Is this not the reason you are mistaken...

Mark 12:18-37 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, ¹⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother. ²⁰ There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. ²¹ The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; ²² and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. ²³ In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For ^[e]all seven had married her.” ²⁴ Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or the power of God? ²⁵ For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ²⁶ But regarding the fact that the dead rise again, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”

²⁸ One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; ³⁰ and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” ³² The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; ³³ and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.

³⁵ And Jesus began to say, as He taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand,
Until I put Your enemies beneath Your feet.”’  ³⁷ David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And the large crowd enjoyed listening to Him.

Jesus taught us to pray saying:  Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, yet far too often we try to understand or explain the infinite and eternal things of heaven through the limitations of our finite earthly perspective. We compare heaven to earth rather than aligning earth to heaven.   In today’s text it says:   Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) came to Jesus, and began quetioning Him, saying,  “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and leaves no child, his brother should marry the wife and raise up children to his brother.  There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children.  The second one married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise;  and so all seven left no children. Last of all the woman died also. In the resurrection, when they rise again, which one’s wife will she be? For all seven had married her.” Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures or 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.”  In Isaiah 55:9-10 God says:   “As the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”   Many people err simply because they will not accept that they cannot fully comprehend an infinite and eternal God, and so they reason that because He is beyond their comprehension, He does not exist; or if they believe at all, it is only in a God who fits their limited understanding. For us, with our limited earthly perspective, to try to fully comprehend the realities of God and heaven would be like a goldfish in a bowl comprehending the vastness of the ocean.  The truth is, we will not truly understand heaven until we are there. The fourth verse of the familiar hymn Amazing Grace says:  When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we first begun.  Even when we are in heaven, God’s goodness, His greatness and His magnitude will continue to be revealed to us for eternity.

The text says:  One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord;  and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”   Many in the world emphasize loving others, but again often they err if they make loving others the focus or the foremost priority. First and foremost we are to love God. 1 John 4:19 says:  We love, because He first loved us.  Our ability and our capacity to love is derived from our response to God’s love for us. If we don’t first and foremost love God with all of our heart, sould and mind, we cannot truly love others.  We are not to love others in the same way we love God. We are to love them as we love ourselves. Again, our ability and capacity to love is derived from God’s love for us. Romans 5:8 says: God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.  God’s love is demonstrated in the cross of Christ. To love ourselves we must first accept the love of God demonstrated on the cross. Then, it is with that same love, pointing to the cross, that we are to love others. True love is not embracing and tolerating the sins of others. True love is pointing them to the one who forgives and redeems them from sin through the cross.

Heavenly Father, how can I comprehend Your magnitude, Your majesty, Your goodness and Your love?  All that I can do is to look around me and see the testimony of creation. All I can do is remember all that You have done for me. How can I comprehend a Lord and King who is also my Savior and redeemer; who died for me? All that I can do is say Thank You. All that I can do is to love You with my whole heart, soul and mind. All that I can do is to love others; to point them to the demonstration of Your love. I look forward to the time when we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise Than when we first begun. Amazing grace. Amazing God.  Amen.