Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 12:27

"He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: ye do greatly err." — Mark 12:27 (ASV)

Jesus then turned to the cause of the Sadducees’ erroneous thinking that he mentioned at first: ignorance of the teaching of the OT (cf. 2:25; 12:10). He directed them back to the story of Moses and the burning bush (v.26; Exodus 3:6), a part of the OT that was considered particularly authoritative by the Sadducees. The quotation may be understood as follows: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had long since died when God made the statement to Moses at the burning bush. Nevertheless, God said, “I am [not ‘I was’] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Thus the patriarchs were still alive in Moses’ time; and if they were alive then, we may be sure that in the Resurrection God will raise up their bodies to share in the blessedness of eternal life. God is faithful to his covenant promises.