Whose Wife Will She Be in The Resurrection?
February 24, 2022
Commentary
After Jesus answered the Pharisees and Herodians, the Sadducees came to question Him (v. 18). They did not believe in the resurrection and tried to challenge this truth. They gave a situation about a woman who married seven brothers, each dying without children (vv. 19–22). Then they asked, “In the resurrection, therefore, when they shall rise, whose wife shall she be?” (v. 23), to make the idea of resurrection seem unreasonable and confusing, and to try to trap Jesus with human logic that could not fully understand God’s eternal truth. They failed to see God’s power beyond human reasoning and limited understanding.
The question was based on the law of marriage among brothers, which aimed to continue a family line and keep property with-in the family. However, they misunderstood both Scripture and God’s power. Jesus corrected them, saying, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God?” (v. 24). He explained that in the resurrection, people will not marry, but will be like the angels in heaven (v. 25), showing that eternal life is different from earthly life.
Jesus then gave a clear teaching about the resurrection. He remind-ed them that God said, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (v. 26). This means that they are still alive, because God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (v. 27). The problem with the Sadducees was not only their misunderstanding, but their lack of a true relationship with God. This pas-sage reminds us to trust God’s Word, believe in His power, and seek a living relationship with Him each day, growing in faith, understanding, and confidence in His promises. We are called to know Him personally, not just understand truths about Him intellectually alone, each day faithfully.
Application
I reflect on how I view God’s truth. Do I trust His Word or question it with my own thinking? Do I believe in His power, even when I do not understand? Am I growing in a real relationship with Him? How can I know You personally and walk by faith, not just by what I see or think each day?.
Mark 12:18–27 (NET)
18 Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) also came to him and asked him, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother.’ 20 There were seven brothers. The first one married, and when he died he had no children. 21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 Now as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
Only 36% Believe Your Body Will be Resurrected
Only 36% of American adults believe that, after you die, your physical body will someday be resurrected. 54% do not believe so and 10% are undecided. (Scripts Howard News Service 4/5/06)