage. Angels are not eternal, meaning that they had a point in time where they were created but they are everlasting servants of God. Marriage is not a part of God’s eternal plan. It was made by God for two purposes: 1) Is for the purpose of procreation. Marriage exists to make lots of babies! It is good and right to do in this world. Marriage also exists for companionship. Man needed a helper and God made one perfectly suited to his needs.

I believe that this is what Jesus means that the need for procreation and companionship doesn’t exist in heaven, therefore marriage is not needed because we are like angels existing forever and our relational needs are met by God and our family of believers forever.

So if you’re breaking it down

Jesus Understands the Resurrection and Points To Our Immortality and Greater Intimacy We’ll Experience

into just a few reasons: 1) We are immortal, and 2) we experience greater intimacy that we could ever imagine in heaven. The kinship, the joy, the love is on a totally different level. In this answer Jesus answers Job’s question

Job 14:14 ESV

If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.

With God as Father and our Christian brothers and sisters in heaven, families will no longer be necessary. There is no more death, nor is there any need to worry about continuing one’s family line. This makes the afterlife a new paradigm of existence to which the problem the Sadducees have posed is irrelevant. Which makes their entire argument a logical fallacy called a straw man. People do not marry in the afterlife, and the issue of whose spouse the woman is becomes unimportant.

But because the resurrection from the dead is an extremely important issue to Christ He continues teaching. Look at what Jesus says in Mark 12:26-27

Mark 12:26–27 ESV

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’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”

Jesus points the Sadducees to the Torah, the Exodus account, specifically the burning bush since books of the Bible didn’t have chapters and verses at this point they referenced themes instead and Jesus points the Sadducees to the fact the God Himself in the book that they do proclaim to believe that God said, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Origen, the early church father, pointed out in the second century pointed out: That it would be ridiculous for God to say that he is the God of men who have no existence. Therefore, because God says, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” they must be living, and thus the resurrection is a reality. Or put another way: if Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are nothing more than dust, God cannot now, at this moment, be their God.

The third point, if you’re taking notes write this down

Jesus teaches that believers do have a glorious resurrection to look forward to.

I turned to this brief book by Rob Philips and it’s available to you in the church library, it’s called “What Everyone Should Know About the Afterlife”. In the first chapter he outlines several interesting points and I want to share a couple with you, because I think they’ll be good in light of today’s passage:

Death is not the end of life. Job says that he will see God, Samuel appears to Saul after his death, and Moses and Elijah appear with Christ after their deaths.

There is consciousness beyond the grave. The story of the rich man and Lazarus shows that they both have knowledge of who they were on earth. They can communicate, have senses, and memories.

We maintain our identities. Abraham is Abraham. Isaac is Isaac. Jacob is Jacob. Saul even recognized Samuel. When God said he was “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,” he was saying he was the God of their whole person—body and soul. The whole person will be resurrected. Our bodies, to use Paul’s word, will be raised “imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42). Eternal life will be experienced by the whole person. You, not just your soul, will be resurrected!

We don’t know everything about the afterlife. There’s a mountain of mystery around the throne of glory and what awaits believers. But it’ll be better than we could ever imagine.

The truth we can take from this passage is that death is not the end, only a beginning. The question is, the beginning of what? Only one’s response to Jesus determines the answer to that question. Childless levirate wives of seven husbands shouldn’t worry which man is their husband. We should be concerned with whether we are children of God.

The Sadducees truly did not know Scripture or the power of God. But what about us? Do we know the reality and relationship which the patriarchs experienced? If so, we expect resurrection! Knowing Christ, having an exchange of soul with him, is a powerful personal argument for the life hereafter, and eventually resurrection. Something so real, so dynamic, so pervasive, so right, so energizing, so holy cannot end! Resurrection is the signature of my soul.

And an everlasting future is a long time. Forever never ends. It’s really hard to think about… forever. I’ve been waiting on a new Elder Scrolls game since Skyrim released in 2011. It’s been 14 years. It feels like forever but it’s not! Think of eternity this way… If we were to empty the Pacific Ocean of all its water and we were to take that hole and fill it with sand as tall as Mount Everest and then if we had a sparrow come a pick up a grain of that sand every 100 billion years… how long would it take to empty Pacific Ocean of all that sand? We don’t have a number for that. Whatever that number is, when the bird finishes that last grain of sand, you will have been in the presence of God in heaven for your first second.

For you and I this should help you and I to consider the losses that we suffer on this side of eternity. We’ve all lost family, friends, and loved one over the years. To those that pass into eternity carrying with them the hope of salvation by faith alone in Jesus we know that we will see them again and it will truly be a blessed reunion where we will be filled with such a joy. My hope is that you would consider these words from Christ as well that you would know the Scriptures and the power of God.

This whole thing is a clash of authority and Jesus is proclaiming truth to a culture that got it wrong and He says it clearly twice in this passage that these men are wrong. Dead wrong. Especially in light of the resurrection. The Scriptures teach it and the power of God to raise believers to a new kind of resurrection. Let me digress a little bit because there are some Christians that believe that if someone is cremated then they can’t be raised because there is no body. Do you not know the power of God? The God that made Adam from dust can surely make man from ashes! God doesn’t need lifeless bones to make life, He can make the stones cry out to Him!

But you know Jesus in one way is pointing to His own ministry as well. The Word of God declared that He was coming. It pointed to Him in His Person and the Power that He would display. For three and a half years, Jesus had taught about the Kingdom of God as having come to the earth. Jesus had taught that the promised Savior had come and if the Sadducees believed the prophets they would believe in Christ. To know Scripture truly is to have hearts ready to receive God’s Kingdom and its King. Jesus proved the power of God in His ministry when He performed dozens of miracles of various types proving His authority over creation and life itself!

Remember, shortly before the Triumphal Entry, just a few days ago, Jesus had just raised Lazarus from the dead! But hard heartedness didn’t just exist in the first century, it exists right now. The message of the cross may seem like foolishness to people that have never experienced the power of God in transforming their lives.

1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The message is still foolishness to modern Sadducees because they haven’t received the life giving message of the Kingdom of God.

The beautiful hope that Christians have is the resurrected life. Its a new and glorious life that is better than what we could ever imagine! Louis Berkhof said,“It will be the same body, but changed, so that all the imperfections and frailties of sin will be removed. It will be immortal, incorruptible, and adapted to the conditions of heaven. It will be a body in which the spirit reigns supreme.”

Paul said 1 Corinthians 2:9

1 Corinthians 2:9 ESV

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—

We have a great hope based on faith in Christ that as He rose again from the dead, He will be sure to raise us up with Him and this gives us strength to keep going. To fight the good fight of faith and to continue to work in the Kingdom for God’s glory. C.S. Lewis said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” That world—the eternal Kingdom of God—is coming. Let us live today in the hope of the resurrection, knowing that Romans 8:38-39

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I want to conclude our time together by reading Paul’s teaching on the resurrection. It’s found in 1 Corinthians 15:35-54

1 Corinthians 15:35–54 ESV

But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Head: God wants you to know that believers in Jesus Christ will be raised to eternal life with Him. This is a joyful and eternal state of pleasure in the presence of God.

Heart: God wants you to believe that death is not the end. Rather it is a new beginning for everlasting life in God’s presence.

Hand: God wants you to live with the resurrection in mind. Life doesn’t end when your body fails. It continues. I sincerely hope that you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ and if you want to know how you can have one, please come up and talk to me after service and I would love to speak with you about how you can have everlasting life.