THE GOD OF THE LIVING
Mark 12:13-27
Key Verse: Mark 12:27
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
## Last week, Jesus was confronted by the chief priests, teachers of the law, and elders, who questioned him, “By what authority are you doing these things?” (11:28) They were not really asking because they wanted to understand Jesus or submit to his authority. They had already rejected him. Jesus then told them the parable of the tenants, in which the owner of the vineyard sent servant after servant to the tenants, but they rejected them. Finally, the owner sent his beloved son, and they killed him. Through this parable, Jesus revealed what was happening in their hearts. God had sent his servants, the prophets, and ultimately his Son, Jesus, but instead of receiving God’s authority and love, they rejected Him.
## Today’s passage continues this face-off between Jesus and the religious leaders. They come to Jesus with different questions, but their hearts remain the same. First, the Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus with a political question about paying taxes to Caesar. Then the Sadducees come with a complicated question about marriage and the resurrection. They think they are testing Jesus, but Jesus uses their questions to expose something deeper about their spiritual reality and understanding of God. They were trying to fit God into the limits of their own understanding; they were badly mistaken!
We also have struggles with this. We all have ideas about God based on what we have experienced and what we can understand. We understand life because we are living. We understand death because we have seen people die. We understand time because we live one day at a time. We understand marriage and relationships because we experience them in this present life. But God is not limited by the boundaries that limit us. Jesus says in verse 27, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” Today, I want us to think about what it means to know and live before the God of the living. He is the God who is greater than our circumstances, greater than our understanding, and greater even than death. Amen!
## 1. Give to God what belongs to God (12:13-17)
The passage begins with the Pharisees and Herodians being sent to Jesus. Look at verse 13. It says that they were sent “to catch Jesus in his words.” Look at verse 14. They came with flattering words: “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth…” (14a) Interestingly, everything they said about Jesus was true. Jesus really was a man of integrity. He was not controlled by people’s opinions, and he really did teach the way of God. But their words were not coming from sincere hearts. They were not coming to learn from Jesus. They were trying to trap him.
They asked, “Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?” (14b) We have to remember that these Pharisees and Herodians were not average people. They were educated, intelligent, and knew the Scriptures very well. And this was a carefully designed trap. If Jesus said yes, they could accuse him of supporting Rome and turning against the Jewish people. If he said no, they could report him to the Roman authorities as a rebel. Jesus, however, knew exactly what they were doing. He asked, “Why are you trying to trap me?” Then he asked them to bring him a denarius and said, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Jesus then gave them an answer they could not use against him. Let us read verse 17 together ## “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (17) ##
Jesus recognized that we have legitimate responsibilities in this world. We have responsibilities to our government, our employers, our schools, our families, and our communities. As Christians, we should be responsible citizens, obey legitimate laws, pay what we owe, work honestly, and contribute to society. But Jesus does not stop with Caesar. ## He says, “and to God what is God’s.” This reminds us that while there are things that belong to Caesar, there is something much greater that belongs to God.
The coin had Caesar’s image on it, so it could be given to Caesar. But what has God’s image on it? ## Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness…’” The very next verse says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (27) These verses tell us that human beings were created in the image of God. We belong to God because we carry God’s image. Amen!
And if we belong to God, then it changes the way we look at every part of our lives. Being a Christian is not simply about giving God one small part of our lives. Sometimes we want to divide our lives into categories and say, “This is my spiritual life, this is my work, this is my money, this is my family, and this is my future.” But Jesus does not want us to separate our lives that way. Our education belongs to God. Our career belongs to God. Our family belongs to God. Our money belongs to God. Our relationships belong to God. Our gifts and abilities belong to God. Our future belongs to God. It’s true!
So, allow me to ask you a question. ## “Have you given yourself to God?” If I belong to God, then everything I have belongs to him as well. Sometimes we can give God the things that are convenient to give while holding tightly to the things that are most important to us. We may give God our Sunday, but keep our career for ourselves. We may give God our offering, but keep control of our money. We may pray for our children, but still struggle to trust them completely to God. We may ask God to bless our future, while still wanting to be the one who decides what that future should look like.
## But think about Jesus. Jesus did not simply teach us to give to God what belongs to God. He gave himself completely to God, even giving his life for us on the cross. He held nothing back. And because Jesus gave himself for us, we can learn to give ourselves fully to God. Amen
Today, God challenges us give Him what belongs to Him. Not just my Sunday, but my whole week. Not just my worship, but my work. Not just my money, but my time. Not just my plans, but my future. I belong to God. And because I belong to him, I want everything I have and everything I do to be used for the glory of God. Amen.
## 2. Know the power of God (12:18-25)
After the Pharisees and Herodians failed to trap Jesus, the Sadducees came. ## Look at verse 18. “The Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.” The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so they created this unusual story based on the Old Testament law about a man who died without having children. His brother was supposed to marry the widow and raise up descendants for his brother. The Sadducees imagined seven brothers. The first married a woman but died without having children. The second brother married her and also died. Then the third, and eventually all seven had married her and died. Finally, the woman died too. They then asked Jesus, “At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
They believed they had created a question that proved the resurrection could not be true. Their reasoning was basically, “If resurrection is real, then this situation creates an impossible problem. Therefore, resurrection cannot be real.” But notice what they were doing. They were using their limited understanding of this life to determine what God could do in the next life. Jesus answered them in verse 24, ## “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?” Jesus identifies two problems: they did not understand the Scriptures correctly, and they underestimated the power of God.
We can make the same mistake. Sometimes we look at a situation in our lives and conclude that there is no way it can change. We may think there is no way a particular person can change, no way a relationship can be restored, no way we can overcome a particular struggle, or no way God can use us. But our limitations are not God’s limitations. There is a difference between saying, “I don’t know how,” and saying, “God cannot.” The first statement may be true. The second may be completely wrong. Jesus reminds us that when we reach the limits of our understanding, we need to know the Scriptures and the power of God.
Jesus then explains what resurrection life will be like. Look at verse 25, “When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” Jesus is not saying that resurrected people become angels. Rather, he is explaining that resurrection life will be different from our present earthly life. The Sadducees imagined resurrection as simply continuing this life in exactly the same way, but Jesus shows them that God’s resurrection is something greater. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44 say, “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” Philippians 3:21 also declares, “The Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
This means that resurrection is not simply about living longer. It is about being completely transformed by the power of God. And this gives us a different mindset and a new hope to live today. If this life is all there is, then it makes sense to hold tightly to our comfort, reputation, possessions, success, and security. But if resurrection is real, we can and we should live differently. We can sacrifice for God’s kingdom, serve people without recognition, forgive when it is difficult, give generously, share the gospel, and invest our love and care in others even when we do not see immediate results. We can remain faithful and obedient to God because we know that this life is not the end.
But perhaps the greatest lesson here is that we need to know the power of God. The Sadducees looked at what seemed impossible and concluded that God could not do it. We can make the same mistake when we only look at our circumstances, weaknesses, relationships, or future and say, “There is no way.” But Jesus reminds us that our limitations do not limit God. The God who created the heavens and the earth, and the God who raised the dead to life is the same God who is working in our lives today.
So with our God Almighty behind us, what must we do? We must trust the power of God. When I don’t know how, I must remember that God knows how. When I don’t see a way, I must trust that God can make a way. When I feel weak, I must remember that his power is greater than my weakness. I may not understand what God is doing, but I must not put limits on what God can do. Let us prat that we may continue to know the Scripture and know the power of God that we can live faith! Amen.
## 3. Know the God of the living (12:26-27)
Finally, Jesus goes directly to Scripture. He takes the Sadducees back to the story of Moses and the burning bush written in Exodus 3:6. ## God said to Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” (26) Jesus then makes his conclusion in verse 27. Let us read it together: “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” Why does Jesus use this passage from the book of Exodus? Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had physically died long before Moses lived. Yet God said, “I am the God of Abraham.” He did not say, “I was the God of Abraham.” Their physical death did not stop their relationship with God. God is still their God.
So who are “the living” Jesus is talking about? First, in the immediate context, he is talking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They had physically died, but they were still alive before God. Second, this applies to all who belong to God, who believe in him, and who have given themselves to him. ## Jesus explains this more clearly in John 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” Physical death does not mean that God’s people are lost or forgotten. God remains their God. Third, Jesus is pointing toward the resurrection. God is the God of the living because he will ultimately raise his people from the dead and give them life.
This is why the Sadducees were badly mistaken. They saw death as the end because they limited God to what they could understand. But God’s relationship with his people is stronger than physical death. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob died without seeing the complete fulfillment of God’s promises, but God’s promises did not die with them. God remained faithful in fulfilling His promises, and we are witnesses of it. Amen.
Many of us may be facing situations that seem lifeless; a shattered dream, a strained relationship, a stagnant spiritual walk, or a prayer we have lifted up for months and years without an answer. Others may be mourning the sickness and the loss of someone we love or thinking more deeply about our own life and death. Yet Jesus reminds us today: our God is the God of the living. This does not mean that God will fix every earthly hardship exactly as we want. The promise of resurrection does not mean that every struggle will suddenly disappear. It means that death, failure, and loss do not have the final word. But God does.
Jesus is the ultimate proof. He was crucified and died, but the grave could not hold him. God raised him to life. Because Jesus lives, those who belong to him have the assurance that physical death is not the end. Our hope is not wishful thinking; it is rooted in the living God and the risen Jesus.
So how shall we respond? Let us live with resurrection hope. ## Let us not live as though this life is all there is. Let us trust God when we cannot see the outcome. Let us remain faithful when his promises seem far away. And let us place our future in the hands of the God of the living.
Last week, we saw people who rejected Jesus’ authority. This week, we see people who tried to put God inside the limits of their own understanding. But Jesus shows us that God is greater than our circumstances, greater than our understanding, and greater than death. So let us give to God what belongs to God, trust the power of God, and live with resurrection hope. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.