April 11, 2018
Mark 12:18-27 New Living Translation (NLT)
All things in Scripture point to eternal life; essentially all things point to Christ who is life. What life will be like in eternity we can only imagine, but Christ said it would be amazing because the Father has prepared it for us. Jesus also said we had to trust our future to him and the power outflowing his resurrection. Jesus taught about the resurrection; he told his disciples and followers he would rise in three days. Because of Christ, we must believe in our own resurrection.
The Sadducees held to the Law of Moses and were unwilling to look deeper into the spiritual truth of which Christ spoke. They did not believe in the resurrection; they were trying to force the Word of God to say what they wanted to believe. Jesus sidesteps their question by pointing to their ignorance. Jesus was not implying people would not recognize their partners in eternity; rather, he was simply saying eternity is not merely an extension of this life. It is a new life with a new King and new physical and natural rules. It’s a whole new realm called reality.
Mark 12:18-27 Discussion about Resurrection
18 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. They posed this question: 19 “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife without children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.[a] 20 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 21 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died without children. Then the third brother married her. 22 This continued with all seven of them, and still there were no children. Last of all, the woman also died. 23 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.”
24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. 25 For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven.
26 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—haven’t you ever read about this in the writings of Moses, in the story of the burning bush? Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses,[b] ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[c] 27 So he is the God of the living, not the dead. You have made a serious error.”
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the hope of one day joining you in eternal reality. May I spent this life getting closer to you so I transition into the eternal realm with genuine trust. In Jesus’ name. Amen.