Marcos 12
Leon Morris · Citado em PreceptAustin
Marcos 12
Morris adds that "Jesus’ questioners had failed to realize that the life to come will be essentially different from this life. Where the doctrine of resurrection was held among the Jews it was usually envisaged as an indefinite prolongation of this life, though no doubt with modifications and improvements. ...Jesus rejects all this. Life in heaven will be significantly different from anything on earth. Human relationships are largely a matter of place and time: they are bound to be different when neither of these applies. (ED: HEAVEN IS A DIFFERENT PLACE AND TIME NO LONGER EXISTS AS WE KNOW IT!) (See Luke: An Introduction and Commentary - Page 308) Daniel Akin - So, the billion dollar question, “will there be sex in heaven?” Here is what I think we can biblically and safely say: We will exist as glorified bodies in heaven. We will maintain our present and unique identity in heaven. There will be, in one sense, sex in heaven because sex identifies us as male and female in terms of gender. Whatever physical, sensual and sexual pleasure we enjoy in this life will be greatly transcended and magnified beyond our imagination in the life to come. (Mark 12:18-27 Will There Be Sex in Heaven?) Related Resources: Excursus (Chart) on the Order of Resurrections Will there be sex in heaven? | GotQuestions.org Will there be such a thing as gender in Heaven? | GotQuestions.org David Thompson: What do other religions say about the afterlife? - Mormons: say you go to 1 of 3 kingdoms based on approval of Joseph Smith - Hindus: Reincarnated based on your works - Muslims, Islam -- Die and go to a pleasure palace; if you die a martyr you get 72 virgins - Indians: you need to be buried with your bow and arrows as you go to your Happy and Holy Hunting Ground - Egyptians: be buried with things you can take with you into eternity - Some Greeks: bury with a coin in mouth so you can pay the fee to cross into the land of the afterlife Religious people just make it up as they go and people believe it; bunch of crazy views Important to understand what the Scriptures teach about the afterlife. No Marriage in Heaven When from the grave God calls us near, No earthly bonds remain; The ties of time give way to joy, Where love is pure, unstained. Like angels in His radiant courts, Immortal, clothed in light; We’ll worship Christ, the Bridegroom true, Our joy, our heart’s delight. QUESTION - What does it mean to be like the angels of God in heaven? GOTQUESTIONS.ORG ANSWER - In Matthew 21:23—22:46, Jesus found Himself in challenging exchanges with the leaders of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. These spiritual elders, far from seeking enlightenment, were actively confronting Jesus’ authority. Their aim was not to engage in a spiritual discourse but to find a way to trap Jesus, leading to His arrest and condemnation (see Matthew 19:3; 21:46; 22:15). It was in response to one of their trick questions that Jesus said, “For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30, NKJV). The question that prompted Jesus’ response came from the Sadducees. They sought to apply the Law of Moses regarding levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25:5–10 to a complex hypothetical scenario. In this scenario, a man died, leaving behind his childless widow. The man’s seven brothers, one after another, married the woman, and all died childless. Finally, the woman herself passed away (Matthew 22: 24–27). The Sadducees then asked, “So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her” (Matthew 22:28, NLT). An important detail in this exchange is that the Sadducees did not believe in the future resurrection of the dead (see Matthew 22:23). They accepted only the Pentateuch, or the first five books of Moses, as holy and authoritative Scripture. The Sadducees rejected the spirit world, angels, and the doctrine of the resurrection (see Acts 23:8). Thus, they assumed Jesus would be unable to answer their question because, as they saw it, the resurrection was mere myth. Jesus met their challenge head-on, telling the Sadducees that their assumptions about marriage and the resurrection were wrong. They were ignorant of much of the Old Testament and knew nothing about God’s resurrection power: “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. For when the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. In this respect they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:29–30, NLT). In their ignorance, the Sadducees concocted ridiculous suppositions instead of listening to and learning from Jesus, who was Himself “the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24). Jesus indicated that angels don’t marry or reproduce, and those who are resurrected in the afterlife will share these characteristics. Thus, the woman in the Sadducees’ scenario would be the wife of no one in the resurrection. While the Bible doesn’t say why we won’t marry in heaven, commentators suggest some sound reasons. First, people won’t need to get married and bear children—to “be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth,” as God told Noah in Genesis 9:1. There will no longer be a reason to replenish the earth with offspring because death will no longer exist. Jesus’ statement that humans will be like the angels of God in heaven, coupled with Paul’s teaching about marriage in Ephesians 5:22–33, points to an additional conclusion—that God instituted marriage on earth to demonstrate a greater heavenly or spiritual reality. For believers on earth, marriage is a picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and His bride, the church. When the actual heavenly marriage between the Bridegroom and the Bride of Christ (the collective body of the redeemed) takes place in heaven, the purpose for marriage will be fulfilled (Revelation 19:7–9; 21:1–2). There will no longer be a need for humans to marry because marriage will be superseded by the ultimate reality to which it pointed. People will not become angels or be like angels in every way in eternity. People will not become angels or be like angels in every way in eternity. Humans and angels are distinctly different creatures. Jesus’ statement that we will be like the angels of God in heaven means simply that men and women will not marry or be given in marriage in the next life. When Jesus revealed this truth, He said nothing to suggest we will not recognize our spouses or remember our marriages in heaven. Most likely, however, the perfect joy and love of our eternal home in the Father’s presence will far overshadow even the most intimate of human ties we experienced while here on earth (see Isaiah 35:10; 51:11; Romans 8:18; 1 Corinthians 2:9; Revelation 7:17; 21:4; 22:3–5). QUESTION - Will there be marriage in heaven? WATCH VIDEO ANSWER - The Bible tells us, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). This was Jesus’ answer in response to a question concerning a woman who had been married multiple times in her life —whom would she be married to in heaven (Matthew 22:23-28)? Evidently, there will be no such thing as marriage in heaven. This does not mean that a husband and wife will no longer know each other in heaven. This also does not mean that a husband and wife could not still have a close relationship in heaven. What it does seem to indicate, though, is that a husband and wife will no longer be married in heaven. Most likely, there will be no marriage in heaven simply because there will be no need for it. When God established marriage, He did so to fill certain needs. First, He saw that Adam was in need of a companion. “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him’” (Genesis 2:18). Eve was the solution to the problem of Adam’s loneliness, as well as his need for a “helper,” someone to come alongside him as his companion and go through life by his side. In heaven, however, there will be no loneliness, nor will there be any need for helpers. We will be surrounded by multitudes of believers and angels (Revelation 7:9), and all our needs will be met, including the need for companionship. Second, God created marriage as a means of procreation and the filling of the earth with human beings. Heaven, however, will not be populated by procreation. Those who go to heaven will get there by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; they will not be created there by means of reproduction. Therefore, there is no purpose for marriage in heaven since there is no procreation or loneliness. GotQuestions.org QUESTION - Why will people neither marry nor be given in marriage in the resurrection (Matthew 22:30)? GOTQUESTIONS.ORG ANSWER - In Matthew 22 Jesus fields a series of questions meant to entrap Him in His words. It’s in answer to one of those questions that Jesus says that “at the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). The immediate context of Jesus’ teaching that at the resurrection people will not marry is to answer a group of Jewish religious leaders called the Sadducees. The Sadducees presented a scenario where a woman was widowed seven times without any children, and each time, following the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 25:5), she married her deceased husband’s brother, who was to bear a child for his deceased brother. In the Sadducees’ scenario, the woman was married seven times to seven different brothers. They then asked Jesus, “Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” (Matthew 22:28). The Sadducees’ question was dishonest to begin with, because they denied the reality of a future resurrection (Matthew 22:23; Acts 23:8). So, their question was purely for the purpose of trapping Jesus. Jesus’ response not only answered their question but also confronted their error concerning two doctrines: the future resurrection and the existence of angels. Jesus attributes the Sadducees’ doctrinal errors to ignorance of two things: “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 22:29). Jesus then reveals the truth that “at the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). He proceeds to prove, from the Scriptures, that there is life after death and there will be a resurrection. Quoting Exodus 3:6, Jesus points to God’s self-identification as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since God said, “I am” their God (present tense), and since “He is not the God of the dead but of the living” (Matthew 22:32), the patriarchs are still alive, and God is still their God. Jesus does not address why people will not marry at the resurrection. Some have speculated that marriage won’t exist in the resurrected state because procreation will not be necessary. Some suggest that marriage, as a symbol of Christ and His people (Ephesians 5:22–23), will not be necessary as the reality will have replaced the symbol. Either way, Jesus is making several things clear: 1) there is certainly a resurrection; 2) this state of being will be drastically different from what humanity experiences now; 3) marriage will not occur; and 4) humanity will be like the angels, who also do not marry. By answering the Sadducees’ question this way, Jesus was able to affirm the resurrection in the presence of many and provide the solution to the post-resurrection marriage conundrum. Existence in the resurrected state will simply be different from what we know now. People will not marry or be given in marriage in the resurrected state, but that does not mean people will not remember their earthly relationships. To conclude that people will lose their memories of life before the resurrection stretches the text beyond what it says. Also, being “like the angels in heaven” does not mean that people will become angels, only that they will be like angels regarding marriage. We should look forward to the resurrection, as it will be a glorious event and state of being: No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever (Revelation 22:3–5; cf. Romans 8:18 and Matthew 17:1–3). Related Resources: What are angelic humans? Is the idea of angelic humans biblical? Will there be marriage in heaven? Will there be sex in heaven? Will there be such a thing as gender in heaven? Will we have physical bodies in heaven? Henrietta Mears - There is an old hymn that says, “I want to be an angel and with the angels stand.” (Here is the vocal version) Do you want to be an angel when you die? If you do, I am afraid you are never going to make it. God has something much better for you than being an angel. God’s children will reign with Him; angels serve Him. Statements like the words of the hymn quoted above have given a very wrong idea of just what angels are. People have an idea that those who have died have been given a pair of wings and a harp and now are angels. This is a common mistake and it is not what the Scriptures teach. It is true that all Christians who die trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior are in His presence in heaven, but they are not angels. The Bible teaches that angels are a distinct class of beings who have never been human beings. They are ministering spirits (see Heb. 1:14+). Our Lord said that human beings after they die and rise from the dead “are like angels of God in heaven” (Mt 22:30) in the matter of marriage and giving in marriage. This shows that human beings in heaven are like angels in this respect, but they are not angels. Know this: Christians will no more become angels when they die than they will become birds or fish. Believers in Christ are called saints; they are never called angels in the Bible. (God's Plan: Finding Yourself in His Grand Design) Marriage In Heaven When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. —Mark 12:25 Today's Scripture: Mark 12:18-27 When I was a student at a Christian high school, I knew a professor whose wife had died. Later he married the widow of his best friend. One day a student asked him,“Will your first wife know about your second marriage when you see her in heaven, and if so, how do you think she’ll react?”The professor smiled and said,“ Of course she will, and because she will be perfect she will not be jealous. Even though we will not live as marriage partners, I believe we will know each other. We will all be the best of friends forever.” In Mark 12, we read about some enemies of Jesus who invented a story about a woman whose husband died and left no son. Under Jewish law, the brother of the deceased had to marry the widow for the purpose of having a son (Deuteronomy 25:5). According to their story, this happened with seven brothers. Jesus’ detractors asked,“When they rise, whose wife will she be?”He said they neither understood the Scriptures nor God’s power to raise the dead to a glorious new existence without marriage. The love we’ve known while here below In heaven will find its highest joy, For we will know Christ’s perfect love That memories cannot destroy. —D. De Haan The pleasures of earth cannot compare to the joys of heaven. 🙏 THOUGHT - Do you really believe this? What difference should it make in your ongoing battle with lust? Be motivated to press on the power of the Spirit, for the glory of the Lamb, by pondering the following quote from one of America's greatest theologians. Jonathan Edwards wrote that in heaven "the glorified spiritual bodies of the saints shall be filled with pleasures of the most exquisite kind that such refined bodies are capable of….The sweetness and pleasure that shall be in the mind, shall put the spirits of the body into such a motion as shall cause a sweet sensation throughout the body, infinitely excelling any sensual pleasure here.” Mark 12:26 "But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I [AM] THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, and the God of Jacob'? have: Mk 12:10 Mt 22:31,32 in the book: Ex 3:2-6,16 Lu 20:37 Ac 7:30-32 I am: Ge 17:7,8 26:24 28:13 31:42 32:9 33:20 *marg: Isa 41:8-10 Mark 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passage: Exodus 3:6, 15+ He said also, “I am (Lxx = "ego eimi") the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. Matthew 22:31+ “But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I AM ("ego eimi" - direct quote from Lxx of Ex 3:6 - see note below) THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” Luke 20:37+ “But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB. JESUS PROVES LIFE AFTER DEAD IS IN THE PENTATEUCH The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection because they did not see it taught in the Pentateuch. Jesus is about to take them to school, so to speak! There is a remarkable passage in Josephus, which proves that the best informed among the Jews believed in the immateriality and immortality of the soul, and that the souls of righteous men were in the presence of God in a state of happiness. "They who lose their lives for the sake of God, live unto God, as do Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the rest of the patriarchs." Not less remarkable is a passage in Shemoth Rabba, "Why doth Moses say, Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? (Ex 32:13) Here is another "rabbinical writing" documenting that the Jews believed in resurrection based on writings in the Torah - R. Abin saith, The Lord said unto Moses, I look for ten men from thee, as I looked for that number in Sodom. Find me out ten righteous persons among the people, and I will not destroy thy people. Then saith Moses, Behold, here am I, and Aaron, Eleazar, and Ithamar, Phinehas, and Caleb, and Joshua; but, saith God, there are but seven: where are the other three? When Moses knew not what to do, he saith, O Eternal God, [hayim hem ha-metim] do those live who are dead? Yes, saith God. Then saith Moses, If those that are dead do live, remember Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Bock explains that "The argument advances further. Jesus has dealt with the Sadducees’ question, but there is still one issue that needs to be addressed. Jesus wants to make sure that the Sadducees understand that resurrection is a scriptural teaching. Though he could have appealed to a prophetic passage like Dan. 12:2, Jesus opts for a text from the Pentateuch because the Sadducees held the Torah in highest regard. A text from that portion of Scripture would be most persuasive for them. Working with their presuppositions he makes his argument. Jesus begins his elaboration with the direct statement that the dead are raised, which he says Moses revealed." (Ibid) But regarding the fact that the dead rise again (egeiro) have you not read (anaginosko) in the book of Moses - First note that Jesus' question implies an affirmative answer. Yes they had read, but no they did not understand what they read. And so Jesus states that the book of Moses alluded to the fact that the dead rise again! Hiebert comments that the dead "rise is the present tense of doctrinal certainty. Jesus left no doubt concerning the bodily resurrection of those who had died." (The Gospel of Mark: An Expositional Commentary) Hiebert - The book of Moses was the Pentateuch, the law. The natural implication of the designation is that Jesus accepted its Mosaic authorship. (The Gospel of Mark: An Expositional Commentary) Note that in line with this chapter which continues the question of Jesus' authority from Mark 11:27-33+, Jesus appeals to the AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURE. The Sadducees had based their rejection of the doctrine of the resurrection on their belief that this truth was not found in the Torah (Gen-Deut). The Sadducees had quoted Moses from the Torah, and now Jesus also quotes Moses from the same Torah. They cannot accuse Him of using an invalid source! He is drawing the net tighter and this is the most powerful argument. Related Resources: Authority of the Scripture - Richard Mayhue - 10 page article - excellent review The New Testament Use of the Old Testament - Robert Thomas In the passage about the burning bush - So Jesus takes them to Exodus 3, to a passage which they had read. Why didn't Jesus say "Now turn to Exodus 3:6 (Ex 3:2-6) which is on page 100 of your pew Bibles?" The answer of course is that the Scriptures were not assigned chapter/verse designations until the mid-1500's (See versification). "Jesus used a common form of rabbinic citation here to refer to the passage in question." (NET Note) How God spoke to him, saying, 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, and the God of Jacob - Don't miss the fact that Jesus is saying God spoke indicating that Scripture is truly God breathed (2 Ti 3:16+) or inspired (What does it mean that the Bible is inspired?). When we read the Scripture GOD IS SPEAKING TO US!!! Can you picture the faces of the Sadducees when Jesus quoted Exodus 3? They must have been thinking that Jesus is about to make a big mistake for resurrection is not taught in that passage. Their sense of superiority would immediately be squashed by Jesus "interpretation" of that famous passage (in v27). See Hiebert's note below on the words "I AM," because Mark's Gospel actually does not have the Greek word for "am," but it was added by the transalors. Hiebert - “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”—citing the very words of God declaring His covenant relations to these men (Exod. 3:6). The repetition of God with each name emphasizes the distinct personal relationship which God established with each of these patriarchs. In harmony with the covenant relationship which they enjoyed, testified to by their circumcision, specific promises were made to each. “As these patriarchs had in their bodies the sign of this covenant, the body is included in whatever promise is involved.” In the Hebrew text quoted, no verb appears, as is normal in such statements. The italicized am in our text indicates that there is likewise no verb in the text as quoted in Mark. But in the Septuagint (Lxx) the verb am is supplied (ED: "EGO EIMI" WHERE EIMI IS PRESENT TENSE - I AM CONTINUALLY), indicating that the translators took the words of God to Moses not merely as pointing to a relationship in the historical past but as asserting God’s abiding relationship to these patriarchs. (The verb am appears in the quotation as given in Mt. 22:32). In itself, the original statement might mean no more than that the God who spoke to Moses had in the past revealed Himself as the God of these patriarchs. But on the basis of His understanding of the nature of God, Jesus insisted that the statement had a deeper meaning. God’s living relationship with His people is not terminated by their physical death. His living presence and the eternal life He bestows on believers assures that this relationship culminates in the resurrection life. (The Gospel of Mark: An Expositional Commentary) Hiebert adds "Christ’s argument clearly established the immortality of the soul, but it has been denied that it establishes the resurrection. Yet the truth of the resurrection follows when it is recognized that Hebrew thought regarded men as a unity; his corporeal and incorporeal nature are so perfectly fused that each is incomplete without the other. The Bible recognizes the separation of the soul from the body at death but does not view this as man’s final condition. “Even for the righteous the intermediate state is a time of imperfection, first, because the spirit is without a body, which for human beings is an abnormal condition; and, second, because the rewards promised to the saints are not given in their fulness until the second coming of Christ. See Luke 14:14 and 2 Tim. 4:8.” They are in a state of incompleteness, awaiting the resurrection of their bodies (2 Cor. 5:1–8). Only when believers receive their resurrection bodies will they be fully like Christ (Phil. 3:21). “Everlasting life will not be realized in a fragmentary existence, as in an arch of being springing for ever in a half way up.” The redemptive program of God extends even to the body of man, and He will not fail to bring to its full consummation the salvation which He has already begun in His saints. For man’s body forever to remain in the grip of death would mean that death had not been conquered. The hope of the resurrection is based on God’s faithfulness. Jesus’ answer, while teaching the reality of the resurrection, said nothing about the manner of the resurrection or the nature of the resurrection body." (The Gospel of Mark: An Expositional Commentary) Dwight Edwards - The Lord then refers to Exodus 3:6 and 15 to prove that there is a resurrection since God says "I am" the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who were dead at that time. Thus Christ proves the doctrine of the resurrection on a single verb tense! Obviously He had nothing but the highest view of the inerrancy and authority of Scriptures (Matt 5:17-18). (Mark Commentary) We can set out the chain of logic as follows: 1. God is the God of the living, not of the dead. 2. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the time that God speaks to Moses (cf. Exod. 3:6). 3. Therefore, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are “alive” at the time God speaks to Moses (follows from # 1 and # 2). 4. But, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died long before. 5. Therefore, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must have been resurrected in the meantime (follows from # 3 and # 4). 6. Therefore, there is a resurrection (follows from # 5). (Mark Believers Church Bible Commentary) Lawrence Richards - This is a fascinating passage for any who are uncertain about the integrity and full authority of Scripture. It’s popular with some scholars to assume that the books attributed to Moses are a much later fiction: the name of a mythical Jewish hero, Moses, was attached in the 600 B.C's to give the editors’ invention credibility. With scissors and paste many modern scholars romp through the Old Testament, cut up the Pentateuch and Prophets, and assign this verse to one supposed set of authors, and that to another. How different from the way Jesus viewed the Scriptures. According to Christ, it was Moses who spoke what is recorded in Exodus, and even a seemingly minor thing like the tense of a verb is authoritative. Do the dead really live again? They live now! The God of the Old Testament is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, long after their biological deaths. On this issue of Scripture, I suspect it’s wiser to trust Jesus’ pronouncement than to trust the theories of the self-proclaimed wise men of our day. When we do so, we rejoice in the confidence that we too will live forever with Abraham’s and our God. (Borrow 365 Day Devotional Commentary page 750) Related Resource: The New Testament Use of the Old Testament - Robert Thomas What does it mean that the Bible is inspired? Mark 12:27 "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken." is not: Ro 4:17 14:9 Heb 11:13-16 you: Mk 12:24 Pr 19:27 Heb 3:10 Mark 12 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Matthew 22:32 ‘I AM (ED: GREEK = "EGO EIMI" WHERE EIMI IS PRESENT TENSE - I AM CONTINUALLY) THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. Luke 20:38+ “Now He is not the God of the dead but of the living; for all live to Him.” 39 Some of the scribes answered and said, “Teacher, You have spoken well.” 40 For they did not have courage to question Him any longer about anything. LOVING GOD OF THE LIVING HE LOVES Matthew 22:34 says that "the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (phimoo - "muzzled" ~ "speechless") the Sadducees" with His clear doctrine and pristine logic. And of course in this case since Pharisees and Sadducees were antagonistic toward each other, the Pharisees undoubtedly would have been pleased by Jesus' "beat down" of the Sadducees! He is not the God of the dead, but of the living (zao in the present tense) - God had said "I am" not "I was" indicating these men were alive. Note that the verb "IS" is present tense which corresponds perfectly to the present tense of "ego eimi" in the Septuagint of Ex 3:6+. To reiterate, the point the present tense makes is that if Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not continue to live, God would not say that He IS continually their God, speaking in the present tense. He would have to say that He WAS their God, speaking in the past tense. In other words Jesus is affirming that God is continually the God of the living. The patriarchs are "living." Hence by deduction, the patriarchs were brought back to life from the dead. You are greatly mistaken (planao) - Notice also how Jesus begins (Mk 12:24+) and ends by pointing out to the Sadducees that they were mistaken (same verb planao but now Jesus' adds greatly mistaken!) "Their self-confident assumption that they were discrediting the teaching of the resurrection was an open error. “The Sadducees are reckoning without their God.” Their error was great and had far-reaching implications (cf. 1 Cor. 15:13–19)" (Hiebert) Hiebert has an interesting comment on greatly mistaken - "Jesus ends his knockdown argument with a final blow: You are quite wrong (lit., much deceived)! " (Geddert) They had drawn a wrong deduction because they failed to understand the true nature of God and His relations to men. Jesus held that God’s describing Himself to Moses as Abraham’s God, Jacob’s God, and Isaac’s God referred not merely to a past relationship which no longer existed. By His very nature God is the God not of the dead but of the living. In calling these patriarchs into covenant relations with Himself, He had established a relationship with them that was not terminated with physical death. Death did not break the spiritual relationship into which they had been brought. The patriarchs were dead to the visible world, but they were still alive unto God in the invisible world. “Death is a change of relation to the world and to men; it does not change our relation to God.” As the unchanging living God, He is the God of the living, of men who are characterized as having life because of their relationship with Him. (The Gospel of Mark: An Expositional Commentary) Swete explains: “In quoting that passage (Ex 3) the Lord argues thus; In this place, God reveals Himself as standing in a real relation to men who were long dead. But the living God cannot be in relation with any who have ceased to exist; therefore the patriarchs were still living in His sight at the time of the Exodus; dead to the visible world, they were alive unto God … This argument establishes the immortality of the soul, but not, at first sight or directly, the resurrection of the body. But the resurrection of the body follows, when it is understood that the body is a true part of human nature. God would not leave men with whom He maintained relations, in an imperfect condition; the living soul must in due time recover its partner; the death of the body could only be a suspension of vital activities which in some form would be resumed.” Steven
Marcos 12
Morris - The long robes the scribes wore (‘flowing robes’, NIV) were a sign of distinction and marked the wearers as gentlemen of leisure, for anyone who worked for his living would not be cumbered with such clothing. (TNTC-Luke) And like respectful greetings in the market places - They loved attention their "holy facades" fostered but they were fakes and frauds spiritually speaking. They expected to be addressed with titles of dignity. Bock - Extrabiblical material makes clear that rabbis and other religious authorities received special greetings in the marketplace. In fact, in the Talmud such greetings were required for teachers of the law (y. Ber. 4b [2.1] [= Neusner et al. 1982–93: 1.66]; Windisch, TDNT 1:498; SB 1:382 §f). Jesus had earlier rebuked Pharisees for this practice (Luke 11:43+). (Ibid)
Marcos 12
Morris - Commentators often say that worshippers were not allowed to make gifts of less than two lepta, so that this was the minimum offering. But the relevant Talmudic passage does not say that a gift of one lepton is forbidden. It simply says that one should not put one lepton into the charity box unless it is under proper supervision (Baba Bathra 10b). (TNTC-Luke)
Marcos 12
Morris - Jesus shows that the monetary value of a gift is not everything. There is a sense in which the widow made the biggest gift of all. (TNTC-Luke) John Stott - Her total devotion, which no-one but Jesus would have realized, is the exact opposite of the Jewish leaders’ religion, all show and no heart. (The Message of Luke: The Saviour of the World.) William Kistemaker - Having just now exposed the hypocrisy of the scribes (20:45-47), Jesus proceeds to reveal the sincerity of a certain widow. He places her genuine religion over against the sham religion of the law-interpreters...Total commitment to God and his cause is the lesson she has taught us. (Baker New Testament Commentary) Broadman Bible Commentary – Her gift was a genuine expression of her faith that God in his providence would supply her future needs. (CAN YOU REALLY DRAW THIS CONCLUSION SOLELY FROM THE TEXT?) The rich had shown no such faith. They had not forfeited any of their financial security. At the same time, they believed that they had earned God’s favor with an offering of money. R C H