Mark 12:18-37
Contemporary English Version
Life in the Future World
(Matthew 22.23-33; Luke 20.27-40)
18 (A) The Sadducees did not believe that people would rise to life after death. So some of them came to Jesus and said:
19 (B) Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and has no children, his brother should marry the widow. Their first son would then be thought of as the son of the dead brother. 20 There were once seven brothers. The first one married, but died without having any children. 21 The second brother married his brother's widow, and he also died without having children. The same thing happened to the third brother, 22 and finally to all seven brothers. At last the woman died. 23 When God raises people from death, whose wife will this woman be? After all, she had been married to all seven brothers.
24 Jesus answered:
You are completely wrong! You don't know what the Scriptures teach. And you don't know anything about the power of God. 25 When God raises people to life, they won't marry. They will be like the angels in heaven. 26 (C) You surely know about people being raised to life. You know that in the story about Moses and the burning bush, God said, “I am the God worshiped by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”[a] 27 He isn't the God of the dead, but of the living. You Sadducees are all wrong.
The Most Important Commandment
(Matthew 22.34-40; Luke 10.25-28)
28 (D) One of the teachers of the Law of Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard Jesus give a good answer, he asked him, “What is the most important commandment?”
29 (E) Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. 30 You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ 31 (F) The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.”
32 (G) The man replied, “Teacher, you are certainly right to say there is only one God. 33 (H) It is also true that we must love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and that we must love others as much as we love ourselves. These commandments are more important than all the sacrifices and offerings that we could possibly make.”
34 When Jesus saw that the man had given a sensible answer, he told him, “You are not far from God's kingdom.” After this, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions.
About David's Son
(Matthew 22.41-46; Luke 20.41-44)
35 As Jesus was teaching in the temple, he said, “How can the teachers of the Law of Moses say the Messiah will come from the family of King David? 36 (I) The Holy Spirit led David to say,
‘The Lord said to my Lord:
Sit at my right side[b]
until I make your enemies
into a footstool for you.’
37 If David called the Messiah his Lord, how can the Messiah be his son?”[c]
The large crowd enjoyed listening to Jesus teach.
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