Mark 12:28-34


Mark 12:28-34

(A Bible Study Led by Dr. Larry Reynolds)

January 31, 2013

 

One of my all-time favorite stories is about Bobby Bowden, the legendary football coach of Florida State University…Bowden and his wife, Ann, have six children...one day the entire family was sitting together in their church to hear a visiting preacher speak about the family...this preacher looked at the Bowden family all sitting together on a pew near the front of the church and said to Bobby, “Sir, I see you have six children.  Let me ask you a question. If I put a 40 foot I-beam here in front of the church and it was only one foot off the floor, would you get up on it and walk across for $20?...and Coach Bowden said, “Sure.”...then preacher said, “Let me ask you another question.  If I took that same I-beam and place it between two skyscrapers 50 stories in the air, then would you walk across it for $20?”...and Coach Bowden responded, “No way!”...and then preacher said, “Well, let me ask you a third question.  If I put that I-beam 50 stories in the air and on the other side I was holding one of your six children over the edge of the building and I said if you walked across the I-beam I would not drop the child, would you walk across it then?”...and Bowden thought for a moment then said, “Let me ask you a question. Which child are you holding?”

 

I thought of that story this week as I began to study the passage at which we are going to look tonight in our journey through Mark’s Gospel.  Even though Bowden certainly didn’t mean it that way, the implication of his answer was that some of his children were more important to him than others.  In that passage on which we are focusing tonight, someone put to Jesus a question that implied some of God’s laws are more important than others.

 

Tonight we are going to look at the last in a series of four questions put to Jesus by the religious leaders in Jerusalem.  These questions were asked of Him on Tuesday of the week of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.  That was the day after Jesus had gone through the Court of Gentiles in the Temple over-turning the tables of the money changers and sellers of sacrificial animals.  I shared with you several weeks ago that Warren Wiersbe in his commentary on Mark classifies this series of questions this way:

·         A question of authority (11:27-12:12) – They wanted to know why Jesus thought He had the authority to do the things He was doing and say the things He was saying.

·         A question of responsibility (12:13-17) – This question had to do with the issue of Jews paying taxes to the Romans.

·         A question of eternity (12:18-27) – This question had to do with the resurrection from the dead.

·         A question of priority (12:28-34) – This question had to do with which was the greatest commandment.  This is the question on which we will focus in this session.

Then, toward the end of chapter 12, Jesus turn the tables on the religious leaders asked a question about them (12:35-37).

           

Mark 12:28-34

 

Verse 28a introduces the questioner and what caused the question to be asked.

 

"one of the scribes" - Scribes were people with special training in the religious law of Judaism.  They were the ones to which the people looked to interpret the law and to apply it to everyday life. They were the legal experts.  The word Mark uses to describe this man is grammateus.  Matthew uses a different word that means lawyer.  This was a man who dissected the language of the law.

 

      Mark portrays this man in a much better light than he portrayed—

--the delegation from the Sanhedrin who asked the question about authority

  --or the Pharisees and Herodians who asked the tax question

    --or the Sadducees who asked the resurrection question 

Those people were clearly manipulative and deceptive, obviously trying to trap Jesus.  But, at least on the surface in Mark's account, this scribe seems more honest, sincerely desiring information. 

 

However, in reality, the question the scribe asked was also a trick question.  One of the favorite past-times of scribes was sitting around debating which law was greatest or most important.  Not any of the great legal minds of Israel had been able to come up with an acceptable answer.  And I suspect this scribe did not believe Jesus would be able to answer either.

 

“heard them arguing” – Refers to the preceding paragraph where Jesus and the Sadducees were discussing the resurrection from the dead.

“recognizing” – The Mark uses (eidon) carries the idea of paying careful attention.  He did not merely casually overhear what was being said.  He carefully followed every word.

“answered them well” – He liked what Jesus said because he was a Pharisee and would have vehemently disagreed with the Sadducees on just about every religious issue.

Verse 28b contains the question.  “What commandment is the foremost of all?”  The word translated “foremost” is protos from which our word protocol comes.  In effect, he was asking, “If you had to pick one commandment over all others, which comes first?  Which is most important?  Which takes precedent over all the others?”

 

Verses 29-31 contain Jesus’ response to the question.  The way the text reads, it appears that Jesus responded immediately.  He needed no time to think or ponder the question.  The answer was obvious to Him.  And in response to this question about which of the commandments was "foremost of all" or greatest, Jesus laid down a basic principle about the life to which God calls us.  And that principle was a direct challenge to the thinking of the scribe.  In effect what Jesus said is, “You need to understand that God does not call you to a life rules and regulations.  He calls you to a life of relationship – relationship with Him and relationship with people.  .

 

1.   The scribes, for the most part, belonged to the party of the Pharisees...they were really into laws, rules, and regulations... these religious lawyers had gone through the OT law--known as the Torah or the first five books of our OT--with a fine tooth comb...found in those books 613 specific laws to be obeyed...365 were negative in nature and 248 were positive in nature...and on those 613 laws had built an incredibly complex system of rules and regulations knows as the oral tradition...was full-time occupation just keep up with and attempt live by their myriad of rules...

2.   In responding the scribes' question about which of the 613 laws was the greatest, Jesus did not give the scribe any new information ...as matter of fact, pointed him to the part of the law with which he would have been most familiar...the statement in vv.29-30 about loving God with "all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" is taken from Deut.6:4-5...Jewish people in first century and today refer to this part of Scripture as the "shema"..."shema" is Hebrew word for "hear" which appears in the phrase "Hear, O Israel" at beginning of this statement...

·         This was the opening sentence spoken in every synagogue worship service...

·         It was repeated by pious Jews at beginning and ending of each day...

·         It was worn by devout Jews in a tiny leather box called a phylactery on their foreheads or wrists...

·         It was hung on their doors of their homes in a small round box called a mezuzah...

Jesus could not have picked a part of the law with which the scribe was more familiar...

3.   The second part of Jesus answer, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" taken from Leviticus 19:18 was also very familiar to the scribe...as matter of fact, Hillel, one of the great Jewish rabbi's studied by every student of the law, once said, "What you yourself hate, do not do to your neighbor; this is the whole Law -- the rest is commentary."

4.   Now, you might be wondering if all Jesus did was quote back to this scribe two OT passages with which he was already familiar, what is the significance of His answer?...what is so brilliant about that?...the significance is this is first time any teacher had linked these two teachings together...and doing that was brilliant because taken together they summarize the 10 commandments which is the foundation of all the law...

·         The statement about loving God summarizes commandments 1-4 which deal with our relationship with  God...(no other gods, no graven images, not take name in vain, remember Sabbath)

·         The statement about loving neighbor summarizes commandments 5-10 which deal with our relationship with people…(honor father/mother, not murder, not commit adultery, not steal, not bear false witness, not covet)

5.   And by putting these two passages together Jesus was making significant statement...saying love for God and love for people are inseparably tied together...if don't love God, can't really love others...and if don't love others, sure sign don't love God...

 

1.   Typical scribe in first century world would never have agreed with that...to the scribes, it wasn't relationships that were important...it was laws, rules, and regulations...in their thinking, those always came before people...Jesus was just the opposite ...He always placed people before laws...

·         In Mark 2 when Jesus was criticized by the religious legalists because his disciples did not keep their laws about the Sabbath, Jesus swept aside their laws by saying, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

·         In John 8 when came bringing woman caught in act of adultery quoting law said should be stoned, Jesus disarmed them by saying, "Let the one among you without sin cast the first stone."

·         In Luke 10 told incredible story in which Jewish priest and priest's helper portrayed as villains because passed by an injured man and left him by side of road to die in their haste to get to temple to obey religious laws...

2.   The primary thrust of Jesus's teaching in this passage and elsewhere is quite clear...can't read gospels without seeing God is much more concerned about how we treat people...about our relationships...than He is about which laws and rules we obey...the New Testament knows nothing of religion that expounds principles but tramples on people...as followers of Jesus we are called to:

                        --love our neighbors...

                          --forgive those who have sinned against us...

                            --bear one another's burdens...

                              --care for those with special needs...

                                --share life changing news of the gospel...

And none of those things can be done in isolation from people.  Genuine Christianity must be lived out within context of human relationships, not in the realm of legalistically keeping laws, rules, and regulation.

3.   In book Before I Wake Paul Carlson tells interesting story about Lenin the Russian revolutionary...his wife had been keeping a around the clock vigil over her dying mother...finally, in exhaustion she begged Lenin to watch her mother for one night so she could get some rest...she went to sleep with Lenin writing at his desk... when she awakened the next morning he was still writing and her mother was dead...Lenin's wife angrily criticized him for his inattention and he responded, "You told me to awaken you if your mother needed you.  She died.  She didn't need you."...and Carlson points out Lenin was so wrapped up in the Bolshevik revolution he had lost his capacity for human compassion...

4.   That's a tragedy...and it's an even greater tragedy when it happens in the name of religion...and that is exactly what happens whenever we allow religious laws, rules, and regulations to become more important to us than people...Jesus indeed said it well...the essence of true religion is loving God and loving others...

 

Verses 32-34a indicate, that to his credit, this scribe recognized the truth of Jesus’ answer.  “You are not far from the kingdom of God” (v.34) could have a double meaning.  If he would but open his eyes, he would see that in Jesus the kingdom of God (the reign of God in the hearts of people) was at hand.  And the indication is that he was very near to understanding that.

 

Verse 34b marks a turning point in this chapter.  The religious authorities had asked their questions, and now it was Jesus’ turn to ask a question of them.

CrossPointe Colossians Study - Session 3


Colossians Study – Session 3

CrossPointe Community Church – Denton, TX

January 27, 2013 - Larry Reynolds, Teacher

 

3.  Prayer of petition (9-14) - The portion of Colossians on which we are going to focus in this session is brief, only about 135 words in the NASB.   But the number of ideas crammed into those few words is remarkable.  This passage touches on a wide range of subjects including praying effectively, living a life pleasing to God, being productive as a Christian, growing in spiritual maturity, being consistent and patient in our Christian walk, being thankful and many more.  In this paragraph, which is in the form of a prayer of petition, Paul asks two things on behalf of his readers:

          “…that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…” (v.9b)…that they may know God’s will…

 

          “…that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord…” (10a)… that they may do God’s will…

 

The first part of verse 9 sets the stage for the prayer to follow.

 

“…for this reason…” – Either a reference to the entire previous paragraph where Paul expressed thanks to for their spiritual welfare, for the progress of the gospel, for the work of Epaphras or the last part of v.8 where Paul says Epaphras informed him of the love the Colossians had for him…

 

“…since the day we heard of it…”  - Refers to day Epaphras reported to him about the situation in Colossae…

 

          “…we have not ceased to pray for you…”  - Reminiscent of statements like Ephesians 6:18 says we are to “...pray at all times in the spirit...” or I Thessalonians 5:17says we are to “...pray without ceasing...”of course, doesn’t mean we spend every waking moment with heads bowed and eyes closed in prayer...means we are to live in such close fellowship with God that we just naturally bring before him people who cross our minds or  situations with which we come in contact...as one writer put it, “Through the day [Paul] would think of the Colossians; how they were doing and what was threatening them, and he would breathe a prayer for them.  This is what he means by ‘we have not ceased to pray for you.’  We can pray for each other in that same wonderful way.” [Ray Stedman, “Growing Up,” sermon on Colossians 1:9-14]

 

1)    That they may know God’s will (9b) – “…that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding…” 

 

     That request would have had special meaning to the Colossians because Paul deliberately uses a concept often used by the false teachers who had infected that church...the heresy infecting the Colossian church was an early form of a philosophical system known as gnosticism...the word gnostic comes from the Greek word “gnosis” which means knowledge...the gnostics claimed to have a secret knowledge about the universe...and only those people who were let in on their secrets, who were filled with their knowledge, could live full or complete lives...

 

     And in this prayer Paul says to the Colossians that there is a knowledge with which you should be concerned...but it’s not the secret knowledge claimed by the gnostics...it is knowledge of God and His will for your lives...and to drive his point home Paul uses a word for “knowledge” in v.9 which trumps the word commonly used by the gnostics...they used “gnosis” which just means knowledge, but Paul prayed that the Colossians would have “epignosis” which carries the idea of deep or thorough knowledge... And if you’ll look carefully at the text you will see that this kind of knowledge is characterized by two things— wisdom and understanding...

·        wisdom (sophia) means to grasp truth, to understand truth...

·        understanding (sunesis) means to be able to apply truth to life...

 

     What is the word in that for us?...we live in world exploding with information but starving for knowledge...to get information all have do is turn on computer, enter a word or phrase into a search engine, and you will be overwhelmed with more information than can possibly use...we don’t really need more information, we desperately need more of the kind of knowledge about which Paul is talking in this passage — knowledge of the will of God...that is a knowledge found only in God’s Word…

 

 

2)  That they may do God’s will (10a)“…so that you my walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects…”

 

     For Christians knowledge is never an end in itself...we are not encouraged to grow in our knowledge of God’s will merely to satisfy our intellectual curiosity...we are to grow in knowledge so that we will live right...right knowledge must always lead to right conduct...The Christian life is not a life of merely gaining and sorting information about God or about the Bible...it is not a life of barren orthodoxy...it is a life of growing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ...

 

     In the Scripture, the word “walk” is often used to describe a person’s pattern of conduct or habit of life...Paul saying, “I pray that you will live in such a way that your life would reflect well on the Lord you serve and that your life would be pleasing to Him.”...following that statement in first part of v.10 Paul uses four participles, each followed by a prepositional phrase, to describe a life which is worthy of the Lord and pleasing to God...such a life is a life of—

·        bearing fruit in every good work...(10b)

·        increasing in the knowledge of God...(10c)

·        being strengthened with all power...(11)

·        giving thanks to the Father...(12-14)

 

 

To please God or to do God’s will be must BEAR FRUIT (10b) – “…bearing fruit in every good work…”

 

     Want begin by focus first on last part of that statement...the “every good work” part...since the inception of the church there has been much misunderstanding among Christians about the appropriate role of good works in the lives of followers of Christ...two extremes have surfaced time and time again in Christian thought...

·        On the one hand, there have always been those who have insisted good works are necessary for salvation...they believe that for us to be accepted by God and to be welcomed into heaven, we must somehow earn that by doing enough good works to outweigh our sins...people who believe good works are necessary for salvation ignore such biblical statements as  Ephesians 2:8-9 - “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.”

·        On the other hand (and the other extreme) there have always been those who have insisted that good works have no role/ place in the life of a Christian...they say that since we are saved by grace and since salvation is God’s doing, not ours, there is no need for us to be concerned with good works...those who take that position ignore the rest of that statement in Ephesians 2...for after saying we are saved by grace not by works, the very next verse says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

 

     Point of all that is that while we are not saved by good works, we are saved for good works...as NT teacher in seminary, Dr. Curtis Vaughan, was fond of saying, “Works are not the root of salvation; they are the fruit of salvation.”

 

     Now focus on the phrase “bearing fruit” part...the word “fruit” is used at least four ways in the NT...

·        Sense of fruit of personal righteousness or goodness...the list of personal virtues in Galatians 5 described as “the fruit of the spirit” is a good example of that...

·        Describe new converts to Christianity...Paul described the conversion of the household of Stephanas as the “first fruits of Achaia” [I Cor.16:15]

·        Sense of service and ministry to others such as when Paul spoke of doing “fruitful labor” in Philippians 1:22...

·        Sense of praise and worship...Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”

 

     That kind of activity should be  the norm, the pattern, the continual habit of a Christian...the verb form of the phrase “bearing fruit” is in the present tense...that denotes not a one time action or occasional action...it denotes continuous, habitual action...

 

To please God or to do God’s will be must INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE  (10C) – “…increasing in the knowledge of God…”

 

“knowledge of God” – Significant how that is worded…not about but of… growing spiritually is not merely gaining more information about God...growing spiritually is becoming more intimate with God...and this simple phrase in Colossians 1:11 tells us two very significant things about spiritual growth in the life of a Christian...

·        The verb tense of “increasing” is also the present tense, describing a continuous, on-going activity... something you start at a particular point in time and never stop...in our spiritual pilgrimage there never comes a time when we should feel that we have arrived...that we can stop “increasing in the knowledge of God”...

·        The verb “increasing” in the active voice...that means the subject, which in this case is us, is doing the acting, not being acted upon...in other words we are responsible for the “increasing in the knowledge of God” in our lives...it is not something someone else can do for us...we must do it ourselves... far too many Christians find it easy to blame their lack of spiritual progress on someone else

 

 

To please God or to do God’s will be must BE STRENGTHENED WITH ALL POWER (11) – “strengthened with power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience…”

 

     Like the other verb forms in this list of things characterizing a life pleasing to God --”bearing fruit...increasing in knowledge of God...giving thanks to God...” strengthened is in the present tense...that is, it denotes a continuing activity...God is continually giving us strength...however, unlike the other verb forms in this list, “strengthened” is not in the active voice...it is passive...means that it is not something we do, it is something which is being done to us...we don’t make ourselves strong...God gives us strength...

 

     The word translated “strengthen” is same word Paul used in Philippians 4:13 when he said, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”...this is a principle which appears time and time again in Scripture...

·        Moses said in Exodus 15:2, “The Lord is my strength and song...”

·        David said in Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield...” and in Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength...”

·        Isaiah said in Isaiah 40:29, “[God] gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power...”

 

     The strength God gives us, He gives for a purpose...and that purpose is to help us stand and even excel in times of adversity...in last part of v.11 Paul uses two very special words...one word the NASB translates “steadfastness” and the other word is translated “patience”...both of those words have to do with handling adversity...

·        ”steadfastness” (hupomone) is translated patience in some Bibles...however, “steadfastness” or “endurance” is a much better translation...compound word…hupo – in or under… meno – abide, remain, or stay…so literally the word means “to say under” …it carries the idea of having the ability to hang in there in difficult times...it is just the opposite of cutting and running at the first sign of trouble...Winston Churchill once made this positive statement about one of his generals...”The impression I [have of him is] an iron peg hammered into the frozen ground--immovable.” [Harbour, Colossians notes] ...and if we don’t allow God to develop in us this quality of endurance, perseverance, it is not likely we will accomplish much of anything else...

·        ”patience” (makrothumia) is one of the great words of the Bible...it is sometimes translated “long-suffering” and that is excellent rendering of the word...compound word...first part means “long” and second part means “passion” or “temper” ...means have long fuse as opposed to short fuse...while “hupomone” carries idea of being patient in difficult situations ...”makrothumia” carries idea of being patient with difficult people...it is the kind of spirit which refuses to retaliate, to strike back, to take revenge on those who do us wrong...

 

     All this is to be done “joyously” or literally “with joy” (meta charis)… the life of “steadfastness” and “patience” is not a grim endurance contest or struggle with situations and people…it is a joyful experience… the word carries the idea of having joy in any circumstances of life…it is more of an attitude than a feeling…

 

To please God or to do God’s will be must GIVE THANKS TO THE FATHER (12-14) – “…giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.  For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

 

     These verses remind us that every Christian is the recipient of some amazing, priceless blessings from God...if you will look carefully at these verses, you will see Paul states four specific things for which we should be thankful...we should be thankful because God has “qualified us”...”delivered us”...”transferred us”...”redeemed us”

·        “..qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints…” - …the verb translated “qualified us” in v.12 is a rare word... it means “to make sufficient, to empower, to authorize, to make fit...”…the only other time it is used in the NT is 2 Cor. 3:6 where it is translated in the NASB as “made us adequate”…God has made us adequate to participate in “the inheritance of the saints”…there is some debate concerning precisely what is meant by the word “inheritance”…some say it refers to the life that we have waiting us in heaven…others says it refers to the spiritual blessings we experience in Christ that begin in this life and extend into the next life…either way, we gain “the inheritance” not based on our merit but on God making us adequate for it…

·        “…delivered us from the domain of darkness…” – The word delivered” carries the idea of being rescued or liberated...the picture is that of people in dire danger...they are about to be overcome, and just at the last moment another person steps in to save them...”domain of darkness” refers to that realm of life which is controlled by ignorance, falsehood, evil, and sin...Jesus used this exact phrase to describe the forces of Satan which constantly opposed and attacked Him...the phrase refers to that realm of life controlled by Satan rather than by God...There is a sense in which all of us were at one time trapped in the realm of spiritual darkness...we were separated from God and we were helpless to do anything to save ourselves...we were in danger of spending eternity separated from God... Jesus came to our world for the express purpose of rescuing us, of leading us out of a life like that...

·        “…transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son…” - That statement refers to a common practice in the ancient world... in those times, when a nation defeated an enemy, often the key leaders of the defeated nation were deported to another nation...in effect Paul is saying, “We were held captive in the kingdom of sin and darkness. Jesus defeated those powers over us and transported us to a new and better kingdom.”

·         “…in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins…” – The root meaning of the word “redemption” is “to buy back”… through His sacrificial death Jesus bought us back, paid the price for our sinfulness, and gave us forgiveness.  One of the great blessings we have in Christ is the blessing of continual forgiveness of sin...we no longer have to live weighed down by the burden of guilt...one writer put it this way:  “The forgiveness of sins means we can start every day with a fresh, clean slate.  All of yesterday’s mistakes have been washed away, not in order that we might go back and repeat them, but that we might have nothing against us as we begin again.  Every day we start in afresh until we learn to do it right.  God is with us.  He cleanses the past continually.  The forgiveness of sins is something we ought to rejoice in every day, because the burden and guilt of yesterday is no longer dragging us down.  We are free to walk in liberty and peace.  How grateful we should be for these incredible blessings! [Stedman, sermon on Colossians 1:9-14, December 7, 1986]

 

Based on Colossians 1:9-14, how can we tell if we are making progress in our walk with the Lord?

 

Mark 12:18-27


Mark 12:18-27

(A Bible Study Led by Dr. Larry Reynolds)

January 17, 2013

 

1.      The most basic, fundamental question in all of life has been asked in many different ways by many different people, but to my knowledge no-one has phrased it better than did the Old Testament character named Job.  In the 14th chapter of the book that bears his name, Job muses about the brevity of our lives in this world and the finality of death.  In Job 14:14 he asks "If a man dies, shall he live again?"  That single question cuts to the very heart of our identity, of who we are.  Basically, Job is asking: 

·        Are we nothing more than sophisticated insects that live for a while in this world, then die, never more to exist? 

·        Or, are we eternal beings?  Is there something God-like about us?  Do we have a destiny beyond our brief time in this world?

2.  Truth is, whether a person lives 10 minutes or 100 years, when we view that person's life-span in the scope of eternity, the amount of time any of us spend in this world is relatively very short.   James put it well when he compared our earthly existence to a morning mist that is present for a short time and then is gone.  James 4:14 says, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow.  You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

3.  And the question of what happens to us when our lives in this world come to an end has understandably been of intense interest to humans since the beginning of human history. 

·        Do we just cease to be, entering the blackness of eternity as only a memory in the minds of a few people? 

·        Or do we experience some kind of life after life this life? 

4.  That is an extremely important question, not just in terms of what happens to us after death but also has tremendous implications for this life as well. 

·        If really, sincerely believe this life is all there is to our existence and there is nothing beyond this life, then we have no real basis for any kind of ethical or value system. 

·        If this world is all there is, if there's nothing beyond this life, if there is no accountability to a higher power, if no judgment, if no life after this life, then we have no logical basis for moral decision making. 

·        If this world is all there is it makes perfect sense just to do whatever we desire, with no regard for others. 

However, if there is indeed life beyond this life, if we really are destined to live for all eternity, we have every reason to develop a strong sense of ethics and values.

5.  In our journey through Mark's Gospel have come to passage with deals with the issue of the after-life.  Mark 12:18-27 contains the third in a series of four trick questions asked of Jesus by the religious authorities in Jerusalem who were attempting to discredit Him.  These questions were asked on Tuesday of the week of the Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection.

·        Mark 11:28 – “By what authority are You doing these things…”

·        Mark 12:14 – “Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?”

·        Mark 12:18-27 – A question about the resurrection of the dead

·        Mark 12:28-34 – A question about which commandment is greatest

 

There are three main parts to Mark 12:18-27

·        Verse 18 identifies the questioners

·        Verses 19-23 contain their question

·        Verses 24-27 contain the response of Jesus

 

The Questioners (v.18)

Verse 18 – The questioners – “Sadducees” - This was an aristocratic, priestly sect of Judaism that controlled the High Priesthood and the Sanhedrin. They were the wealthy, politically powerful “in” group. They were very conservative and accepted only the writings of Moses (i.e. Genesis through Deuteronomy) as authoritative (i.e. rejected the Oral Tradition).[1]  If a teaching was not in the first five books of the Old Testament (the Pentateuch), they rejected it.  Thus, they rejected belief in the resurrection, in the existence of angels, and future judgment.  While the Pharisees fought with the Herodians over political issues, they fought with the Sadducees over theological issues.  Paul used the division between the Sadducees and the Pharisees to his advantage in Acts 23 (see Acts 23:6).  This is the only place in Mark’s gospel that the Sadducees are mentioned.

 

The Question (vv.19-23)

Verses 19-23 - This Jewish law came to be known by “Levirate marriage.” The term was from Latin for “a husband’s brother.” Inheritance rights were very important in Israel because God had given the Promised Land to the tribes by lot. Therefore, if a man died with no male heir, his brother was expected to marry the widow and father a child by the widow; the child then became the heir of all of the dead brother’s property.[2]  (See Deut. 25:5-6)  That is why the Sadducees emphasized that each brother had no offspring with the woman.  Once the deceased brother had a male heir, the family inheritance was intact and there was no need for further marriage.

 

The Response of Jesus (vv.24-27)

Verse 24 is the heart of Jesus’ response to their silly question.  In that verses Jesus issues a stinging indictment of the Sadducees.   He bluntly tells them that their question reveals that they neither understand the Scripture (which He explains to them in vv. 26-27) nor the power of God. 

 

“…power of God…” - One reason Sadducees rejected the concept of the resurrection is because they arbitrarily rejected the possibility of the supernatural...while they believed in God, in their thinking they greatly restricted what God could do...they limited the realm of the possible to only those things they had experienced...since they had not experienced a resurrection they did not believe in a resurrection...

 

They were not unlike people in our world today who reject the possibility of a life after this life because such a possibility does not fit into their narrow understanding of our universe...it is the height of human arrogance to reject arbitrarily the concept of a resurrection just because we don't understand it...

 

Even in realm of our current understanding we are forced to admit things are possible today which were deemed impossible just a few years ago.  For example, on February 14, 1946, a machine known by the acronym ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer) was unveiled.  That remarkable machine is widely considered to be the first computer.  It weighed nearly 30 tons, was 8’ x 3’ x 100’ in size, had more than 17,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, and 10,000 capacitors.  But none of the very smart people who developed that machine could ever imagine that we would be carrying phones in our pockets or notebooks in our hands that would have many times more computing power than that gigantic machine.  No-one at that time would have thought possible such advances in computer technology.

 

And in much same way, while our current understanding of life after this life limited and hazy, to say that such a thing as the resurrection is not possible is to place unreasonable limits on the power of God.  It is foolish to reject something merely because we do not understand it.  It is God's power which makes possible the resurrection. To me, it makes perfect sense to believe that.  The Bible says it well in 1 Cor. 6:14 – “Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power.”

 

Verse 25

The Sadducees wrongly assumed that marriages would be resumed after the resurrection. In resurrection-life people will neither marry (contract a marriage) nor be given in marriage (have a marriage arranged by parents). Rather, like the angels in heaven they will be immortal beings in God’s presence.[3]

 

Precisely how we will be like the angels Jesus does not say.  But the point is that relationships in heaven will be different than relationships in this life.  That fact made the question of the Sadducees irrelevant.

 

Verses 26-27

In these verses Jesus shows the Sadducees that the resurrection of the dead is indeed taught in Scripture.  He pointed them directly to the heart of the Mosaic law, to the law upon which they claimed to base their beliefs, and showed them where it taught the resurrection. Jesus quoted to them Exodus 3:6 where God told Moses, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." ...then Jesus bluntly told them "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken."

 

The logic of Jesus is obvious and powerful.  He emphasized God did not say He was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, but He is their God.  One writer summarized the argument this way:  "It is 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.  God is not the God of that which has ceased to be." [Hughes, p.109]

 

The seed of the resurrection can certainly be seen in the earliest parts of the Scripture.  As the Scripture develops, the seed begins to take root and sprout.  And it blossoms forth fully for all to see in the resurrection of Jesus.  Then the Apostle Paul, in I. Cor.15, that great chapter about the resurrection, looks back on the resurrection of Jesus and points out it is the promise, the guarantee of our own resurrection.

 

All of that is to say that the resurrection of the dead is a basic, fundamental biblical teaching.  You cannot read the Bible and fail to see that. 

 

Aristides was an Athenian philosopher who lived in the early 2nd century.  He is mentioned in the writings of two prominent early church fathers, Eusebius, known as the father of church history, and Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin.  Aristides became a Christian and wrote of defense of Christianity for Hadrian, the Roman Emperor.  Around 125 AD Aristides wrote to one of his friends, trying to explain the extraordinary success of the new religion, Christianity. In his letter he said, “If any righteous man among the Christians passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God, and they accompany his body with songs and thanksgiving as if he were setting out from one place to another nearby.” [Today in the Word, April 10, 1993]

 

And that message of hope in the face of death is the very heart of the gospel.  Jesus came to our world to defeat the power of death over us.  That’s why Paul could write in Romans 14:8, “…if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”

 

The good news of the gospel is that death is not the end.  After death, there awaits for us a wonderful life.  How do we know?  Because the Scripture promises it and the power of God makes it possible!



[1] Utley, R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 2: The Gospel according to Peter: Mark and I & II Peter. Study Guide Commentary Series (143). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.
[2] Utley, R. J. D. (2000). Vol. Volume 2: The Gospel according to Peter: Mark and I & II Peter. Study Guide Commentary Series (145). Marshall, Texas: Bible Lessons International.
[3] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Mk 12:25). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.