“I Can Only Imagine”
Mark 12:18-27
Introduction: The popular Christian song from a few years ago, “I can only imagine,” and the movie that tells the story about it,
got some people talking about the hope of eternal life. What will it be like?
What has God planned for those who know Him?
Most people seem more comfortable talking about “heaven” than about the
hope the resurrection. Why? Jesus was
the firstfruits of the resurrection! His victory over death assures us that
those who are in Christ will also be raised. The firstfruits came as the first
part of the harvest… the rest of the harvest would soon surely follow. Think
about this: the body of Jesus that was put into the tomb was raised to life.
The tomb was empty! Jesus said in John 5:28-29, “Do not
marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear
his voice 29 and come out,
those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done
evil to the resurrection of judgment.” His resurrection initiated this age,
which will culminate in the resurrection of those He purchased with His blood… I’ve
quoted to you before Eric Sauer, who wrote in Triumph of the Crucified…
The present age is Eastertime. It began with the
resurrection of the Redeemer, and will end with the resurrection of the
redeemed. Between lies the spiritual resurrection of those called into new life
through faith in Christ. And so we live between two Easters, and in the power
of the first Easter we go to meet the last Easter…
This is not a
small point of doctrine, it is at the core of biblical Christianity! Paul
called it a doctrine of first importance
(I Cor 15:3) and then said a few verses later (15:13-14),
“But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even
Christ has been raised. 14
And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your
faith is vain…”
Our faith
stands or falls on the truth of the resurrection, and the future resurrection
of believers, according to Paul, is inseparable from the historical
resurrection of Christ.
Different groups from the leaders of the
Jews have been coming to Jesus, looking for a basis to condemn Him, trying to
catch Him in His own words. The Sadducees denied the resurrection. They denied
any idea of an afterlife. The best someone could hope for is to “live on”
through the progeny they left behind. And
so, they come, hoping to confound Jesus with their question. Instead they
expose their own unbelief!
The BIG Idea: Believers in Christ are promised a future resurrection and
fullness of life in the presence of the King.
I. A Hypothetical Problem rooted in unbelief (18-23).
18 And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no
resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, 19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for
us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man
must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; the
first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. 21 And the second took her, and
died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. 22 And the seven left no
offspring. Last of all the woman also died.
23 In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will
she be? For the seven had her as wife."
First,
we see here the danger of bad theology. Mark wants us to know at the outset that this next group of
leaders that come to Jesus had a theological problem with some of the teaching of
Jesus. The Sadducees, a wealthy, aristocratic class, tied to the priesthood
in Jerusalem, denied any idea of a future resurrection. Jesus had more
confrontations with the Pharisees and the scribes over their elevation of
tradition than He had with the Sadducees. After the resurrection, it is the
Sadducees who are especially offended by the preaching to the apostles. Why? They
preached the resurrection of Jesus, as well as the future hope of believers! Do
you remember the scene in the book of Acts when Paul is hauled before the
Sanhedrin in Jerusalem? We read in Acts
23:6-10,
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the
other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee,
a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the
dead that I am on trial." 7
And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor
angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and
some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply,
"We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to
him?"
Paul seized on something he had in
common with the Pharisees, knowing that that would divide the council! His
gospel preaching focused on the death and resurrection of Christ, and he tied
that to the hope of a future resurrection for those who believe. The Sadducees’
would not consider such a message!
Here, in our passage in Mark 12, we see the
hypocrisy of determined unbelief: “Teacher,
Moses wrote to us…” As with the leaders who attempted to trap
Jesus with their question before, these men were not seeking answers! They address Him as “teacher,” seemingly with
respect, but their question reveals their intentions. This is probably a
question that would often be used to ridicule the idea of a future
resurrection. They were not seeking to learn, they were trying to confound
Jesus (as if that could happen) or to expose what they viewed as an
irreconcilable situation. Look at the ridiculous problems such a doctrine would
cause! If fact, their question exposed their ignorance of the Scriptures and of
God’s power.
An
insincere question that twisted the intention of Scripture… The Law of Levirate marriage is indeed rooted
in Scripture (see Dt 25:5-10). As the new generation of the children of Israel were
preparing to enter the promised land, God inspired Moses to write Deuteronomy,
largely a restatement and summary of the Law for that generation. To not have
an heir to carry on the family lineage was considered a tragic situation, and
this law, in certain circumstances, would allow a man’s name to continue in
Israel.
The same principle is reflected in the
kinsman-redeemer practice which is at the center of the book of Ruth. Naomi’s
husband died, her sons died, and one of the daughters-in-law, Ruth, returned
with Naomi to the Land. When Ruth made herself known to Boaz, that beautiful
story of redemption unfolds as he pays the redemption price, and takes Ruth as
his wife. Her son, who in the story is also called the son of Naomi, became the
grandfather of King David, and so a part of the line that finally brought the Messiah,
Jesus. God had a purpose for Israel, and each of the tribes had a place in His
plan. The law of levirate marriage would assure the name of the deceased would
continue in the land. It had a purpose.
The Sadducees here are attempting to
pose a scenario, perhaps possible, though highly unlikely, that would show the
idea of resurrection to be absurd… The woman had seven husbands! Would she have
a “harem” of husbands in the resurrection? They could have made the same
argument with a woman married three times, but they wanted to make it emphatic
with the number 7, probably to ridicule the idea of resurrection. They weren’t
asking a question, they were making a statement. They want to show how ridiculous
the idea of resurrection was. Believers in Christ are promised a future
resurrection and fullness of life in the presence of the King.
II. God’s Perfect Plan
revealed in Scripture (24-25).
24 Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong,
because you know neither the Scriptures nor 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.
Jesus frames his
answer, using the same verb twice. In v.24 He says, “…is this not the reason you are wrong…” Then in v.27 “You are quite wrong…” The verb
here is planao, “to wander, go
astray.” It is the word from which the word “planet” was derived, as early
astronomers noted that the visible planets seemed to move through the
constellations in contrast to the stars which appeared to be stationary in
relation to each other. The planets looked like “wandering stars.” Here Jesus
uses the verb “wander, go astray twice, emphasizing the fact that the Sadducees
had “wandered off course.” In fact, the verb is passive, they had been led
astray. How and why? They did not know the Scriptures, nor the power of God.
There is a not too subtle warning here for us as well. There are a lot of
competing theologies out there, a lot of ideas about how God works and about what
the Bible says. They are not all correct. Truth is absolute. The religious
leaders in general, and in this case the Sadducees, were mistaken about Jesus.
Their own Messiah stood there in front of them. For at least a few days now He
has been in Jerusalem, teaching in and around the Temple. Think about that: God
incarnate, teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem, the very place that He had
chosen to be especially present in the midst of His people. The one who spoke
to Moses from the burning bush and who parted the Sea and who caused the
mountain to tremble as He gave Him the commandments on Sinai was there! And
they were missing Him. Because their theological system conflicted with what He
seemed to be and some of the things that He said. We need to seek Him, openly,
diligently, with an open, teachable spirit. These men were led astray because
they missed the mark on two levels.
First, Jesus said, “…you know neither the Scriptures…” The Sadducees had a more
restricted view of authoritative Scripture than other groups among the
leadership. They viewed the Torah, the Pentateuch, the five books of Moses, as
the only authoritative source of doctrine. It seems they acknowledged value in
other writings, such as the prophets and the Psalms, but only Moses was given
the Law. In a certain sense, they had a “canon within the canon.” We need to
know what the Bible says, the whole Bible. One of the reformers said,
“Since God makes known His will clearly in the Scriptures, the want of
acquaintance with them is the source and cause of all errors…”
That is a good
warning to us not to forget that the entire Bible, 66 books, Old and New
Testament, is the fully inspired and infallible Word of God. The one true God, Yahweh, the God who is, authored
it all. He has spoken! We have His word,
written. When Jesus spoke to the disciples after the resurrection He said to
them in Luke 24:44, "These are my
words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written
about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."
The Law, the prophets, and the writings, the entire Old Testament (at the time
all the Word of God written!) was authoritative, and all of it pointed to Jesus
and found its fulfillment in Him.
The Sadducees
didn’t know the Scriptures, I think part of that is that they didn’t recognize
the totality of what is Scripture. But Jesus doesn’t attempt to convince
them of that truth. Rather, He starts with common ground, what they did
acknowledge, that is, the Law of Moses. Jesus is making the point that even
though you don’t acknowledge the whole counsel of God, including the
Scriptures where the resurrection is explicitly taught, it is none the less
implicit even in the writings of Moses.
“…nor the power of God…” Knowing the power
God comes with personal and experiential knowledge of God. The attempt to test
Jesus with this intentionally absurd illustration of seven successive brothers
marrying a woman, shows their limited human understanding of God’s plan. They
are assuming that the resurrection life that Jesus taught about was merely a
continuation of life as it now is in this fallen world. There will
surely be continuity, but there will also be marvelous transformation! Paul was
quoting Isaiah when He said (I Cor 2:9,10; cf. Isa 64:4),
…as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love
him"- 10 these things
God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything,
even the depths of God…
Verse 9 (quoting in part from Isaiah) tells us that God’s plans
for us are more and greater than we can imagine. V.10 gives Paul’s commentary,
“…these things God has revealed to us…”
The prophets had revelation with respect to the future resurrection life that
God has for those who know Him. The apostles, from their post
cross/resurrection perspective, were given still greater insight and
revelation. Still, we know in part. We see in a glass, dimly. What we do
know is that God has a future that is even more beautiful, more delightful,
more joyful, than anything we have known in this life.
“…for
when they rise from the dead they neither marry nor…” For those of us who are happily married, and
can’t imagine that relationship being different in eternity, this can be a
difficult teaching! When God created Adam and Eve they were the only humans.
They were given a mandate to multiply and fill the earth. They were told to
exercise dominion in the world. God’s good creation was plunged into chaos by
the Fall. Everything was corrupted, including the relationship between the man
and the woman. Even so, when Jesus sought to illustrate His relationship
with the church, He chose the marriage relationship. The church is the Bride of
Christ. We are not just going to be raised and live a life that is simply
an improved version of the life we now have. That we could easily imagine! No, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has
it entered into the heart of man, the things that God has prepared…” We can
read what he tells us, we can imagine what it might be like, but when we
experience the life for which we were created I believe it will be more and
better than anything we imagined!
- “…but are like the angels in heaven…”
Jesus was not saying that we get turned into angels. Angels are angels,
humans are humans. But as angels don’t procreate, filling the heavens, we will
no longer need to “be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth…” Some
might think, “Wait a minute, if I can’t be married in heaven I don’t think I
can be happy!” Think of the most joyful, fulfilling, meaningful moments you now
experience. Now, realize that doesn’t compare to what God has in mind for us!
We can trust Him! But will we know each other? Strauss said, “…we can assume that all relationships in
God’s presence will be profoundly deeper than anything we experience in this
life… our relationships with our spouses and families will no doubt be more
intimate, not less, in eternity…” (Mark, 537). After hearing a talk about eternal life
someone came up to the speaker (Spurgeon?) and said that he was afraid that he
would not know his wife in eternity. The preacher replied, “Do you think for a
moment that you will be more stupid after the resurrection than now?” The Big
Idea here is that *believers in Christ are promised a future resurrection and
fullness of life in the presence of the King.
III. The Divine Power
to keep His promises (26-27).
26 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book
of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am
the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? 27 He is not God of the dead, but
of the living. You are quite wrong."
Rather than appealing to Isaiah or to the
Psalms, Jesus essentially says that the Torah, which you Sadducees affirm, assumes
a future resurrection! He references Moses, and as the Jew typically would do
He refers to something in the context that would allow them to identify the
passage He had in mind. (Remember there were no chapter and verse divisions!)
The “passage about the bush” would
immediately be recognized, God’s appearance to Moses in the burning bush (Exod 3,
see especially v.6).
In view of the I AM
statements in John, I believe it was the pre-incarnate Christ who spoke to
Moses from the bush and said, “…I am the
God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob…” He didn’t say
that He was their God, but
that He is their God, even
though they had died long before. He made promises to the patriarchs, and those
promises are irrevocable. As one writer said, “God’s
covenant-promise to save His people would not be of any significance if it were
overcome and shattered by death…” And so, He says to the Sadducees, “You are badly mistaken…” i.e., “Way
off course!”
What is God saying to me
in this passage?
Believers in Christ are promised a future resurrection and
fullness of life in the presence of the King.
What would God have me to do in response to this passage?
1) What is the source of our doctrine? Has our hope been shaped by Greek
philosophy, or by media and film, or by Scripture? Do we get our theology from Hollywood, or from the Bible? Do we think about going to “heaven” someday,
but forget about the hope of the resurrection, the promise of an earthly
kingdom (with the King present!), and the promise that this corruptible will put on incorruption, this mortal, immortality?!
I can only imagine!
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