Mark 12:23 - In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
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What does "Mark 12:23" mean?
This verse, Mark 12:23, is part of a larger passage (Mark 12:18-27) where the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, try to trick Jesus with a hypothetical scenario based on the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). Let's break it down:
"In the resurrection, when they rise...": This sets the stage in the resurrected world, after the dead have been brought back to life. It assumes the possibility of resurrection, which is what the Sadducees were trying to deny.
"...whose wife will she be of them?": This is the core of their question. They are presenting a situation where one woman has been married to seven brothers in succession, due to the law that a brother should marry his deceased brother's widow to continue the family line. They are using this complicated scenario to highlight what they believe to be the absurdity of resurrection. They think that marriage, a vital earthly institution for procreation and social order, would be problematic in a resurrected world.
"For the seven had her as a wife.”: This simply restates the hypothetical situation, emphasizing that all seven brothers were married to the same woman at different points in their lives.
The Underlying Point of the Sadducees:
The Sadducees are trying to trap Jesus. They believe that if the resurrection is real, it would create logical impossibilities and absurdities, like this marriage predicament. Their goal is to discredit the idea of resurrection and undermine Jesus' authority.
Jesus' Response (summarized from Mark 12:24-27):
Jesus rebukes the Sadducees, stating that they are mistaken because they do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God. He makes a few key points:
1. Misunderstanding of the Scriptures: Jesus implies the Sadducees only focused on some parts of the Hebrew Scriptures.
2. Misunderstanding of the Nature of Resurrection: He says that in the resurrection, people neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. This indicates that the relationships and societal structures of earthly life are transformed in the resurrected state. The concerns the Sadducees had about marriage were based on an earthly perspective.
3. Proof of Resurrection: Jesus argues from the Old Testament itself (Exodus 3:6) that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must still be alive in some sense, even after their earthly deaths, proving the concept of resurrection.
In conclusion, Mark 12:23 highlights the Sadducees' attempt to ridicule the idea of resurrection by presenting a scenario that they believed would expose its logical inconsistencies. Jesus refutes their argument by revealing a deeper understanding of the scriptures and the nature of the resurrected life. Marriage, as an earthly institution for procreation and social structure, is not necessarily the same in the resurrected state. Jesus highlights that in the resurrection, people are like the angels in heaven and therefore earthly customs do not apply in the same way.
Mark 12:23 - In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.”
What does "Mark 12:23" mean?
This verse, Mark 12:23, is part of a larger passage (Mark 12:18-27) where the Sadducees, who did not believe in the resurrection, try to trick Jesus with a hypothetical scenario based on the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). Let's break it down:
"In the resurrection, when they rise...": This sets the stage in the resurrected world, after the dead have been brought back to life. It assumes the possibility of resurrection, which is what the Sadducees were trying to deny.
"...whose wife will she be of them?": This is the core of their question. They are presenting a situation where one woman has been married to seven brothers in succession, due to the law that a brother should marry his deceased brother's widow to continue the family line. They are using this complicated scenario to highlight what they believe to be the absurdity of resurrection. They think that marriage, a vital earthly institution for procreation and social order, would be problematic in a resurrected world.
"For the seven had her as a wife.”: This simply restates the hypothetical situation, emphasizing that all seven brothers were married to the same woman at different points in their lives.
The Underlying Point of the Sadducees:
The Sadducees are trying to trap Jesus. They believe that if the resurrection is real, it would create logical impossibilities and absurdities, like this marriage predicament. Their goal is to discredit the idea of resurrection and undermine Jesus' authority.
Jesus' Response (summarized from Mark 12:24-27):
Jesus rebukes the Sadducees, stating that they are mistaken because they do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God. He makes a few key points:
1. Misunderstanding of the Scriptures: Jesus implies the Sadducees only focused on some parts of the Hebrew Scriptures.
2. Misunderstanding of the Nature of Resurrection: He says that in the resurrection, people neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. This indicates that the relationships and societal structures of earthly life are transformed in the resurrected state. The concerns the Sadducees had about marriage were based on an earthly perspective.
3. Proof of Resurrection: Jesus argues from the Old Testament itself (Exodus 3:6) that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must still be alive in some sense, even after their earthly deaths, proving the concept of resurrection.
In conclusion, Mark 12:23 highlights the Sadducees' attempt to ridicule the idea of resurrection by presenting a scenario that they believed would expose its logical inconsistencies. Jesus refutes their argument by revealing a deeper understanding of the scriptures and the nature of the resurrected life. Marriage, as an earthly institution for procreation and social structure, is not necessarily the same in the resurrected state. Jesus highlights that in the resurrection, people are like the angels in heaven and therefore earthly customs do not apply in the same way.