Mark 12:18-27

MK 12:18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?" 24 Jesus replied, "Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising - have you not read in the book of Moses, in the account of the bush, how God said to him, `I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!"

The Sadducees were a small but influential wealthy, urban class that were based in Jerusalem. They claimed to adhere only to the Scriptures, unlike the Pharisees who considered their oral tradition to be very important. The Sadducees didn't believe in the resurrection, the Pharisees did - this is why they were sad you see ( Sadducee, get it? ) ! Although they addressed Jesus with the respectful term "Teacher" (v. 19), their purpose was not to learn from him. It was clearly hostile.

The Mosaic Law (Deut 25:5-6) required that if a man died without children, his brother had to marry his widow. The purpose of the law was to protect the widow and guarantee the continuance of the family line. With this law in mind, the Sadducees presented a hypothetical case in which one woman married seven brothers in turn, all of whom died childless (vv. 20-22). In the Resurrection whose wife of the seven would she be (v. 23)? The case is so ludicrous it may have been a well-known Sadducean joke used for poking fun at the Pharisees' doctrine of the Resurrection .

In his answer, verse 24ff, Jesus accuses the Sadducees of ignorance of the Scriptures and the power of God (v. 24). He then answered their question making two points.

Firstly, in the Resurrection there will be a new order of existence brought about by the power of God (v. 25). They did not see that not only could God give people resurrection life, that life would be radically different from this life. Marriage will not exist as it does now, but all life will be like that of the angels. This probably means that the basic characteristics of resurrection life will be service for and fellowship with God. Also, since in heaven there will be no more death, the need for marriage and the propagation of the race will not exist. The closeness of relationship enjoyed within a marriage will now be available to and from everyone in heaven. This will include receiving the love of God in a way that we only taste a fraction of in this life.

Secondly, Jesus turns to his first-mentioned cause of the Sadducees' erroneous thinking: ignorance of the teaching of the OT, verses 26-27;. He directed them back to the story of Moses and the burning bush (v. 26; Exod 3:6). His use of a text from the Pentateuch was significant because this part of the OT was considered particularly authoritative by the Sadducees.

The quotation may be understood as follows: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had long since died when God made the statement to Moses. Nevertheless God said, I am, not I was, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still alive with God in Moses' time (v. 27); and if they were alive then, we may be sure that in the Resurrection God will raise up their bodies to share in the blessedness of eternal life.

One translation, called 'The Message' brings this out.
Mark 12:26  And regarding the dead, whether or not they are raised, don't you ever read the Bible? How God at the bush said to Moses, 'I am, not was, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? 27  The living God is God of the living, not the dead. You're way, way off base."

What can we take from this passage today?
We have a powerful God who will resurrect people. Those who have faith in Him will be in His presence for eternity.
The resurrection life will be very different from our earthly life. Our resurrection bodies will be spiritual, not subject to the limitations of our physical bodies