Mark 12:18–34

Marriage and the Resurrection

12:18 Sadducees41 (who say there is no resurrection)42 also came to him and asked him,43 12:19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us: ‘If a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, that man44 must marry45 the widow and father children46 for his brother.’47 12:20 There were seven brothers. The first one married,48 and when he died he had no children. 12:21 The second married her and died without any children, and likewise the third. 12:22 None of the seven had children. Finally, the woman died too. 12:23 In the resurrection, when they rise again,49 whose wife will she be? For all seven had married her.”50 12:24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you deceived51 for this reason, because you don’t know the scriptures or the power of God? 12:25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels52 in heaven. 12:26 Now as for the dead being raised,53 have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush,54 how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the55 God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?56 12:27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living.57 You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

12:28 Now58 one of the experts in the law59 came and heard them debating. When he saw that Jesus60 answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 12:29 Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 12:30 Love61 the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’62 12:31 The second is: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’63 There is no other commandment greater than these.” 12:32 The expert in the law said to him, “That is true, Teacher; you are right to say that he is one, and there is no one else besides him.64 12:33 And to love him with all your heart, with all your mind, and with all your strength65 and to love your neighbor as yourself66 is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 12:34 When Jesus saw that he had answered thoughtfully, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Then no one dared any longer to question him.

Read more Share

41	sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164–166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171–173], 13.10.6 [13.293–298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16–17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10–11]). They also did not believe in resurrection or in angels, an important detail in v. 25. See also Matt 3:7, 16:1–12, 22:23–34; Luke 20:27–38; Acts 4:1, 5:17, 23:6–8.
42	sn This remark is best regarded as a parenthetical note by the author.
43	tn Grk “and asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
44	tn Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so NIV, NRSV).
45	tn The use of ἵνα (hina) with imperatival force is unusual (BDF §470.1).
46	tn Grk “raise up seed” (an idiom for fathering children).
47	sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1–12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254–256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5–10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.
48	tn Grk “took a wife” (an idiom for marrying a woman).
49	tc The words “when they rise again” are missing from several important witnesses (א B C D L W Δ Ψ 33 579 892 2427 pc c r1 k syp co). They are included in A Θ f1, (13) 𝔐 lat sys,h. The strong external pedigree of the shorter reading gives one pause. Nevertheless, the Alexandrian and other mss most likely dropped the words from the text either to conform the wording to the parallel in Matt 22:28 or because “when they rise again” was redundant. But the inclusion of these words is thoroughly compatible with Mark’s usually pleonastic style (see TCGNT 93), and therefore most probably authentic to Mark’s Gospel.
50	tn Grk “For the seven had her as wife.”
51	tn Or “mistaken” (cf. BDAG 822 s.v. πλανάω 2.c.γ).
52	sn Angels do not die, nor do they eat according to Jewish tradition (1 En. 15:6; 51:4; Wis 5:5; 2 Bar. 51:10; 1QH 3.21–23).
53	tn Grk “Now as for the dead that they are raised.”
54	sn See Exod 3:6. Jesus used a common form of rabbinic citation here to refer to the passage in question.
55	tn Grk “and the,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.
56	sn A quotation from Exod 3:6.
57	sn He is not God of the dead but of the living. Jesus’ point was that if God could identify himself as God of the three old patriarchs, then they must still be alive when God spoke to Moses; and so they must be raised.
58	tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
59	tn Or “One of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
60	tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
61	tn Grk “You will love.” The future indicative is used here with imperatival force (see ExSyn 452 and 569).
62	sn A quotation from Deut 6:4–5 and Josh 22:5 (LXX). The fourfold reference to different parts of the person says, in effect, that one should love God with all one’s being.
63	sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.
64	sn A quotation from Deut 4:35.
65	sn A quotation from Deut 6:5.
66	sn A quotation from Lev 19:18.

A service of Logos Bible Software