Devine Scripture

Mark 12:18

What does Mark 12:18 mean?

A plain-English look at Mark 12:18 in WEB alongside six other public-domain English translations, with cross-references and chapter context.

What Mark 12:18 means

After the Pharisees and Herodians are silenced, the Sadducees, another prominent Jewish sect, approach Jesus. They were known for denying the resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels, and the full authority of the oral law. Their challenge indicates a rotation of opposition, as different groups attempt to discredit Jesus. Their specific approach, rooted in their theological convictions, targets Jesus's teaching on the afterlife, setting a new kind of trap designed to expose what they believed to be a logical flaw in the concept of resurrection.

Parallel translations

WEB

World English Bible · 2000

And there come unto him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

KJV

King James Version · 1611

Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

ASV

American Standard Version · 1901

And there come unto him Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying,

BBE

Bible in Basic English · 1949

And there came to him Sadducees, who say there is no coming back from the dead; and they put a question to him, saying,

YLT

Young's Literal Translation · 1862

And the Sadducees come unto him, who say there is not a rising again, and they questioned him, saying,

DRA

Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · 1752

And there came to him the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection. And they asked him, saying:

DBY

Darby Bible · 1890

And Sadducees come to him, that say there is no resurrection; and they demanded of him saying,

Context

This verse introduces the second group of antagonists, the Sadducees, who emerge immediately after the Pharisees and Herodians have been silenced. It sets the stage for a new theological debate focused on the resurrection, a core Sadducean tenet and point of contention. This shift in opponents and topics highlights the diverse opposition Jesus faced and prepares the reader for a different kind of challenge, rooted in an imagined absurdity of the afterlife.

v.17And Jesus said unto them, Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s. And they marvelled greatly at him.

v.18This passage

v.19Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, If a man’s brother die, and leave a wife behind him, and leave no child, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

Cross references

Related passages from across Scripture, drawn from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

  • Acts 23:6

    But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees: touching the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

  • Acts 4:1

    And as they spake unto the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

  • 2 Timothy 2:18

    men who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.

  • Matthew 22:23

    On that day there came to him Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection: and they asked him,

  • Luke 20:27

    And there came to him certain of the Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection;

  • 1 Corinthians 15:13

    But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised:

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