After Death
Mark 12:13-27
What happens when we die?
Photo by π―ππππ ππΎππΈπΌπ±π·π²π΄πΈπΏπͺ on Unsplash
Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it." And they brought one. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The emperor's." Jesus said to them, "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were utterly amazed at him. Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children; and the second married her and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died. In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her." Jesus said to them, "Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither 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. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong." - Mark 12:13-27
We have to remember who Jesus is speaking to here in this story. He is being challenged by the Sadducees, who do not believe in an afterlife, and yet they are questioning him about it.
Clearly, they are trying to trap him. They want to show the Greeks who are with them that one cannot be alive after death because there would be confusion over who one was married to in life.
This is a naive and foolish approach, showing they do not understand, nor do they want to.
So, Jesus makes two statements concerning death.
The first is that we become like angels when we rise from the dead.
The second is that God is the God of the living, which may sound confusing, but look who he said this about.
He said that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Genesis tells us all three died, so Jesus is saying that they live. Life, therefore, is eternal, and the Sadducees are wrong.
This is good news for us, and it shows that we are right to believe that our loved ones who have passed are still alive with God.
Imagine believing that this life is all there is, and then hearing that.
You may have seen posts where it is stated that studies show brain activity after death, but these do not prove that life continues. They may show that patients are experiencing something during the dying experience, but what Jesus is talking about is the continuation of life.
We don't know how that works or what it entails, since we haven't experienced it, but we may have had a glimpse of it through apparitions of family or angels.
But seeing is not necessarily believing in these instances, since science has not found a way to prove them. So, we must go on faith, which is something we are accustomed to as Christians.
More to come...
Thank you for this post and highlighting this. It's pretty awful to me to think that this life is all there is. Not that this life is horrible, but it is so limited and many of us are not here long at all. It's good to read this as a reminder that bigger things lie beyond all of this often cruel world. Inspiring post, Billy.