18a And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. 18b 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." 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. 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.” (Mark 12:18-27)

The Sadducees were another religious group from that era, but they were opposed to the Pharisees in almost every way. Jesus had some views in common with the Pharisees, but none with the Sadducees. So who were they?

First, they rejected the supernatural. This is the most important thing to know about them because it will form the foundation of their question to Jesus. They did not believe in a spiritual dimension, angels, life after death, or any resurrection of God's people to live in heaven forever with God.

Second, they had a low view of the Bible. Though they likely read and studied other parts of the Bible, it seems they thought only the first five books -- Genesis through Deuteronomy -- were authoritative.

Third, they were the minority view at that time, but the one in the highest positions of clerical power. The people disagreed with them. The Pharisees outnumbered them. But they had ascended the ranks and had become the aristocratic, wealthy, and influential religious group in Israel.

No Resurrection

This group did not believe in the future resurrection of God's people. This is not Mark's way of saying they doubted Jesus' resurrection. They didn't even know he would rise from the dead. What they doubted was a standard doctrine among God's people at that time (and in our time): the resurrection of all people, some to eternal life and some to eternal death.

Their way of debunking the doctrine of the future resurrection was to share an elaborate hypothetical situation with Jesus. It might seem confusing to us, but was easily understood by everyone there that day.

Their whole hypothetical situation was based on an Old Testament practice called Levirate marriage. It has nothing to do with Levites, but the word "levir," from which their word for "brother" came. This law was articulated in Deuteronomy 25:5-10 as a way to protect women's land ownership rights in ancient Israel. If a man was married and died without bearing an heir who would inherit his land, his brother would then marry the widow, and they would attempt to bear children together. The child would be the rightful heir of the deceased husband, thus keeping the land in the family. It became complicated and massaged in its application over the years, but it was a general practice in ancient Israelite culture.

Well, the Sadducees mocked the idea of life after death, and they used this Old Testament societal law as a way to mock it. They painted the picture of a family of seven brothers who all died before they could raise an heir with the widow. All seven had her as wife (23). You can imagine them snickering when they asked Jesus, "In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be?" (23).

24 Jesus said to them, "Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God?

Jesus gave them two major reasons they were wrong (24). First, they didn't know the Scriptures (24). Second, they didn't know the power of God (24).

Jesus is going to elaborate on both of these problems, but in reverse order.

They Didn't Know 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.

This is Jesus' way of showing them how they didn't know the power of God. They didn't realize God would raise his people from the dead (25). They didn't understand that in the resurrected state, his people would not marry or be given in marriage (25). They didn't comprehend that, in matters of marriage in heaven, God would make us like angels who never marry (25).

Before tackling the question of marriage in heaven, I want you to see this problem in the Sadducees' thinking. Jesus already said it. They didn't know the power of God (24). They were ignorant of it, and because they couldn't imagine God's power, they couldn't believe in a future resurrection. They were naturalists, and they objected to anything supernatural, anything they couldn't count and calculate by themselves.

But they forgot to account for God's power.

And this lack of conviction about God's power often leads people into the Sadducean error. You read something in the Bible, you hear a doctrine announced from Scripture, and since you cannot put God's power into the equation, you consider the Scripture or Scriptural doctrine a falsehood. Let me give some examples.

Take the Christian and biblical doctrine of the Trinity. The Bible makes a few truths abundantly clear.

God is one. We aren't polytheists. Biblical people never have been. But the Bible also portrays God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Spirit. So the Bible demonstrates God is one, but also declares three persons are God.

Additionally, the Bible declares the Father, Son, and Spirit to be distinct from one another -- and working in harmony. In other words, God doesn't show up as Father one day, the Son the next, and the Spirit the next. God is one, but he is three persons – Father, Son, and Spirit. So, though the mind cannot accurately fathom this truth, the historical Christian church has concluded God is a Triunity -- the Trinity.

But if someone does not take into account the mysterious and transcendent power of God, they will never believe such a doctrine. This was the Sadducees' problem -- they didn't know the power of God.

Here's another example: the infallible nature of God's word. In its original transmission, it is perfect and without error (the tons of copies we have contain a small sampling of errors, but there are so many copies we can easily determine what the original said).

But someone might say, "An infallible book cannot be written by fallible people." Now, we could respond by saying, "But a fallible person made that declaration, so the statement cannot be trusted." And around and around we could go until we conclude we can't know anything with any certainty at all. Or can we?

But we must account for the power of God. You can draw a straight line in the sand even with a crooked stick, and God's power carried along imperfect people to get the Bible written. God's power makes it possible.

Or consider one more. Some would say that human beings aren't as bad as the Bible reports. We aren't under sin. We haven't fallen short of the glory of God. There's no way we are as vastly separated from God's glory as the Bible declares.

But this is a profound rejection of God's majestic power. He is holy, beyond us, and perfect in all his ways. The only way one can believe humanity is born in fellowship with God is to have a low view of God. And a low view of God must reject God's power.

I hope you can see how this Sadducean rejection of God's power set them on the wrong course in a thousand ways. And, as you read the Bible, please account for the power of God. Concepts like divine justice, election, and even the gospel itself only make sense when the power of God is considered. If God is weak and limited, yes, you cannot trust the contents of Scripture. But since he is who he says he is, his word can be trusted.

Next, we’ll consider the other reason Jesus said the Sadduccess were wrong – they didn’t know the Scripture.