That’s Why They Were So Sad, You See | Mark 12:18–27


We read today about yet another group approaching to accost Jesus: the Sadducees.  They’re sent from the chief priests for a third wave of questioning, hoping to trap Him in a statement (cf. 11:27; 12:13).  This wealthy group of men included the chief priests and much of Jerusalem’s ruling council.

Even wielding great influence in Jewish religious life, the beliefs of the Sadducees would be akin to theological liberalism today.  They only held the books of Moses as authoritative, and not even that.  They also didn’t believe in the resurrection (v. 18) nor in the existence of angels, a future judgment, or the immortality of the soul (cf. Acts 23:6–8). 

As such, this hypothetical scenario of a woman marrying seven husbands is, of course, a challenge to Jesus.  If He’s stymied, they believe they would prove themselves more intelligent than Jesus while also demonstrating how absurd it is to believe in the resurrection.

However, such challenges demonstrate a lack of knowledge of Scripture.  Jesus demonstrates in v. 25 their flawed understanding—Scripture teaches a new way of life in the resurrection, not the same one.  We don’t marry and propagate because, like the angels, we’ll never die (cf. 1 Cor 15:39–44, 48, 49).  In fact, Jesus’s faith in Scripture is demonstrated in v. 26 with a verb—God is the God of Abraham, not was, so Abraham’s soul still lives.  This simple notion confronts all their false beliefs—know the Bible.

Such challenges also demonstrate a lack of knowledge of God’s power.  Reading Scripture should increase faith in the power of God, for “from faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rm 10:17).  However, they didn’t God because they didn’t hear the Word—they read it with their anti-supernatural bias. 

We need to be Christians who have hope in what God says and promises because we know both God’s Word and power.  As Paul tells the church, we must “stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us” (2 The 2:15).

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