God of the Living

Mark 12:18-27
18 Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring. 21 The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 None of the seven[fn] left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise,[fn] whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her? ”
 24 Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or 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 — haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and 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.”

GOING DEEPER
Parallel, Related and Referenced Passages
Parallel Accounts: Matthew 22:23-33; Luke 20:27-40
 
 
1) THEIR ERROR

• Acts 23:1–10 — Conflict between Pharisees and Sadducees.
• Mark 12:1–12 — The parable of the vineyard tenants and the certainty of reckoning.
• Acts 17:30–31 — God has appointed a day to judge the world through the risen Christ. 
• Romans 2:4–5 — Despising God’s kindness and patience while storing up judgment.
• Ephesians 2:8–9 — Salvation by grace through faith, not by human righteousness or works.
• Luke 18:9–14 — The danger of trusting in one’s own righteousness; the humble sinner is justified.
• Deuteronomy 25:5–10 — The law of levirate marriage.
• Deuteronomy 4:2 — Do not add to or take away from God’s Word.

 
 2) HIS ANSWER

• Exodus 3:6 — “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”
• Genesis 13:14–17 — God promises Abraham and his descendants the land. (also see Genesis 17:7–8; 26:3–4; 28:13–15)
• Hebrews 11:13 — Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died in faith without receiving the fullness of what was promised

OT SUPPORT OF THE RESURRECTION

• Job 19:25-27, Psalm 16:8-11; 49:13-15; 71:20, Isaiah 26:19-20; 53:10-11, Ezekiel 37:7-10, Daniel 12:2-3, Hosea 6:1-2, Jonah 1:17-2:2

 

• Titus 3:9 — Avoid foolish debates and disputes that are unprofitable and worthless.
• Isaiah 55:8–9 — God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours.
• Proverbs 3:5–6 — Trust in the Lord rather than leaning on your own understanding.
• Deuteronomy 29:29 — Some things belong to God, while what He has revealed belongs to us.
• Romans 8:31–39 — The cross assures us of God’s love even when we do not understand our circumstances.

 
 CENTER YOUR HOPE ON HIM

• 1 Corinthians 2:9 — No eye has seen, ear heard, or human mind imagined what God has prepared.
• 1 Corinthians 13:12 — Now we see dimly, but then we will see face to face.
• 1 John 3:2 — When Christ appears, we will see Him as He is.
• Philippians 3:20–21 — Christ will transform our bodies to be like His glorious body.
• Revelation 21:1–5 — The new creation, where death, grief, and pain are gone.
• Psalm 16:11 — Fullness of joy in God’s presence.

 
 TRUST HIS RESURRECTION PROMISE

• 1 Corinthians 15:16–19 — Without the resurrection, Christian faith and hope are futile.
• John 11:25–26 — Jesus declares, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
• Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33–34 — Jesus repeatedly predicts His death and resurrection.
• 1 Peter 1:3–5 — Christ’s resurrection gives believers a living hope and an imperishable inheritance.