The Text
18 Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him:
19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife behind but no child, that man should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother.
20 There were seven brothers. The first married a woman, and dying, left no offspring.
21 The second also took her, and he died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.
22 None of the seven left offspring. Last of all, the woman died too.
23 In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”
24 Jesus spoke to them, “Isn’t this the reason why you’re mistaken: you don’t know the Scriptures or 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—haven’t you read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God said to him: I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob?
27 He is not the God of the dead but of the living. You are badly mistaken.”
The Devotion
If you want to drill down and make this about whether we are still married in heaven with God, then you would be sadly mistaken.
Take a look at the passage once more:
Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and questioned him:
And.
In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be, since the seven had married her?”
These Sadducees had no intentions of giving their hearts over to the only God who saves. They spoke to God disbelieving and doubting that God would resurrect his people from the dead:
James 1:5-8 (CSB) Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.
How many times we have approached the throne of grace as double-minded hypocrites?
Not as sinners but righteous.
Not as sick but healthy.
Not as poor but wealthy.
When we don’t think we need anything from God, how many of us actual go to God.
But what if you knew you were in dire need of what only God can give:
Mercy. Grace. Love. Affection. Wisdom. Intercession. Life. Eternal. Holiness. Righteousness.
We need the kingdom of God.
We need God. We need Christ. We need the Holy Spirit.
Don’t believe in the resurrection? Make sense since you need to born again in order to believe and trust God. Then you will know the power of the resurrection because it starts with Jesus Christ who in his resurrection championed over our sin, and all of sin, hell, demons, Satan, and death.
Christ lived because we sinned.
Christ died so that we will live forever.
Christ resurrected so we can be born again.
The Discussion
1. How honest are you with your feelings when you approach God in your prayers?
2. How honest are you with your feelings if you feel like God was the one who hurt you?
3. Do you even go to God with that type of hurt?
4. What is God wanting from you that only you can give?
The Prayer from the Psalms
Psalm 16 (CSB)
A Miktam of David.
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.
2 I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides you.”
3 As for the holy people who are in the land, they are the noble ones. All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god for themselves will multiply; I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood, and I will not speak their names with my lips.
5 LORD, you are my portion and my cup of blessing; you hold my future.
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I will bless the LORD who counsels me— even at night when my thoughts trouble me.
8 I always let the LORD guide me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely.
10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.
11 You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures.
I have gone everywhere. I have not found any good apart from you.
When I turn away from you or try to find _not You_, my sorrow and grief run deep. It crushes my hearts and buries my soul.
When I try to give life to my idols, they give nothing back because there are no other gods. And I die.
When will I realize that you alone are my All-in-all? When will I realize that you are the only One I ever need? When will I realize you are my infinite inheritance?
Oh, when I turn to you and when I peer into your lovely face, my soul awakens and my fills with gladness and joy.
You have not ignored me. You give me wisdom.
You have not stripped me. You give me strength.
You have not given me over to my iniquities. You have given me your soft, tender, and healthy heart.
You have not left me to drown in my sorrows. You have given me your Rock to stand upon.
You did not cast me into hell. You hold me in your heart.
You did not give me over to sin. You have cleansed me from all unrighteousness.
You have not left me for dead. You have given me true life.
You have not abandoned me to sadness and grief. When I’m with you, my heart is constantly, consistently, perfectly filled joy.
I am no longer in pain. You have wiped away all my tears. You place my hand into your hand. At that moment, I will have unlimited access to your constant, consistent, perfect bliss forevermore.
I love you, Lord and all that is in me I will bless your holy name forever.
In your Son’s perfect name I pray,
Amen.
The Resources
Calvin’s Commentaries.
by John Calvin.
Baker. 2009.
Olive Tree
Mark: An Expositional Commentary
by R.C. Sproul.
Reformation Trust Publisher. 2011.
Goodreads
New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Mark
by William Hendriksen.
Baker. 1981.
Goodreads
The Gospel according to Mark: The English Text With Introduction, Exposition, and Notes (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)
by William L. Lane.
Eerdman’s. 1974.
Goodreads
Mark (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, NT Volume 2)
Edited by Thomas C. Odin & Christopher A. Hall
IVP Academic. 2005.
Goodreads
Mark (The Story of God Bible Commentary Series)
by Timothy G. Gombis.
Zondervan Academic. March 9th 2021.
Goodreads