Mark 12 presents us with a powerful sequence of confrontations between Jesus and various religious leaders. Each group approaches Jesus not with sincerity, but with schemes—attempts to trap Him in His words, to discredit His authority, to erode the trust of the crowds. Last week, we reflected on the Herodians and Pharisees who brought Jesus a politically loaded question about paying taxes to Caesar. They walked away marveling at His answer.

Now, the Sadducees step forward.

These were not just another branch of religious Judaism. The Sadducees were a powerful, elite group, comprised largely of the priestly aristocracy. They denied the resurrection, the existence of angels and demons, and the sovereignty of God. Their concern was not with eternity but with securing influence and prosperity in this world. Their doctrine, if you could call it that, was one of denial—denial of the supernatural, denial of future hope, denial of God’s power beyond human effort.

And so they come to Jesus with a riddle rooted in the Law of Moses, referencing the Levirate marriage law from Deuteronomy 25. A woman, they propose, is married to seven brothers in succession, each of whom dies without leaving children. Their question: In the resurrection, whose wife will she be?

It’s not a genuine inquiry. It’s a mockery of the resurrection, meant to make Jesus—and the Pharisees who believe in life after death—look foolish.

But Jesus answers them with clarity, with power, and with rebuke.

“You Are Wrong Because You Know Neither the Scriptures Nor the Power of God” (v. 24)

Jesus cuts to the heart of their error. “You are wrong,” He says—not mistaken, not misinformed, but wrong. And then He adds, “because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.”

We may be tempted to scoff at the Sadducees, but their failures often mirror our own. Their assumptions live on today—in pulpits where Scripture is no longer taught as authoritative, in hearts that doubt God’s ability to act, and in churches that function with a practical materialism devoid of awe and dependence upon the supernatural.

Jesus tells them: You’re wrong because you don’t know the Word, and you don’t know the God who wrote it.

This is not simply an academic oversight. This is the root of theological heresy, spiritual weakness, and cultural compromise. When the Word of God is neglected, our view of God shrinks. When we lose confidence in the power of God, we become functional atheists—even in our worship.

Remember the second question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: What rule has God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him?
The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy Him.

We need to be a people who know the Scriptures. Not just pastors, not just elders, but every believer. We may not all go to seminary or study Greek and Hebrew, but we are all called to pursue a sound knowledge of God’s Word. To fail in this is to repeat the Sadducees’ error.

But Jesus also says they do not know the power of God. And what is that power? It is not merely abstract. It is the power that speaks light into existence. The power that parts seas, heals the sick, calms storms, and raises the dead. It is the power that broke into this closed world through Jesus Christ.

J. Gresham Machen once said, “The truly penitent man glories in the supernatural, for he knows that nothing natural will meet his need.”

Worship, then, is not mundane. It is a supernatural event. When we gather on the Lord’s Day, we meet with the living God. When we partake of the Supper, though the bread and cup may seem ordinary, we are communing by faith with Christ Himself. When we pray, we are not sending hopes into the sky—we are approaching the throne of grace with boldness because of Jesus.

Why, then, do we so often approach worship with boredom instead of astonishment? With yawns instead of awe? With apathy instead of reverence?

“When They Rise from the Dead…”

Notice carefully what Jesus says: He does not say if they rise. He says when. That one word makes all the difference. The resurrection is not a possibility hanging in the balance, subject to opinion or doubt—it is a certainty.

Jesus does not entertain the Sadducees’ skepticism. He doesn’t allow for ambiguity. He doesn’t say, “In the event that there happens to be a resurrection…” No, He speaks with the authority of heaven and declares, “When they rise from the dead…” (Mark 12:25). That is the confidence of the Son of God.

We must not put an “if” where Jesus puts a “when.” Let us not play coy with what He proclaims as sure. Don’t try to sound spiritual by being skeptical where Jesus is certain. Don’t wrap your doubt in intellectualism when Jesus has already spoken with clarity. The resurrection is coming. The dead will rise. The tombs will be opened. The Son of Man will return. And the hope of the believer is not rooted in myth or metaphor but in the literal, physical, victorious resurrection of the dead.

If you are in Christ, your future is not wishful thinking—it is secured by the risen Christ who declared, “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19).

“They Neither Marry Nor Are Given in Marriage”

Jesus addresses their question directly. In the resurrection, He says, we will neither marry nor be given in marriage. The earthly institution of marriage will pass away—not because love is diminished, but because the age to come is so much greater.

There is a minority interpretation of Jesus’ words worth noting. Some scholars suggest that the phrase “marrying and being given in marriage” may be a Hebrew idiom referring not to the institution of marriage itself but to the kind of moral chaos that marked the generation of Noah—people marrying, divorcing, and remarrying at will, treating marriage lightly. This interpretation draws from Jesus’ words in Matthew 24, where He describes His return as being like the days of Noah, when people were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage.

In that view, Jesus is not denying marriage in heaven outright, but rather condemning the distorted view of marriage that had become common—treating it as a disposable contract rather than a covenant. Heaven, then, is pictured as a place where marriage is no longer corrupted by sin, rather than entirely absent.

However, that interpretation—while worth considering—is ultimately unconvincing in the context of Mark 12. It fails to answer the Sadducees’ question. Jesus’ answer is not nuanced or poetic. It is plain: “In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage.”

Why? Because the purpose of marriage—companionship amid sin and suffering, the bearing of children in a world of death—will be fulfilled. It will no longer be necessary. We will be like the angels—not in being disembodied or sexless, but in that we will not marry or reproduce.

Importantly, Jesus is not denying male and female identity in the resurrection. His mention of “marrying” and “being given in marriage” affirms the continuing distinction between male and female. And when He says God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He is affirming that they still exist—as themselves—in glory.

Now, the eradication of marriage doesn’t mean God erases the oneness. It may very well be that those married on earth will have a very close relationship in heaven. What we know of heaven from the Scriptures is that when we enter the glorified state, we will love one another with a love that is far better and perfect and pure than anything known in this life.

“He Is Not the God of the Dead, but of the Living”

To further silence the Sadducees, Jesus quotes from Exodus—from the very portion of Scripture they accept as authoritative. He recalls God’s words at the burning bush: “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

Not “I was.” But I am.

God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still live in His presence. And so shall all who are in Christ.

Final Applications

Let me close with four brief reflections drawn from this powerful exchange:

1. Marriage and procreation matter.
Jesus affirms the beauty and significance of marriage in this life. It is a gift from God and a means of raising the next generation in faith. It is hard work—but it is essential and good.

2. Singleness is not second class.
Heaven will be filled with the unmarried who are fully satisfied in God. If you are single, you are not waiting for real life to begin. Your identity is not lacking. Real life is found in Christ, and the resurrection life will be far more glorious than anything romantic fulfillment can offer in this world.

3. Know the Scriptures and the power of God.
Let us not be ignorant. Let us be students of the Word and believers in God’s active, powerful presence in in His people.

4. You have a never-dying soul.
The resurrection is not theory. It is reality. Jesus was just days from the cross when He spoke these words—and He spoke of death and life beyond it with clarity and confidence. You and I will live forever. The question is not if we will rise, but how we will rise—either to everlasting life or to judgment. Jesus’ words are stark: And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Mt 10:28).

So, my friend: make sure you belong to Christ. Not just by name, not just in sentiment, but in living faith. Trust Him. Follow Him. Know His Word. And believe His power.

The resurrection is not a question mark. It is a certainty.

Let us live like it.