The Wife of a Brother Who Dies - Mark 12:19

Mark wrote how, “Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection; and they asked him, saying, ...”, and in chapter twelve and verse nineteen of his book, Mark shared how the “Sadducees” presented Jesus with, “if a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him” where we read:

Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

The verse reads, “Master, Moses wrote unto us, If a man's brother die, and leave his wife behind him, and leave no children, ...” Mark began with the word, “Master” which means “teacher” “Moses wrote unto us” or “the legislator of the Jewish people and in a certain sense the founder of the Jewish religion whose name means drawing out”, “If a man's brother die” which means “whether a male human being's blood related brother is deceased, mortally wounded and perished”, “and leave his wife” or “and depart from his female spouse” “behind him” which means “after his living”, “and leave no children” or “and depart without fostering any offspring or prodigy”. Mark shared how the “Sadducees” referred to “Moses' law” concerning when a “husband dies” without having any “children”.

The verse goes on to say, “that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.” Mark continued with the words, “that his brother” which means “that the man who died leaving his wife without any children” “should take his wife” or “should lay hold of, claim and procure the dead brother's wife”, “and raise up seed” which means “and produce and raise” “unto his brother” or “on behalf of the man's brother”. Mark shared how the “Sadducees” referred to the law of Moses which said if a man who was married “died” before he had any children, his brother was to marry his wife and raise up a child in his name.

When we consider Mark's words in this verse, we see how the “Sadducees”, who did not believe in a resurrection, were presenting a story, either real or imagined, that would call for Jesus to answer whether He thought there was a “resurrection” or not. Again, these stories were set up to “catch” Jesus in His speech and were not intended to bring the “Sadducees” true information. God desires a “contrite” heart, not a deceptive one, and those who receive His Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” must come to Him in humility and understanding as to who He really is. Those who are wise will study these “Sadducees'” story and be certain they never align with them.

Next time Mark shares how the Sadducees told Jesus, “there were seven brethren … dying left no seed” so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".