Mark Lesson 41 (2023)

THE GOD OF THE LIVING

(Mark 12:18-27)

Open it:

1. What misconceptions do people often have about God?

Explore it:

1. Read verses 18-19. Who were the Sadducees, and what unique beliefs did the Sadducees have? (18; Acts 23:8) What instruction of Moses did the Sadducees cite to support their theology about the resurrection?

2. Read verses 20-23. What hypothetical case did they bring to Jesus? (20-23) What was the basic principle underlying the Sadducees’ question? (23)

3. Read verses 24-25. In what two areas was their knowledge deficient? What did Jesus teach about marriage in heaven? How will life in heaven differ from life on earth?

4. Read verses 26-27. How did Jesus show the Sadducees that the dead are raised? What did Jesus mean when he referred to God as “not the God of the dead, but of the living”? What can you learn from the Sadducees’ negative example in this episode?

Apply it

1. What can you do to prevent yourself from being as “badly mistaken” about what Jesus taught as the Sadducees were?