Theology WebSite's
    Sermon and Bible Study Database

Mark 12:18-27

Author: Kent Berghuis

God of the Living
Mark 12:18-27

Main idea:  Our hope for resurrection is clear from Scripture and rests in the power of God.

I.  The nature of the resurrected life will transcend earthly relationships (25).

	A.  The power of God makes the Sadducees' question irrelevant.

		--The Sadducees were a political/religious party.  Their leaders possessed great 	
		wealth and power in Jerusalem, and had succeeded in controlling most of 		
	the priesthood and commerce.  They grudgingly cooperated with Rome's 		
	power and gained advantage from it.  They believed in following the law of 		
	Moses, but were skeptical about the supernatural.  That's why they were 		
	sad, you see?  (name actually comes from Zadok, a former high priest).
		--The question was probably hypothetical, although based on a possible scenario.  	
		The OT did command "levirate" marriage to preserve a family's land and 		
	the woman's security.
		--While it seems to make the resurrection life look silly to them, they take the 	
		resurrected life to be too much like this earthly life.  This ignores the power 	
		of God to transcend earthly restrictions or physical restraints.

	B.  The power of God will make us "like the angels."

		--What is meant by this?
		1.  Angels do not get married.
		2.  Angels do the will of God perfectly.
		3.  Angels enjoy a spiritual existence that transcends physical limitations.

		--Is this what we would like?
		1.  The power of God ensures that you will have the greatest possible joy.
		2.  Because of this, we can be sure that our joy will even transcend marital bliss.

II.  The Scriptures clearly teach the reality of eternal life and a future resurrection (26-27).

	A.  He is the "God of the living"--eternal life.
		--Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died centuries before Moses.  Yet God used the 	
		present tense, "I am . . .".   Jesus says this means that although they had 
		died, they indeed are still alive.
		--2 Corinthians 5:1-10 teaches that believers can be "absent from the body" but 	
		"present with the Lord."

	B.  Scripture promises a future resurrection of the body.
		Psalm 16:10 suggests a future resurrection of the body.
		Daniel 12:13 clearly teaches a future resurrection.
		Mark 16:6 announces Jesus' resurrection.
		1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 promises a future resurrection for all believers.

Conclusion:  Jesus told his opponents that they were "badly mistaken."  Are we ready to live 
forever with God?  We do not want to be numbered among those who are badly mistaken!