Mark 12 - How Not To Read the Bible!

Mark 12 - NIV

Enduring Word Commentary

Verses of the Day

Marriage at the Resurrection

18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection[c] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.

Commentary

Jesus didn't teach a ton on the exact details of what heaven looks like, or what we will be doing in heaven, but in this passage he tells us what heaven will not be like. He says, 

"When the dead rise they will neither marry or be given in marriage, for they will be like angels in heaven."

I have some people react to this verse by saying, "If I'm not going to be married to my wife in heaven, I am not so sure I want to be there." I think they might be missing the point of what Jesus is trying to teach. First of all, Jesus is saying this to respond to the Sadducees efforts to trap him. 

The Sadducees were the sophisticated group of Jewish leaders. They didn't believe in the supernatural, or anything that they couldn't explain. This is not unlike many "deists" throughout history who believed in God, but also discounted anything supernatural. One of the leaders of the deist movement was Thomas Jefferson. He even created his own bible. 

Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. President, famously created his own version of the New Testament—known as the Jefferson Bible—by literally cutting and pasting passages to remove all miracles, supernatural events, and the divinity of Jesus, focusing only on his moral teachings. It was a personal project rooted in Deism, not a mainstream religious group's publication. (history.com)

The Jefferson Bible: Jefferson used a razor and glue to remove stories like walking on water, turning water into wine, and the resurrection. 

Purpose: Jefferson was skeptical of the supernatural and aimed to highlight Jesus as a great moral philosopher rather than a divine figure.

Conclusion: The Bible ends with the burial of Jesus, excluding the resurrection. 

Jefferson was part of a whole movement called the "Enlightenment Movement" which is also called the "Age of Reason"  (1680 - 1799)

"This also contributed to the rise of "biblical criticism". Bible critics edited the bible based on the things they deemed reasonable. The movement went from a presupposition that the bible is divinely inspired and infallible when interpreted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to analyzing it as a historical human document." (Wikipedia) 

So what does this mean in relationship to this passage? I always remember the phrase, "Man laughs at God's wisdom." 

Jesus said to the Pharisees, "“Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?"

He would say the same thing to the Deists, like Thomas Jefferson, or some of the German pastors and theologians who gave rise to the "biblical criticism" model. This too denied the literal nature of many of the stories in the bible. It was called, "demythologizing" the bible. 

While we do need to read the bible with a critical mind, we need to start with the fact that the bible is divinely inspired and written by human authors but infallible when interpreted under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God is not the author of confusion. 

The primary purpose of the 66 books of the Old and New Testament reveal God who loves His creation so much, He sent His own Son, Jesus, to save us. 

Application:

1. When you read the bible do you assume it is true, and trust the Holy Spirt to guide you to the plain reading of the text?  

Note: I am not saying we shouldn't read commentaries, and study the original language the bible is written, and respect the interpretations of the church over the past 20 centuries. What I am saying is that if a biblical scholar or philosopher wants to deconstruct the bible to fit their worldview, it is a big problem. 

2. Realize there are churches who do not support this view of the bible. There are whole denominations out there for instance who advocate for the LGBTQ community, and use the bible to rationalize and endorse homosexual behaviors associated with it. They will say that if God is love, who we are to judge. 

However, a plain reading of the bible shows that God's intention for marriage is a monogamous, covenantal relationship between a man and a woman. Any instance of homosexual behavior in the bible is condemned.  If a same sex marriage and behavior was acceptable in God's eyes don't you think the bible would mentioned it. 

Proponents of this lifestyle would argue for 2,000 years the church has been wrong on this issue, and had its "head in the sand".  We  are now "enlightened" by our current understanding of same sex relationships and therefore the bible is outdated and should be revised. Sounds a little like what Thomas Jefferson did to me.     

Let's remember what Paul said to Timothy 2,000 years ago, 

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Prayer of the Day

Jesus, You are the Word of God made flesh. You revealed the Father's love for all of humankind. We are all equally sinners and need to rely on your grace to save us. Help us to remain faithful to the same scriptures you studied and applied in your own life. Amen.