Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

 

Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard  the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him,"Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him. 

Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

 

- Mark 12:13-27 

 

Yesterday we read that Jesus and the disciples came again to Jerusalem.  The events in our current readings take place during Holy Week, beginning with Monday's reading.  As He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.  And they said to Him, "By what authority are You doing these things?  And who gave You this authority to do these things?"  But Jesus answered and said to them, "I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:  The baptism of John -- was it from heaven or from men?  Answer Me."  And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say, 'Why then did you not believe him?'  But if we say, 'From men'" -- they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.  So they answered and said to Jesus, "We do not know."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."  Then He began to speak to them in parables:  "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.  And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.  Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.  And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.  And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.  Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, 'They will respect my son.'  But those vinedressers said among themselves, 'This is the heir.  Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'  So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.  Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do?  He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not even read this Scripture:  'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.  This was the LORD's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?"And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them.  So they left Him and went away.  

 

 Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard  the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him,"Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  My study Bible explains that the Herodians were Jewish political supporters of the ruling house of Herod the Great and therefore willing servants of Rome.  Therefore, this question regarding Caesar and paying taxes is relevant in the context of those who ask it.  It is designed as a trap.  If Jesus answers in the affirmative He will be seen as against the Jewish people and supporting the Roman occupiers; if He answers "no" it could bring a charge of treason by the Romans.  But Christ's answer defeats the trap, and shows that a faithful person can render the state its due while serving God (Romans 13:1-7).  My study Bible comments that, as the coin bears the image of the emperor and is properly paid to him, so each person bears the image of God and therefore belongs to God.  Conflict arises only when the state demands that which is contrary to God (see Acts 4:19; 5:29).  Moreover, my study Bible says that this distinction between things that are Caesar's and things that are God's does not imply the division of a believer's life into the secular and the sacred.  God is Lord over all of life, including the secular.  But we fulfill governmental requirements that do not conflict with our first responsibility to God.  To pay taxes and fulfill similar civil duties are not detrimental to holiness. 

 

 Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."   My study Bible notes here that the Sadducees represent landowners and other wealthy families in Jerusalem.  They held many high offices in Israel, and controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin.  They were distinguished from the Pharisees in that they were politically prudent, adapting to the presence of the Romans.  They were extremely conservative in terms of how they interpreted the law, more rigid than the Pharisees in the sense that, unlike the Pharisees, they rejected belief in angels and in the resurrection from the dead at the end of the age.  The Sadducees completely disappeared after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.  In His response, Jesus confirms there will be a resurrection, but that its nature is something quite different from what the Sadducees can imagine.  It is not a continuation of earthly life (including earthly marriage).  Their mocking and absurd scenario is a reflection of their ignorance of the Scriptures.  As Jesus implies, the Scriptures reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection, making their questions irrelevant.  Moreover, my study Bible adds, they fail to understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  It notes that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

The Sadducees ask Jesus a very materially oriented question.  It would seem, if we extrapolate from Jesus' response to them, that their very worldly-grounded perspective -- with its denial of both the resurrection and the existence of angels -- limits them in their capacity to understand the things of God.  At least this seems to be the clear teaching of Jesus.  Moreover, their rigid method of understanding the law prohibits them from truly understanding the Scriptures and reading what is there.   Let us note how important each word of the Scripture is, especially from Christ's response.  Jesus quotes from Exodus 3:6 ("I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"), and we are meant to understand how very important the word am is in the quotation.  Indeed, if we understand the Scriptures properly, God is the I AM (Exodus 3:14).  God is existence itself.  Therefore the resurrection is not a continuation of earthly life, but the life of eternal existence in God, who sustains all that is.  This sense of the name of God, the I AM, is carried over into Christian iconography and symbolism.  In the nimbus (or "halo") that surrounds the head of Christ in Byzantine icons, we can read Ο ΩΝ.  This might be literally translated as "the Being" (or even the "Be"), the God who is.  In the Armenian Apostolic tradition, God is often represented by the seventh letter of the Armenian alphabet, “Է” (pronounced "Eh"), which also means "is."  From these ancient Christian traditions, we understand the power and importance of this notion of existence itself, what is -- or perhaps better phrased, Who is.  God is the One Who is.  Nothing is sustained without the One who is, life is in the One who is.  Thus, God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all those who live in God, even if they no longer live in this world.  This passage is important in that it teaches us about Scripture and how to read it.  It teaches us about the limitations of assuming that whatever we read has simply a pedestrian meaning and needs to be stripped of all of its attendant mystery and possibilities.  Jesus asks us to do quite the opposite, and flatly instructs the Sadducees that they do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God.   In our own time, there are many who would minimize the power and mystery of God, and the true richness of Scripture.  Scripture is tied to Christ, as both are "the Word of God."  If we understand it as Jesus teaches in today's reading, Scripture adds "more abundantly" to what we know of life.   In the true power and mystery of God, the Scriptures reveal to us something far beyond our imagination, an unlimited treasure that has kept on giving throughout the ancient world of Christianity to the present.  Let us pay attention to His words, and minimize nothing of what we are given.