Mar 12:18-27 | KingComments | STEP | Satan has more arrows to his bow. The Pharisees may have been defeated, but there is another group of opponents who willingly let themselves be used in an attempt to capture the Lord in His words. The Sadducees form a liberal group. They say there is no resurrection because, in their opinion, it has never been proven and cannot be proved. Their reasoning is that what you cannot reason with your mind and what cannot be scientifically verified is not true. In this group we see that all the apparent strength of unbelief consists in raising difficulties, in suggesting imaginary cases that are not at all relevant. Such people reason from people’s things to God’s things and then cannot but come to foolishness and error. They take as a starting point for their sedition a prescription of Moses that is included in the law. That seems a good basis for discussion, but they forget that they are dealing with the Lawmaker Himself. The example they set for Him is plausible at first, it is something that is possible in practice. It can happen that someone’s brother dies without leaving a child and that his wife is left alone. Now that man had seven brothers, the Sadducees say. That, too, could be possible. On the basis of the so-called duty of a husband’s brother, the first brother had to marry her to conceive offspring for his deceased brother. Moses included this in the law ( ). It even existed before the law existed ( ) and so it goes in this story. The first brother marries her, but he too does not conceive offspring and dies. The second brother marries her, and dies leaving behind no children. All the brothers finally had married her, but died without any offspring. The story of the Sadducees ends with the woman dying. This foolish example was quoted by them in order to be able to ask the Lord the nonsensical question which one’s wife she will be in the resurrection. With this they want to ridicule the resurrection. As if the problem would not have arisen if she had married two brothers, they want to push the example so far in their audacity that He will have no answer at all. The Lord does not go into the example at all, but tells them plainly that they are mistaken. He also tells them the cause of their error, which is that they do not understand the Scriptures and do not understand the power of God. In spite of all their presumption to be wise, educated, scientifically-minded people, they demonstrate their ignorance of the Scriptures. Those who do not know the Scriptures always err and have no idea what the power of God is capable of. The Lord tells them what it is like in the resurrection. The answer is that the wife in the resurrection will be nobody’s, for there is no such thing as a continuation or resumption of earthly ties in the resurrection. In the resurrection the believers are no longer made of dust, but heavenly, like the angels, and have a purely spiritual existence. Angels have no gender, for that is part of a physical, earthly existence. Angels are therefore not increasing in number. The characteristics of angels apply to the spiritual family relationships in heaven. There is perfectly divine love, not limited to a single person, but to all the children of God. In addition, if they read properly, they would know from the book of Exodus that the dead are raised. The Lord quotes from the books of Moses because these books are the most important among this liberal, rational party. God is the God of each of the patriarchs personally: He is “the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. That is why His Name stands before each of them individually. He has promised the land to them personally, not only to their descendants. They will have to rise to possess the land promised to them personally. It is impossible that the promise He has made to them will not be fulfilled by Him. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have long since died when God says this to Moses. Yet God does not say: ‘I was the God of ...’, but: ‘I am the God of ...’. At the time of Moses they were not dead to Him, but alive, for God is not connected with the dead, but with the living. He is the God of the living. The Lord underlines once again how greatly they are mistaken.

‏ Mark 12:18-27

Question About the Resurrection

Satan has more arrows to his bow. The Pharisees may have been defeated, but there is another group of opponents who willingly let themselves be used in an attempt to capture the Lord in His words. The Sadducees form a liberal group. They say there is no resurrection because, in their opinion, it has never been proven and cannot be proved. Their reasoning is that what you cannot reason with your mind and what cannot be scientifically verified is not true.

In this group we see that all the apparent strength of unbelief consists in raising difficulties, in suggesting imaginary cases that are not at all relevant. Such people reason from people’s things to God’s things and then cannot but come to foolishness and error.

They take as a starting point for their sedition a prescription of Moses that is included in the law. That seems a good basis for discussion, but they forget that they are dealing with the Lawmaker Himself. The example they set for Him is plausible at first, it is something that is possible in practice. It can happen that someone’s brother dies without leaving a child and that his wife is left alone. Now that man had seven brothers, the Sadducees say. That, too, could be possible.

On the basis of the so-called duty of a husband’s brother, the first brother had to marry her to conceive offspring for his deceased brother. Moses included this in the law (Deu 25:5). It even existed before the law existed (Gen 38:8) and so it goes in this story. The first brother marries her, but he too does not conceive offspring and dies. The second brother marries her, and dies leaving behind no children. All the brothers finally had married her, but died without any offspring. The story of the Sadducees ends with the woman dying.

This foolish example was quoted by them in order to be able to ask the Lord the nonsensical question which one’s wife she will be in the resurrection. With this they want to ridicule the resurrection. As if the problem would not have arisen if she had married two brothers, they want to push the example so far in their audacity that He will have no answer at all.

The Lord does not go into the example at all, but tells them plainly that they are mistaken. He also tells them the cause of their error, which is that they do not understand the Scriptures and do not understand the power of God. In spite of all their presumption to be wise, educated, scientifically-minded people, they demonstrate their ignorance of the Scriptures. Those who do not know the Scriptures always err and have no idea what the power of God is capable of.

The Lord tells them what it is like in the resurrection. The answer is that the wife in the resurrection will be nobody’s, for there is no such thing as a continuation or resumption of earthly ties in the resurrection. In the resurrection the believers are no longer made of dust, but heavenly, like the angels, and have a purely spiritual existence. Angels have no gender, for that is part of a physical, earthly existence. Angels are therefore not increasing in number. The characteristics of angels apply to the spiritual family relationships in heaven. There is perfectly divine love, not limited to a single person, but to all the children of God.

In addition, if they read properly, they would know from the book of Exodus that the dead are raised. The Lord quotes from the books of Moses because these books are the most important among this liberal, rational party. God is the God of each of the patriarchs personally: He is “the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. That is why His Name stands before each of them individually. He has promised the land to them personally, not only to their descendants. They will have to rise to possess the land promised to them personally. It is impossible that the promise He has made to them will not be fulfilled by Him.

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have long since died when God says this to Moses. Yet God does not say: ‘I was the God of ...’, but: ‘I am the God of ...’. At the time of Moses they were not dead to Him, but alive, for God is not connected with the dead, but with the living. He is the God of the living. The Lord underlines once again how greatly they are mistaken.