Mark 12:18-27
Marriage at the Resurrection
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, 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!”
Marriage is the foundation of the family unit, which is essential for society...Jesus very much values the sanctity of family life...Marriage reflects the inherent human desire for companionship and intimacy...Jesus affirmed these desires by attending a wedding in Cana (John 2:1-11)...Within the context of marriage, Jesus addressed issues of divorce and adultery, setting moral boundaries...It's important to note that Jesus' primary focus on earth was on the Kingdom of God...Marriage, while important, was not the central theme of His ministry...However, His teachings and actions provide a framework for understanding its significance within the Christian worldview...So Jesus very much believed in marriage, but it was not His central message...
Jesus teaches us there is a resurrection of life after we die, through an earthly marriage question...The Sadducees, who did not believe in any resurrection, tried to test Jesus about the resurrection of the after life...The Sadducees presented Jesus with a hypothetical question involving marriage and the afterlife...
Their goal was to trap Jesus in a logical contradiction, proving that the concept of resurrection is absurd and is not true...They present a complex case of a woman who marries seven brothers sequentially, each dying childless...The question becomes: so with no children and with this situation, whose wife will she be in the resurrection?...
Jesus answered this way: Jesus directly addresses the Sadducees' misunderstanding of both marriage and the afterlife...He corrects the Sadducees error by stating that marriage is a concept tied to earthly life, not heavenly life in God's Kingdom, and that in the resurrection, people will be like angels, and will not be engaging in marital relationships...He further emphasizes the reality of the resurrection by referring to God as the God of the Living, not the dead, referencing the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob...
Since the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, a view that was a contrast with the Pharisees and the broader Jewish belief on God's Kingdom...
Jesus describes a different state of existence in the resurrection, where earthly relationships and institutions, like marriage, will not exist in their present form in heaven...
This passage highlights a significant theological difference between Jesus and the Sadducees and underscores the core Christian belief in the resurrection...
Jesus' affirms the belief and view of resurrection...Jesus unequivocally affirms the reality of the resurrection, contrasting with the Sadducees' disbelief...And Jesus' Own Resurrection is the most important fact in the history of man...