Mark 12:18 - There came to him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying,

Generated Verse: Mark 12:18

What does "Mark 12:18" mean?


Mark 12:18 introduces a challenge to Jesus posed by the Sadducees. Let's break down the meaning:

"There came to him Sadducees": This indicates that a group of Sadducees approached Jesus. The Sadducees were a Jewish sect during the time of Jesus. They were primarily associated with the priestly aristocracy and held considerable political and religious power.

"who say that there is no resurrection": This is the crucial part. The Sadducees' defining characteristic was their denial of the resurrection of the dead. They based their beliefs on a literal interpretation of the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) and did not find support for resurrection in those texts. Unlike the Pharisees, they did not accept oral tradition as binding.

"They asked him, saying,": This shows that the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question or a challenge. The following verses will reveal the nature of their question, which is specifically designed to highlight what they see as the absurdity of the concept of resurrection.

In essence, this verse sets the stage for a debate between Jesus and the Sadducees regarding the doctrine of resurrection. The Sadducees, who do not believe in resurrection, are about to pose a question that they think will expose the logical inconsistencies of believing in it.

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