Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: MARK #20 - 12:18-44)
H. 12:18-27 QUESTION OF THE RESURRECTION - SADDUCEES
a. 12:18-19 TEST QUESTION OF THE SADDUCEES
kai ERchon-tai Sad-douKAIoi pros auTON, HOIti-nes LEgou-sin,
And Sadducees come unto him, who say,
aNAsta-sin me EInai; kai e-peROton [1905]auTON, LEgon-tes,
thereis no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,
DiDAska-le, Mo-uSES Egra-psen heMIN, HOti, E-AN ti-nos a-delPHOS a-poTHAne,
19Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, that, If one's brother die,
kai ka-taLIpe[1641]guNAIka, kai meaPHE [863] TEKnon [5043], HIna LAbe ho a-delPHOS
and leave a wife behind, and leave no child, that his :brother
auTOU ten guNAIka, kai e-xa-naSTEse[1817] SPERma [4690]to a-delPHOauTOU.
should take his:wife, and raise up seed to his :brother.
b. 12:20-22a DETAILS OF THEIR QUESTION
hepTA a-delPHOI Esan: kai ho PROtos Ela-ben guNAIka,
Therewere seven brethren: and the first took a wife,
kai a-poTHNEskon [599]ouk aPHEken SPERma; kai ho DEUte-ros Ela-ben auTEN,
and dying left no seed; 21and the second took her,
kai aPEtha-nen, meka-ta-liPON SPERma; kai ho TRItos hoSAUtos: kai hoi hepTA ouk aPHEkan SPERma.
and died, leaving no seed behind; and the third likewise: 22aand the seven left no seed.
c. 12:22b Last of all the woman also died. EScha-ton PANton kai heguNEaPEtha-nen.
d. 12:23 In the resurrection whose wife shall she be of them? for the seven had her to wife.
en te a-naSTAsei [386] TInos auTON EStai guNE? hoi gar hepTA ESchon auTEN guNAIka.
e. 12:24 THE CHALLENGE OF JESUS
Ephe auTOIS ho IeSOUS, Ou diA TOUto plaNASthe [4105],
:Jesus said to them, Is it not for this cause that you err,
me eiDOtes tas graPHAS, meDE ten DUna-min [1411] tou TheOU?
that you know not the scriptures, nor the power of :God?
f. 12:25 THE NATURE OF RESURRECTION SAINTS
HOtan gar ek neKRON a-naSTOsin, OUte gaMOUsin [1060],
For when they shallrise from the dead, they neither marry,
OUte gaMIzon-tai [1061]; all' eiSIN hos AGge-loi [32] en tois ou-raNOIS.
nor are given in marriage; but are as angels in the heavens.
g. 12:26 RESURRECTION UNBELIEF EFFECTIVELY CHALLENGED
peRI de ton neKRON, HOti eGEIron-tai [1453];
But about the dead, that they are raised;
ouk aNEGno-te en te BIblo Mo-uSEos, ePI
have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about
tou BAtou [942], pos EIpen auTO ho TheOS, LEgon, E-GO ho TheOS
the Bush, how :God spoke to him, saying, I amthe God
A-braAM, kai TheOS I-saAK, kai TheOS IaKOB?
of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob?
h. 12:27 He is not God of thedead, but of theliving: you greatly err.
ouk EStin TheOS neKRON [3498], alLA ZONton [2198]: poLU plaNASthe.
I. 12:28-37a JESUS EXCHANGES QUESTIONS WITH PHARISEES
1. 12:28-34 QUESTION: GREAT COMMANDMENT
a. 12:28 JESUS TESTED BY A SCRIBE
Kai pro-selTHON heis ton gram-maTEon, aKOUsas auTON sun-zeTOUNton [4802],
And one of the scribes came, andheard them questioning together,
eiDOS HOti kaLOS a-peKRIthe auTOIS, a-peROte-sen auTON, POIa esTIN en-toLE [1785] PROte PANton?
andknowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is first of all?
b. 12:29-30 JESUS CORRECTLY POINTS TO THE FIRST AND GREAT COMMANDMENT
a-peKRIthe ho IeSOUS, HOti PROte esTIN, Akou-e, Is-raEL;
:Jesus answered , Thefirst is, Hear, Israel;
KUri-os ho TheOS heMON, KUri-os heis esTIN:
TheLord our :God, theLord is one:
kai a-gaPEseis [25] KUri-on ton TheON sou ex HOles karDIas [2588] sou,
30and you shall love theLord your God from all your heart,
kai ex HOles tes psuCHES [5590] sou, kai ex HOles tes di-aNOIas sou, kai ex HOles tes isCHUos [2479] sou.
and from from all your :soul, and from all your :mind, and from all your :strength.
c. 12:31a A second is this, You shall love your :neighbor as yourself.
deuTEra HAUte, A-gaPEseis ton pleSIon [4139]sou hos se-auTON.
d. 12:31b No other commandment is greater than these.
MEIzon [3173]TOUton ALleen-toLEouk EStin.
e. 12:32-33 THE SCRIBE GIVES A WORTHY RESPONSE
EIpen auTO ho gram-maTEUS, KaLOS, diDAska-le, ep' a-leTHEIas EIpes
The scribe said to him, Of a truth, Teacher, you have well said
HOti HEIS es-tin; kai ouk EStin ALlos plen auTOU:
that he is one; and thereis none other but he:
kai to a-gaPAN auTON ex HOles karDIas, kai ex HOle tes suNEse-os [4907],
33and to love him from all theheart, and from all the understanding,
kai ex HOles tes isCHUos, kai to a-gaPAN ton pleSIon hos he-auTON,
and from all the strength, and to love his:neighbor as himself,
pe-risSOteRON [4119] es-tin PANton ton ho-lo-kautMAton [3646] kai thu-siON [2378].
is much more than all whole :burnt-offerings and sacrifices.
f. 12:34a JESUS' PERCEPTIVE COMMENDATION
kai ho IeSOUS iDON auTON HOti nou-neCHOS [3562] a-peKRIthe, EIpen auTO,
And :Jesus seeing that he answered discreetly, said to him,
Ou maKRAN ei aPO tes ba-siLEIas tou TheOU.
You are not far from the kingdom of :God.
g. 12:34b And no one dared question him any more.
kai ouDEIS ouKEti eTOLma [5111]auTON e-pe-roTEsai [1905].
2. 12:35-37a JESUS QUESTIONS THE PHARISEES
a. 12:35 JESUS QUESTIONS THE SCRIBES
Kai a-po-kriTHEIS ho IeSOUS Ele-gen, diDAskon en to hi-eRO,
And :Jesus answered andsaid, as he taught in the temple,
Pos LEgou-sin hoi gram-maTEIS HOti ho ChrisTOS huiOS DauID es-tin?
How say the scribes that the Christ is David's son?
b. 12:36 HE UNDERGIRDS HIS QUESTION WITH SCRIPTURE
auTOS DauID EIpen en to PNEUma-ti to HaGIo,
David himself said in the Holy :Spirit,
EIpen KUri-os to kuRIo mou, KAthou ek de-xiON mou,
TheLord said unto my :Lord, Sit you on my right,
HEos an tho tous echTHROUS [2190] sou hu-poKAto [5286] ton POdon [4228] sou.
Till I put your :enemies underneath your :feet.
c. 12:37a David himself calls him Lord; and how is he his son?
auTOS DauID LEgei auTON KUri-on; kai POthen auTOU es-tin HUIos?
J. 12:37b-44 CONTRAST OF SCRIBES AND POOR WIDOW
1. 12:37b-40 SIX SINS OF THE SCRIBES: GREATER CONDEMNATION
a. 12:37b And the great crowd heard him gladly.
Kai ho poLUS OCHlos Ekou-en auTOU heDEos [2234].
b. 12:38-40 JESUS WARNS AGAINST THE SCRIBES
Kai en to di-daCHE auTOU Ele-gen, BLEpe-te aPO ton gram-maTEon,
And in :his teaching he said, Beware of the scribes,
ton theLONton en stoLAIS pe-ri-paTEIN, kai a-spasMOUS [783] en tais a-goRAIS [58],
who desire to walk in robes, and to have salutations in the markets,
kai pro-to-ka-theDRIas [4410] en tais su-na-goGAIS, kai pro-to-kliSIas [4411] en tois DEIPnois [1173]:
39and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at the feasts:
hoi kaTESthon-tes [2719] tas oiKIas ton cheRON [5503], kai proPHAsei [4392]
40they that devour :widows' :houses, and for pretense
maKRA pro-seuCHOme-noi [4336]; HOUtoi LEMpson-tai pe-risSOte-ron [4055] KRIma [2917].
make long prayers; these shall receive greater condemnation.
2. 12:41-44 THE WIDOW'S MITE
a. 12:41 GREAT GIFTS OF THE RICH
Kai kaTHIsas kaTEnan-ti [2713] tou ga-zo-phu-laKIou [1049],
And he sat down over against the treasury,
e-theOrei pos ho OCHlos BALlei chalKON eis to ga-zo-phuLAki-on: kai polLOI PLOUsi-oi Ebal-lon polLA.
andsaw how the crowd cast brass into the treasury: and many rich cast in much.
b. 12:42 And one poor widow came andcast in two mites, which make a farthing.
kai elTHOUsa MIa CHEra ptoCHE[4434]Eba-len lepTA DUo, HO es-tin koDRANtes.
c. 12:43-44 JESUS CONTRASTS HER ALL WITH THEIR ABUNDANCE
kai pros-ka-leSAme-nos [4341] tous ma-theTAS auTOU, EIpen auTOIS,
And he called unto himhis :disciples, andsaid to them,
A-MEN LEgo huMIN [HOti] he CHEra HAUte he ptoCHE
Amen I say unto you [that] This :poor :widow
PLEIon PANton Eba-len ton balLONton eis to ga-zo-phuLAki-on:
cast in more than all that are casting into the treasury:
PANtes gar ek tou pe-risSEUon-tos auTOIS Eba-lon;
44for they all did cast in of their :superfluity;
HAUte de ek tes hu-steREse-os auTES PANta HOsa EIchen Eba-len, HOlon ton BIon [979] auTES.
but she of her :want cast in all that she had, all her :living.
NOTE: 12:18-27 - Question of the Resurrection. The Sadducees are much like today's “Modernists” or “Liberals”. They do not believe in God'sBible essentials: Bible inspiration; Deity of Jesus; Triunity of the Godhead; heaven; hell; angels; resurrection and on and on. Thisis mybackground - like the Unitarians. It's quite a shock to realize one's heritage. Pharisees are just the opposite - they do generally accept the Bible - plus- traditions that make void the Word of God. Which will you pick? Neither, it is hoped. Side with Jesus and His pure Word.
From the Sadducee's confrontation with Jesus we see their non-position on resurrection. Notice how effectively Jesus cooks their goose by bringing them to the Scriptures showing God is stillthe Father of the three patriarchs of Israel. How clearly and deftly He corrects their false position of the state of saints in heaven - like angels! Read “Visions Beyond the Veil” by H.A. Baker to see more along this line.
Note how the Scribe in the next section understood how effectively Jesus undercut the proud Sadducees.
12:28-34 - This is the first of two parts in the exchange of Jesus with Pharisees. Scribes are part of this order. The Scribe in question here is one of the most upright of any mentioned in Scripture. Jesus gave him high commendation. Notice one word that he uses in commending Jesus for His answer to this scribe's question. He agrees that the first and second chief commandments mentioned by Jesus are of more worth than whole-burnt offeringsor sacrifices. The word for “whole :burnt-offering is “ho-lo-kautMAton or Holocaust1 It is the word used for what Hitler had done for the 6 million Jews during World War II. Jesus Himself became as it were a Holocaust at Calvary on your behalf and mine! How Modernists hatethis theology! The first of the offerings mentioned in Leviticus is this - a holocaust.
12:35-37a is a telling insight given by Jesus to the Pharisees. It sostruck them, that from then on they did not daretangle with Him in argument! The knewthey were out-classed.
12:37b-44 Six Sins of the Scribes. Jesus is here seen as a True Prophet. Prophets are raised up of God to call a spade a spade, and to confront Kings and Rulers and Governors. Yet - we are to pray for all such - but if we walk in the prophetic spirit - there will also be a confrontation of sinful rulers. Both John the Baptist and Jesus were extremely faithful in this regard, and both died martyrs' deaths. Paul confronted Peter, chief apostle of the circumcision, for waffling over the Judaizing controversy. Franklin Graham is a modern prophet - one who insists in using the Name of Jesus in prayer in spite of the compromisers and those who fear becoming politically incorrect. Costly? Of course. It shows the true God-pleasers and the men-pleasers. See Revelation 6:9-10 - and those under the 5thseal. These were martyrs for the Word of God. Vengeance for their part would await the full number of martyrs to join them. Could some of these be you or me? In many other parts of the world, such martyrs are common. The United States and Canada have not yet experienced in common what commonly takes
place elsewhere.
12:41-44 closes this section, and provides a contrast between the scribes and this poor widow. What an insight! J.A.W.