Mark 12:27

27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

Mark 12:27 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 12:27

He is not the God of the dead
This is our Lord's reasoning upon the passage; showing from hence, that since God is the God of these persons, they must be now alive in their souls, for God is not the God of the dead; and that their bodies must rise again, or he will not be the God of their whole persons;

but the God, of the living:
the word "God", in this clause, is omitted in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Arabic versions, but retained in the Persic and Ethiopic versions; (See Gill on Matthew 22:32);

ye therefore do greatly err;
signifying, that it was not a slight mistake, an error of small importance, but a very great one; inasmuch as it was contrary to the Scriptures, and derogated from the power of God, and destroyed that covenant interest, which God has in his people, and particularly in the principal men of their nation, who were the fathers and founders of them.

Mark 12:27 In-Context

25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven.

26 But concerning the dead rising, have you not read about the burning bush in the Book of Moses, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’ ?

27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

28 Now one of the scribes had come up and heard their debate. Noticing how well Jesus had answered them, he asked Him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

29 Jesus replied, “This is the most important: ‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.