He is not God of the dead, but of the living
Truth Taught- Jesus teaches the truth of the resurrection to those who do not believe in the resurrection. They are left with a crisis, believe and live or don’t believe and suffer eternal judgement.
Last time we were together, we saw as the Sanhedrin began to seek to trap Jesus first with flattery, notice again what they said…
Mark 12:13–14 (ESV)
13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. 14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone’s opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”
Now, the next wave enters to try to trap Him. These are the Sadducees, another branch of Judaism that wanted Jesus gone. They are about to discover firsthand that our Lord is true, doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion, not swayed by appearances and truly teaches the way of God.
The Sadducees were in a basic way often the opposite of the Pharisees. They have been described as the aristocrats of the scribes and priests. They were marked by wealth and men of rank. While the Pharisees believed much theology from the OT, the Sadducees did not. They didn’t believe in much of the OT, nor what it taught. They were more of the liberal branch of Judaism. They also didn’t believe in the Resurrection, the Spirit, angels, or the writings of the OT except for the Torah or some call the Penteteuch. They were the ones with the diplomas and the degrees.
The issue that is brought to the forefront here today is their belief that the soul perishes with the body and that there is no afterlife, no rewards and no punishments after death.
Jesus will very quickly correct their errors.
Gracious and Glorious Father, this is Your word, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine and reproof, and instruction and correction in the way of righteousness, that the man of God might be thoroughly equipped unto every good work. So, Father we ask that You would equip us then to see Christ, to follow Christ and to serve others. Also, Father give us complete belief in all that Your Word affirms, for Your glory and our eternal good…Amen.
Mark 12:18–27 (ESV)
18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 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. 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. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor 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, 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.”
1. Jesus is Put to the Test (12:18-23)
18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 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. 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. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
Here these religious elite who think they are far superior to Jesus in their intellect, social status and in their power are about to quickly discover that all the rumors about Jesus are true…the hard way.
Their question is a hypothetical question about a woman whose husbands keep dying off. I wonder if you’ve ever noticed how, it is when those who vehemently disagree with you often present their case using hypothetical examples?
Okay, Jesus answer this…a woman is married and her husband dies…until she has gone through seven brothers.
So, they use hypotheticals and then to make things more believable, they quote the Bible.
Never be caught off guard when the hypocrite quotes Scripture. The devil has quoted Scripture.
Now, it’s important for us to see their motivation is to try and prove their wrong idea that there is no Resurrection. So, they bring out a passage of Scripture from among the Books of the Bible that they affirm, which was only the first five Books of Moses called the Pentateuch. That’s all the books they believed were from God.
If we are to understand their question, we must understand a command of God that comes from Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 25:5–10 (ESV)
5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And the name of his house shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’
In order to continue the dead brother’s line, the next brother in line would take his brother’s wife to be his wife to continue his brother’s name to the next generation. This had very good intentions. His brother’s wife would be cared for. His brother’s property and inheritance would be passed down to the son.
There is a beautiful story in the Bible with this topic as the backdrop. The Book of Ruth is built around this command. After you read the Deuteronomy passage the Book of Ruth makes way more sense. The sandal issue with Ruth and Boaz now has meaning.
In the Book of Ruth, there is the hero, Boaz who will take Ruth to be his wife. He does everything right and ends up with Ruth as his wife. He is her kinsman redeemer. He would take her as his wife because he was related to her husband that had died.
It is through the bloodline of Ruth and Boaz that Jesus is born. So, God used His command concerning this Levirate Marriage to maintain the bloodline that eventually produced Jesus, our Lord.
Here the Sadducees take this gracious provision found in the Bible and twist it and seek to trap Jesus into agreeing with them about the Resurrection.
Their attitude toward the biblical reality of the Resurrection is seen in the original.
23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”
There, Jesus take that. Heaven will be in such chaos because no one will know whose wife she will be so the resurrection cannot be true. How many wives will be running around not knowing who their true husbands are?
2. God of the Living, Not the Dead (12:24-27)
24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor 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, 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.”
Jesus addresses them with two questions…
A) You are wrong and isn’t the reason you’re wrong because you don’t know the Bible?
“Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?
These were the Bible answer men. These guys were the elite when it came to being experts on the Bible. Jesus tells them they are wrong about their thesis and belief about the resurrection because they don’t really know the Bible at all.
There is a Bible knowledge that can answer questions about the Bible but it fails to know the Bible. What I mean is there are some who can answer about bible facts but don’t actually see that the Bible is to be learned for the purpose of godliness.
I remember years ago counseling a couple who had claimed to be Christians and had been for many years. They were having some struggles in their marriage. When I began reading the Bible to them and asking them, do you practice these truths in your own marriage they both looked at me so confused. I was also a bit taken back that they had really no idea that what the Bible taught, in this case about marriage, they were to practice in their own marriage.
They could both answer the Sunday School questions but the Scriptures really meant nothing to them beyond theory. Beloved, we must make sure we are taking the Bible past theory to actual practice.
These religious elite had some answers but didn’t know the Bible. This is very shocking in the sense that they claimed this as their specialty. Bible knowledge was their bread and butter. They had many degrees hanging on the wall but did not actually know the Bible.
Jesus tells them, the reason they don’t know the answer to their own question is that they don’t know the Bible.
He also tells them; they don’t understand God’s power. Beloved read the Bible seeking answers for your own life and trust God’s universal power to accomplish anything you read. God has the power to raise the dead.
Jesus tells them…
25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
Notice here what Jesus teaches. He says, For when they rise from the dead…
I wonder if you caught that. When they rise from the dead. Not if or maybe but when. Jesus teaches the Resurrection is a reality.
Acts 23:6–8 (ESV)
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
Jesus tells these Sadducees, those who rise from the dead will be like the angels…
They also didn’t believe in angels. So, Jesus is really hitting them where it hurts.
Our Lord’s point here is that in the afterlife, you will not be married to anyone because there is no marriage in heaven. In that we will be like the angels who are not married either.
So, their question is invalid. The woman who was married to seven brothers will not be anyone’s wife because there is no marriage at all.
B) Have you not read?
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.”
Now what Jesus does here is simply amazing…again!!
Mark 11:27–30 (ESV)
27 And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, 28 and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” 29 Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 30 Was the baptism of John from heaven or from man? Answer me.”
Mark 12:9–11 (ESV)
9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture:
“ ‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
11 this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?”
Mark 12:15–17 (ESV)
15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar’s.” 17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at him.
Now they come to Him all pious and religious with their word trap. Jesus replies, have you not read the Five Books of Moses? You know the part of the Bible you say is actually God’s Word, have you not read it? What does Jesus do? He quotes from the part of the Bible they say they believe…
Exodus 3:1–6 (ESV)
3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 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.
The point being God does not say, I was the God of…He says I Am…I Am currently their God because they are not dead but alive.
This matters because this shows that there is a resurrection and that they have not perished. It also shows that God’s promises continue through these who are alive.
27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
Conclusion
Jesus uses the Word of God to prove the Resurrection of the dead. He takes these elite hypocrites to the very section of the Bible they say they believe. He shows very simply that God is the Father and God of the living not of the dead.
Jesus has side stepped another trap they have set for Him. Each time, He does so He takes their word traps and turns them back upon them and also shifts the entire topic from their trap to their souls.
The issue for these Sadducees is that whether they want to believe it or not does not change the reality that there is a resurrection of the dead. At that resurrection, they will have to give an account to God.
It’s a very odd dynamic that the human mind believes something and therefore because of that belief thinks it’s not accountable. Just because these men believed something, Jesus tells them they are wrong. The truth and reality is different than their current set of beliefs. They will face God at their own resurrection. It will do them no good to say to God, we didn’t believe the resurrection was real.
Now, what’s going to take things even further and bring more accountability to bear upon them is that they are going to kill Jesus and in four days from their confrontation with Jesus, they will see that the Resurrection is a reality. Jesus will rise from the dead. Now what will they do with that reality?
So, see this with me…Jesus has just proven to them that they are wrong and there is a resurrection. He’s proved it from the section of Scripture they affirm. They will for the most part still deny the resurrection. They will probably even see Jesus after His resurrection and still deny it. They will die and spend eternity in hell because of their stubborn belief system that has been proven wrong yet they have doubled down and are obstinate and will not submit to Jesus and the truth.
I pray we are very quick to bow the knee to Jesus. We are very quick to submit to truth and His Lordship. When our beliefs are proven wrong don’t double down and grip them tighter. Let them go and hold fast to Christ. Remember the great truth Jesus presents here. God is the God of the living and not of the dead. If you are a believer today catch this now. God is your God now because you believe. The second you die, guess what? He is still your God because your soul is still alive and well. At our own resurrection, when we receive our glorified bodies, He will still be our God. As we enter in to eternity God is still our God. You see there is not a second where we are without our heavenly Father…All glory be to God!!
LORDS SUPPER
Resources Used:
The Sadducees by Alistair Begg
Mark by William Lane
Mark by James Edwards
Words of grace
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