MARK 12:18–27, THE QUESTION ABOUT THE RESURRECTION
GOD OF THE LIVING AND THE HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE
Introduction
This encounter takes place in Jerusalem during the tense final days of Jesus’ ministry, as religious leaders test him with questions meant to trap or discredit him. Fresh from refuting the Pharisees on paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus now faces the Sadducees, aristocratic priests who reject the resurrection and the oral traditions of the Pharisees. Their hypothetical tale of seven brothers and one widow is not a genuine inquiry but a mockery designed to make eternal life seem ridiculous. Jesus cuts through their cleverness, correcting their ignorance of Scripture and God’s transformative power. In the process, he unveils the radiant reality of the resurrection, where human relationships are elevated into the eternal communion of the living with God.
Bible Passage (Mark 12:18–27)
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man must take the widow and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; he died and left no descendants. The second took her and died, leaving no descendants; and likewise the third. None of the seven left descendants. Last of all the woman herself died. At the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For they all had her as wife.” Jesus said to them, “Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
Background
This dialogue occurs in the thick of controversy during Holy Week, after Jesus’ triumphal entry and temple cleansing, as Mark structures chapter 12 around successive challenges to his authority. It precedes Jesus’ praise of the widow’s offering and his summary of the greatest commandment to love God and neighbor. The Sadducees’ denial of resurrection reflects their conservative adherence only to the Torah (first five books of Moses), rejecting later prophetic writings and oral law. Jesus responds by drawing precisely from their accepted Scriptures, the Book of Exodus, linking God’s enduring covenant promises to the hope of eternal life. This passage echoes Old Testament foundations like Daniel 12:2 (“many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake”) and prophetic visions of restoration, fulfilling God’s plan to raise his people beyond death into unending communion.
Opening Life Connection
We live in a world that often reduces eternity to vague notions or dismisses it altogether, chasing endless distractions to avoid facing our mortality. A loved one dies suddenly, a diagnosis shakes our foundations, or we simply grow weary under life’s burdens, and we wonder: Is there more? Does death have the final word? Like the Sadducees, we can trap ourselves in earthly logic, imagining heaven as merely an extension of marriage, work, or possessions. Yet this Gospel meets us in those quiet doubts, lifting our gaze to the God who promises not just survival, but transformed, joyful life forever with him.
Verse-by-Verse / Phrase-by-Phrase Reflection
The Sadducees approach with a question framed as respect: “Teacher, Moses wrote for us”, invoking the sacred law of levirate marriage from Deuteronomy 25 to ensure family lineage. But their tale of “seven brothers” escalates to absurdity, piling exaggeration upon exaggeration until “whose wife will she be?” They reduce resurrection to a marital puzzle, blind to God’s bigger design.
Jesus diagnoses their error sharply: “you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God”. Their mistake is double: mishandling God’s word and underestimating his ability to renew creation beyond human categories. How often do we approach faith with limited imagination, projecting our earthly struggles onto eternity?
He reveals the resurrection reality: “they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like angels in heaven”. Marriage, a beautiful earthly sign of God’s faithful love, gives way to direct, perfect communion with God and one another. We become like angels—radiant, bodied spirits fully alive in God’s presence, known intimately by him without the veils of time or frailty.
Then Jesus turns to their own Scriptures: “have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush”. From Exodus 3, he quotes God’s self-revelation: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”. Not “I was,” but “I am”—present tense, eternal covenant. These patriarchs live still in God’s embrace.
The climax pierces the heart: “He is not God of the dead, but of the living”. Death does not sever relationship with God; it ushers us deeper into it. Our loved ones in Christ are not lost—they abide with the God who calls himself theirs forever. “You are quite wrong” is Jesus’ merciful wake-up, inviting even skeptics to faith’s luminous truth.
Jewish Historical and Religious Context
The Sadducees were the temple’s elite, wealthy priests aligned with Roman rule, accepting only the written Torah while dismissing resurrection teachings from prophets like Isaiah or Daniel. Levirate marriage protected widows and preserved inheritance in a patriarchal society without social safety nets. Debates between Sadducees and Pharisees over afterlife were common in synagogues and Sanhedrin. Jesus honors their Torah focus by quoting Exodus, yet expands it, fulfilling Judaism’s hope in God’s undying faithfulness amid exile, persecution, and longing for messianic restoration.
Catholic Tradition and Teaching
The Church professes resurrection of the body and life everlasting in the Creed, rooted in this Gospel (Catechism 992–1004). Heaven perfects earthly loves, including marriage, into the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19). Purgatory prepares souls for this vision, as saints like Thomas Aquinas teach. Tradition sees God’s “I AM” as proof all baptized live eternally in Christ, the firstfruits of resurrection. Sacraments like Anointing and Eucharist strengthen our hope amid suffering.
Historical or Saintly Illustration
St. Thérèse of Lisieux faced mocking skepticism about heaven during her tuberculosis agony. When a nun dismissed afterlife joys, Thérèse clung to Jesus’ words, declaring, “God is the God of the living!” Her “little way” of trust bore fruit: even in pain, she radiated peace, converting doubters. Canonized in 1925, her life witnesses resurrection hope, moving from earthly trials to eternal embrace.
Application to Christian Life Today
In a secular age gripped by despair—euthanasia debates, youth suicide, pandemic grief—this Gospel emboldens us to live as resurrection people. Personally, entrust fears of death to prayer, finding peace in God’s living promise. Families, comfort the dying with heaven’s reality, not empty platitudes. Parishes, celebrate funerals as Easter vigils, proclaiming victory. In society, advocate life-affirming policies, witnessing that every person is made for eternity.
Eucharistic Connection
The proclaimed Word awakens resurrection faith; the Eucharist is its pledge. Here, we taste heaven’s marriage feast, where Christ’s Body unites us to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob—and our departed. Receiving him, we become “like angels,” strengthened for eternal life. Sent from Communion, we live as signs of the living God, consoling mourners and drawing skeptics to hope.
Messages / Call to Conversion
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Reject earthly limits on heaven: trust God’s power to transform marriage and life into angelic communion.
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Immerse in Scripture daily, letting it correct doubts and reveal the God of the living.
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Console the grieving with resurrection truth, honoring your faithful departed as alive in Christ.
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Repent of Sadducee-like skepticism; surrender fears of death to Jesus’ promise.
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Live each day for eternity, loving boldly as one destined for God’s undying embrace.
Outline for Preachers
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Background within the Gospel: Holy Week controversies after temple cleansing, before widow’s mite
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Life connection: modern doubts about afterlife amid grief, illness, secularism
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Key verses and phrases explained: “seven brothers”, “whose wife will she be?”, “neither the Scriptures nor the power of God”, “like angels in heaven”, “I am the God of Abraham”, “God of the living”
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Jewish historical and religious context: Sadducees vs. Pharisees, levirate marriage, Torah-only view
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Catholic teaching and tradition: Creed on resurrection, heaven perfects earthly bonds, saints on eternal life
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Saintly or historical illustration: St. Thérèse trusting amid mockery and suffering
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Application to life today: personal prayer against death fears, family funerals, parish Easter hope, societal pro-life witness
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Eucharistic connection: Word proclaims life, Eucharist pledges heavenly feast and union
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Key messages and call to conversion: Scripture trust, grief consolation, eternal living, repentance from doubt
