Think on these questions as we dwell on Mark 12:18-27:

1. How does the interaction between Jesus and the religious leaders in this passage reflect the contrast between their attempts to trick Jesus and his profound understanding of God's intentions, particularly in regard to the scenario presented?

2. How does Jesus' explanation about God being the God of the living rather than the dead challenge the Sadducees' understanding of resurrection and highlight the certainty of eternal life for believers? How does this perspective offer comfort in the face of mortality?

3. In what ways does the assurance of God being a God of resurrection and eternal life impact the believer's perspective on death and provide a source of hope and peace in a world marked by mortality and suffering? How does the resurrection of Jesus exemplify this truth?

Transcript:

Many times when we come up against the religious leaders in the Book of Mark, it reminds me of the old 1960s Batman television show. Remember when the Riddler would be on there? Riddle me this, Batman. Many times the religious leaders, the Sadducees and the Pharisees come to Jesus and they're scheming and they're like, Let's come up with something, some scenario where we'll trick him. And every time Jesus gets the best of them, doesn't he? Well, here we have them giving this ridiculous scenario. Now, of course, this scenario could theoretically happen. There's nothing keeping this from happening, especially in a day and age without antibiotics and modern medical care, having this many people die when all these people are having many more children, more than likely. This is a likely scenario, but it is absurd. It is just an absurd thing. They're trying to trick Jesus. And so, Jesus says to them, Is this not the reason you're wrong? Because you don't need the scriptures nor the power of God. The reason they're wrong is because they're more concerned with trying to trick Jesus and actually understanding what God is teaching and understanding that God here in these rules was trying to show that he cared for the widow, that he cared for those who were less fortunate.

But here they are trying to use these rules as a means by which they can trick Jesus. But as we all would see, they're not going to trick the Lord of heaven and earth. They are going to look foolish. And so, Jesus tells them, Hey, when they raise from the dead, they're not going to marry or be given a marriage. There will be no more offspring for children. There won't be a need to marriage. They will be in a perfect state of resurrection. They're not going to have to worry about these things. But then he goes a step further and he says, Have you not read the Book of Moses during the burning bush? What does God say? I'm the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And then you got to love this last sentence. You are quite wrong. You got to love the way Jesus throws it right back at him, right? Well, what is Jesus saying here? He's saying that God is not speaking of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the past. He's talking about being their God now.

Even though they had been dead for hundreds of years, the people of God had been in slavery in Egypt for 400 years. But yet, God speaks of these people as if he is the God of them. Now that this is a matter of fact that God is the God of resurrection. He is the God of eternal life. And so, these Sadducees who deny the resurrection are denying the truth of who God is and the truth of what God is going to do and has done in history, that he is going to raise his people because he is the God of the living. And so as we think about this passage, we can find great comfort in the truths that Jesus speaks here. When we think about our future demise, we are going to die. We can have a trust that our God is a God of the living. When we go to the funeral of a believer, we do not speculate about their eternal destiny. If they are in Christ, we know that they have been given eternal life. This is a sure and certain promise. And so, it gives us hope. It helps us to live in a fallen world where we see death and destruction around us.

We are able to have hope and we are able to have peace because our God is a God of the living. Our God is a God of resurrection. And this is sure and this is certain, and it's guaranteed for us because of the resurrection of Jesus himself from the dead.