MARK LESSON 25

     We will begin this lesson in Mark 12:18.

     Mark 12:18  "Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is
no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,"

     Mark 12:19 "Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die,
and leave [his] wife [behind him], and leave no children, that his
brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother."

     The Sadducees were Jews who did not believe in the Spirit.  They
did not believe in life after death.  They were strict Jews who
believed in the Pentateuch (the first five books of Moses) and nothing
else. They did not believe in angels or demons.  They really had no
future at all to look forward to.  They had a sort of fleshly religion
with no spirit at all connected to it.  They thought they would give
Jesus a problem that He would not be able to reconcile in these seven
brothers who marry the same woman.  Everything they believed was based
on Moses' teachings.  Here, again, they called Him Master, but they did
not accept Him as Master.  They tried to use one little thing that Moses
said to trap Jesus.

     Mark 12:20 "Now there were seven brethren: and the first took a
wife, and dying left no seed." Mark 12:21 "And the second took her,
and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise." Mark
12:22 "And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman
died also." Mark 12:23 "In the resurrection therefore, when they shall
rise, whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife."

     They thought surely this would prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt,
that there was no resurrection.  They never dreamed Jesus could get
around this.  How could she be married to all seven?  Here, again,
Jesus showed them up to be very foolish, because they did not understand
the Scriptures about heaven.

     Mark 12:24 "And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not
therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power
of God?"

     Their ignorance was twofold.  They should have further studied the
Scriptures, which plainly teach life after death.  The power of God was
evident in all of Moses' teachings, so they were without excuse for not
knowing God's power.

     Mark 12:25 "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither
marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in
heaven."

     "Angels" are ministering spirits.  Hebrews 1:13 "But to which of
the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool?" Hebrews 1:14 "Are they not all
ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be
heirs of salvation?" You see, the flesh will not be important in
heaven.  We will be changed into a spiritual body.  In I Corinthians
15:44 "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There
is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body."

     Mark 12:26 "And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not
read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying,
I [am] the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob?"  Mark 12:27 "He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the
living: ye therefore do greatly err."

     Jesus told them of a Scripture in Moses' writings, because that
was the only part of the Bible they read.  Jesus was telling them that
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were still alive and would join their bodies
on resurrection day.

     Mark 12:28  "And one of the scribes came, and having heard them
reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well,
asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?"

     We see this scribe (educated) came to see, since the Sadducees
couldn't trip up Jesus, if he could.  He knew God had given Ten
Commandments, and he was seeing if he could get Jesus to say that they
were unimportant.  More than all of that, he wanted to understand the
importance of the burnt offerings and sacrifices.

     Mark 12:29 "And Jesus answered him, The first of all the
commandments [is], Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:"

     Surrounded by Egypt and others countries, that believed in many 
gods as well; the one thing that separated God's people was that they
believed in one God.

     Mark 12:30 "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy
strength: this [is] the first commandment."

     You see, Jesus left no doubt at all about what position the
Lord thy God must have in our lives.  First of all, He must be Lord.
He must be the most important thing in our lives.  The heart is
mentioned first, because it is the center of our being, and we are
what our heart is.  Our will is involved with the soul.  The mind
controls our thoughts.  We must be stayed upon Him.

     Mark 12:31 "And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater
than these."

     All of the Ten Commandments are actually caught up in these two,
because if you love your neighbor as yourself, you won't murder, or
lie, or cheat, etc.  You would not do those things to yourself, so you
won't do them to him either, if you love him as yourself.

     Mark 12:32 "And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast
said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:"
Mark 12:33 "And to love him with all the heart, and with all the
understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and
to love [his] neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt
offerings and sacrifices."

     This scribe had received the Lord's truth unto himself.  He had
understood the meaning of the law, and not just the ritual of the law.
This scribe in truth called Jesus Master, because he understood.  This
scribe confessed with his mouth that this was truth.  He recognized
that Jesus was true.

     Mark 12:34 "And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he
said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man
after that durst ask him [any question]."

     They saw how futile it was to try to trap Him.  Jesus saw that
this scribe truly was seeking truth and He encouraged him.  This showed
that people from all walks of life can receive God's truth, because
this was a man of the law and he understood.

     Mark 12:35  "And Jesus answered and said, while he taught in the
temple, How say the scribes that Christ is the son of David?"  Mark
12:36 "For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The Lord said to my
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy
footstool." Mark 12:37 "David therefore himself calleth him Lord; and
whence is he [then] his son? And the common people heard him gladly."

     We see, here, that Jesus took this opportunity of being in the
temple to further instruct these scribes and Pharisees on who He truly
is.  He just said, "How can Christ be a descendent of David, if David
called Him Lord?"  It is not an easy question to answer, if you think
of everything from the physical standpoint.  We do know that, in the
flesh, Jesus was descended from David.  Jesus Christ (the Spirit of
God) is eternal.  The Spirit of Jesus, which is eternal,  was David's
God.  God is a Spirit.  Jesus is God the Son who was housed in a body
for His stay on this earth.  Jesus, even now, is seated victorious at
God's right hand.  You see, Jesus (the Word) took on the form of flesh
and dwelt among us.  Jesus was saying to these people, here, you are
looking at the flesh, you are not understanding the Spirit.  They
could not understand why God would take on the form of flesh and dwell
among them.  They were like many people in our day.  They wanted to
think of Jesus as a man and not God.  All they could see was His
flesh.

     Mark 12:38  "And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the
scribes, which love to go in long clothing, and [love] salutations in
the marketplaces,"

     Mark 12:39 "And the chief seats in the synagogues, and the
uppermost rooms at feasts:"  Mark 12:40 "Which devour widows' houses,
and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall receive greater
damnation."

     These scribes, or in fact our modern preachers today, who are
more interested in the money and prestige associated with the ministry
than they are in ministering to the needs of their sheep are in a
whole lot of trouble.  You may read more about this in the 34th
chapter of Ezekiel.  These scribes, above, were not servants of their
fellow men.  They wanted to be looked up to as being special.  Their
prayersweare not sincere, they were only for those around them to hear
and brag about how great they were.  God does not care about fancy big
worded prayers.  He just wants us to pray from our hearts.

     Mark 12:41  "And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld
how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich
cast in much."  Mark 12:42 "And there came a certain poor widow, and
she threw in two mites, which make a farthing."  Mark 12:43 "And he
called [unto him] his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say
unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which
have cast into the treasury:" Mark 12:44 "For all [they] did cast in
of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had,
[even] all her living."

     Jesus was explaining, here, that sacrificial giving is truly a gift
to God.  If you give of your abundance and have plenty left after you
give, that is no sacrifice.  When you give in your need, not knowing
where your next meal is coming from, then that is truly sacrificial
giving regardless how small the offering.  The amount of the offering
you give is not as important to God as your attitude about the gift.
Give from a free heart, because you love God, and not to be seen of man
and God will greatly love your offering.



                                 Notes























                          Mark 25 Questions


1.  What did the Sadducees believe about life after death?
2.  What were the Sadducees trying to prove with the story about the
    seven brothers who had one wife?
3.  Who were the Sadducees?
4.  What part of the Bible did they accept as truth?
5.  What could you call their religion?
6.  How many brethren was this story about?
7.  In the resurrection, whose ________________________ shall she be,
    was the question they asked Jesus.
8.  What two things did Jesus tell them they did not know?
9.  What are the resurrected dead as in heaven?
10. What are angels?
11. In I Corinthians, what do we learn about the body?
12. What did Jesus mean by God of the living?
13. What had the scribe perceived about Jesus' answer?
14. What did the scribe ask Jesus?
15. What was Jesus' reply to him?
16. What was the one thing that separated God's people from the
    Egyptians and such around them?
17. What two things cover all Ten of God's Commandments?
18. What remark did this scribe say about Jesus' answer?
19. When Jesus saw the scribe answered discreetly, what did He say to
    him?
20. David, speaking by the Holy Ghost, had called Jesus what?
21. Why was it so hard for them to believe that Jesus was God?
22. Name three things these scribes liked that caused Jesus to say
    beware of them?
23. Why did these scribes pray long prayers?
24. What kind of prayer pleases God?
25. What did Jesus notice while He was siting over by the treasury?
26. Describe a sacrificial gift.

                                 Notes