LANGUAGE:
The Danger Of Being Ignorant Of Scripture
(Mark 12:18-27)
Our study today comes from Mark’s Gospel, chap 12, vs 18-27. By the way, because of the kind of preaching that I do, I do believe you would find it most helpful if you brought your Bibles so that you can better follow. The Bible is the Sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17). The Holy Spirit communicates to us via the Scriptures. If you want the Spirit to connect with you, you need to immerse yourself within its pages regularly. As a side note, it is really encouraging to hear pages turning, and to see you taking notes. Just thought I would let you know that.
Anyway, beginning with Mark 11, we are in the last hours leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. It is Passover time. Matthew’s Gospel tells us that the Jewish leadership were actively plotting to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him (Matthew 26:4).[i]
In following the sequence of events, it is the Sadducees turn at challenging Jesus. With your Bibles open to Mark 12, vs18-27(GW)follow along as we read the Sadducees challenge and Jesus’ response.
18Some Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question:
19“Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If a man dies and leaves a wife but no child, his brother should marry his widow and have children for his brother.’
20’Now’ there were seven brothers. The first got married and died without having children. 21The second married her and died without having children. So did the third.
22None of the seven brothers had any children. Last of all, the woman died. 23When the dead come back to life, (remember they did not believe in a literal resurrection) whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her.”
24Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken because you don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power? 25When the dead come back to life, they don’t marry. Rather, they are like the angels in heaven.
26Haven’t you read in the book of Moses that the dead come back to life? It’s in the passage about the bush, where God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ – 27He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. You’re badly mistaken!”
I’ve entitled our study The Danger Of Ignorance of Scripture. I take that title from what Jesus said in v24, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God?
Let’s bow in prayer: Heavenly Father, my request this morning is that we not be ignorant of the Scriptures or Your power. I am asking that you give us understanding of the importance of knowing this book, and not to be like the Sadducees who had knowledge, but no understanding of Your Scriptures. Open our eyes and give us clarity as to the Scripture and Your power. Amen.
In case you missed it, ever since chap 11:27, the Religious Leaders have been playing a game with Jesus called “Stump Jesus”. It’s much like the game played out in our classrooms today entitled Stump the Teacher. In fact, I came across an article entitled Stump the Teacher: The Real Game Changer in Education. The goal of the game is to ask the teacher questions that they cannot answer, and/or in some way open them to ridicule and embracement. It’s a favorite game particularly amongst college students.
The ‘Stump Jesus’ game revolves around a series of questions that the religious hierarchy believe would put Jesus in His place by making Him make a statement[ii] that will either turn the crowds against Him, or bring the wrath of Rome on Him.[iii]
As early as chap 2, v6 Jesus has been butting heads with three distinct tight-knit groups, and I believe it would be helpful to refresh our minds as to these three groups:
Now back to Mark’s account. He points out in v18 that the Sadducees were attempting to quiz Jesus on a subject they did not believe in . . .the resurrection. In their attempt to ‘Stump Jesus’, they open their Bibles to Deuteronomy 25:5 (GW) It reads as follows: “When brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
Using that as the bases for Stumping Jesus, they set the up the following scenario. V20 There were seven brothers; the oldest marries and then dies with no children. Then in succession each brother marries the widow, and each brother dies without her giving birth to a child. V22, the widow finally dies. Then comes the Stump Jesus question, v23 (GW) When the dead come back to life, whose wife will she be? The seven brothers had married her.” Mind you, the real issue underlying their question is not “Whose wife will she be?” but “Is belief in the resurrection credible?”[viii]
In case you missed the meandering, from their perspective there cannot be a resurrection because if there was, there would be complete chaos. These seven brothers would be in constant conflict trying to figure out their relationship with the woman. Therefore, there could be no resurrection.
As a side note, not quite as complicated but still has some bearing. My Father was married twice. My mother died, 2 to 3 yrs later my Father remarried. She had previously been married, but her husband had died also. Since they both had been married twice, in the resurrection just who do they live with? How are they going to spend their time?
The Sadducees saw this as total chaos and an unrelenting conflict. In the logic debate world that is called reduction ad absurdum its a mode of debate that an idea must be accepted because its rejection would be untenable. If that confuses you, it is a style of reasoning that has been employed by philosophy since ancient times in an attempt to stump the debate opponent.[ix]
V24 Jesus takes up the ‘Stump Jesus’ challenge, and responds with two of His own questions. His first comes in vs24-25, and His second comes in v26-27.
Let’s look at Jesus’ first question, vs24-25 24“Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand 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.
Notice Jesus response, ‘you are mistaken’. He says it again in v27 with a greater emphasis—you are greatly mistaken. Literally translated, Jesus said ‘you have gone far astray, or to put it another way, you have wandered far from the truth.’[x] His point, ‘In asking the question, you Sadducees are showing that you don’t know your Scripture, and neither do you know the power of God.
Then He tells them that ‘marriage is a non-issue in heaven’. Notice, He doesn’t say, you’ll be an angel. He says, you’ll be like angels. He is not saying we’ll all be asexual beings in heaven, but that in eternity life does not duplicate our present life style. There is every reason to believe that our gender will always be, but in heaven to be like angels means we’ll all be equally spiritual in nature, equally deathless, equally glorified, and equally eternal, and procreation is no longer. So in Luke 20 Jesus makes a powerful statement that resurrected believers “are sons of God ‘because they are’ sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36).[xi] Jesus point is, there are no exclusive relationships in eternity because everyone will be perfectly and intimately related to everyone else, including to the living God Himself.[xii]
This is a slam-dunk if there ever was one. These are meticulous God quoting Bible thumpers. And Jesus says to them that their question points to their ignorance of both Scripture and God’s power. The point is that there’s a whole dimension out there that goes way beyond our finite eyes and minds. Just as it is written in 1 Corinthians 2:9, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.
The brings us to the second ‘Stump Jesus’ answer 26Haven’t you read in the book of Moses that the dead come back to life? It’s in the passage about the bush, where God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ 27He’s not the God of the dead but of the living. You’re badly mistaken!”
V26 is a gut puncher--don’t you guys know your Scripture?!! V27 (GW) God is not the God of the dead but of the living. You guys are sadly mislead. – By application, Jesus was saying Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still very much alive. Basically Jesus is saying, your academics has led you astray. What did God say to Moses at the burning bush? Did God say ‘I was’, or did He say I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
K.D. Miller points out in his devotional entitled God of the Living, Not the Dead, These words were spoken long after all three of these men were dead and gone, and yet God refers to His relationship with them in the present tense. He was still their God, and therefore they must still be very much alive. Jesus made it clear that this was not a grammatical error but a theological truth. There is an afterlife, and there will be a resurrection.[xiii] Jesus' point is that the God who declared Himself to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob does not receive worship from people who no longer exist; know this--God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.[xiv]
This was a ‘bam-gotcha-moment’. Jesus flipped the argument, showing them just how ignorant they were of the truths of God.
Now let’s stop here and reflect for a moment by taking a closer look as to how the interaction we have just considered is meant to impact and shape us.
Remember Jesus rebuke in v24, You are mislead because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” That’s a powerful statement to these scholars who were certain they knew the Scriptures very well. When Jesus said those words about knowing Scripture, He doesn’t mean how many years you have been reading your Bible, how much schooling you’ve had, or how good you might be at debate. It’s entirely possible to know facts, figures, background and context and still be ignorant.
Don Whitney in Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life writes: God's plan for sanctifying us, that is, for making us holy and godly, is accomplished by means of "the truth"—which is the Word of God (see Jn 17:17). If we settle for a poor quality intake of hearing, reading, and studying God's Word, we severely restrict the flow of God's sanctifying grace toward us and in us. For those who use their Bibles little are really not much better off than those who have no Bible at all.[xv] To read the Bible thoughtlessly or carelessly or academically or professionally is not to read the Bible as God’s Word. When we read the Bible as the Word of God it becomes the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17), profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God (woman of God) may be adequate, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17 (NASB95)
Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95) tells us that it can do this because it is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The idea is that it penetrates the hidden regions of the heart, the very center of action, laying open our motives to choices, actions, relationships, etc. The purpose of really interacting with the Bible is to make us strong and able to withstand the evil onslaughts of our culture and our true enemy Satan (Psalm 119:11, 33–40, 99–105).[xvi]
When handled correctly, the Holy Spirit uses the power of the Word to save us, sanctify us, and give us spiritual strength to be mature soldiers for the Lord for fighting the corruption, the evils of our world, and Satan. The more we know and understand the Word of God, the more useful we will be in doing the will of God and the more effective we will be in providing a light in our twisted culture and in standing against our real enemy—Satan and his demoniacs.
My second life shaping truth is related to the first. If we do not know Scripture, God’s truth, we’ll never know the power of God in our lives. To know the power of God one must know Scripture, which is God’s truth; and to know Scripture opens us up to the power of God that comes from a living relationship with God. – So Jesus tells us in John 17:3 (NASB95) “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
To know the power of God is to experience the Resurrection. As Pastor Eric Chang states it, When God takes you, a spiritually dead person, and raises you up to spiritual life, and transforms you into a new creature, you are on the way to understanding what Resurrection is about because now you have experienced Resurrection. [xvii] –
In John 11:25–26 (NASB95) 25Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” Until we enter into Jesus mind, align our ways to His Spirit, walk with Him into ever-deeper insight into the way His mind works, the way He thinks, we’ll never experience the resurrection power of God.
I believe that is the point of Romans 6:5–7 (NASB95) 5For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7for he who has died is freed from sin. As I learn to walk more closely with our Lord, the more I experience the break from sin and the resurrected life.
In about a dozen places in the Bible, God is referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You’ll want to make a note of this--This name emphasizes that our God is a covenant keeping God. There are a number of implications for God referring to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
In Acts 3, Peter healed a lame man, who was now standing before them and dancing across the temple square. Peter clearly attributes the miracle to the power of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob working through Jesus. In other words, Peter linked the miracle they had just witnessed to the one and only God of their fathers. His point was that the same God who spoke to the patriarchs was at work in their very midst.
To be in relationship with the covenant God is our supreme, paramount, and preeminent choice over all other relationships. He is the God we worship. It is His gospel that saves and exalts. It is He who ordained and established the plan of salvation. As Alistair Begg so aptly states it, The ground of our assurance is not the depth of our conviction but the reliability of the one who has made the promise.[xviii] And so we treasure that name—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because our faith is anchored in His covenant written by the blood of Jesus on a cross. To experience a changed life we must have a ‘come-to-Jesus-moment’. If you want to experience resurrected power, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life--His promises are sure.
Do you have that surety?
If not, confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. – In that moment the power of sin is broken, and resurrected power is unleashed in your life.
And that my friends is absolutely true.
Let’s close in prayer: Living God, we confess the weakness of our faith. While we have heard the news that He is the covenant keeping God, we have kept it to ourselves. In church, in the presence of the Believing, we have professed Christ’s victory over the grave, but in our daily lives, we have lived as if it had no real effect. We have stared into the face of our own mortality and that of others as if we were people with no hope. Forgive us for living a life of futility. For, as Paul proclaimed to those not unlike us, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” Raise in our hearts and minds this day the knowledge of the crucified, dead, and buried One who overcame sin and its sting so that we might live today, tomorrow, and forever with him. . . . Amen
That’s all for today. Don’t forget, In the midst of the swirling difficulties, God is walking with you. --
[i] Cf., Luke 22:2 (NASB95) 2The chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they might put Him to death; for they were afraid of the people. John 7:1 (NASB95)After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. See 7-5 Pharisees Plot to Kill Jesus, http://www.scripturetalks.com/category/7-5-pharisees-plot-to-kill-jesus/
[ii] Mark 12:13 (NASB95) Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement., Luke 11:54 (NASB95) plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.
[iii] Luke 13:31–32 (NASB95) 31Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’
[iv] He called himself “a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless” (Philippians 3:5–6).
[v] https://www.gotquestions.org/Pharisees.html. Among the Pharisees were two schools of thought, based on the teachings of two rabbis, Shammai and Hillel. Shammai called for a strict, unbending interpretation of the Law on almost every issue, but Hillel taught a looser, more liberal application. Followers of Shammai fostered a hatred for anything Roman, including taxation—Jews who served as tax collectors were persona non grata. The Shammaites wanted to outlaw all communication and commerce between Jews and Gentiles. The Hillelites took a more gracious approach and opposed such extreme exclusiveness. Eventually, the two schools within Pharisaism grew so hostile to each other that they refused to worship together.
[vi] https://www.gotquestions.org/Herodians.html. Many scholars believe that the Herodians looked to Herod as a messiah, a savior of sorts who would put the Jewish land in favor with the Roman Empire and bring blessings to them. Jesus’ presentation of Himself as the Messiah was a threat to the Herodians' attempt to make Herod the influential political power in the land.
[vii] Alistair Begg, The Sadducees’ Question (Pt 1) Mark 12:18-27, https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/sadducees-question-part-one/
[viii] Craig A. Evans, Mark 8:27–16:20, vol. 34B, Word Biblical Commentary (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 2001), 255.
[ix] https://iep.utm.edu/reductio/
[x] John MacArthur, Mark 9–16, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015), 190. Mistaken translates a form of the verb planaō, which means “to wander,” or “to go astray”
[xi] John F. MacArthur Jr., Matthew, vol. 3, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1985), 332.
[xii] Ibid., . See also Ian Paul, What Does It Mean To ‘Be Like The Angels’ in Luke 20? https://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/what-does-it-mean-to-be-like-the-angels-in-luke-20/ William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Gospel According to Mark, vol. 10, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 487. 24. Jesus said to them, Is not this the reason you are deceiving yourselves, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? Had they known the Scriptures, they would have known that there is nothing in Deut. 25:5, 6 that makes it applicable to the life hereafter, and they would also have known that the Old Testament in various passages teaches the resurrection of the body. And had they recognized the power of God (Rom. 4:17; Heb. 11:19), they would have understood that God is able to raise the dead in such a manner that marriage will not longer be needed.
[xiii] K. D. Miller, God of the Living, Not the Dead, https://devotionaryblog.com/2021/10/03/god-of-the-living-not-the-dead/
[xiv] John MacArthur, Mark 9–16, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015), 192.
[xv] Don Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, https://www.preceptaustin.org/The_word_of_god_-_quotations_and_illustrations
[xvi] Ephesians 2:1–3 (NASB95) 1And you were dead in your trespasses and sins,
2in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 2 Timothy 2:26 (NASB95) 26and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
[xvii] Eric Chang, He is Not God of the Dead, but of the Living (Matthew 22:23-33), https://www.christiandiscipleschurch.org/content/04-he-not-god-dead-living
[xviii] Alistair Begg, The Sadducees Question (Pt 2) Mark 12:18-27 https://www.truthforlife.org/resources/sermon/sadducees-question-part-two/