When You Try to Outsmart God | Mark 12:18-27

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Our text today is Mark 12:18-27:

And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor 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. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.” — Mark 12:18-27

Sometimes we don’t want the truth. We want control. And so, we try to outsmart God. That’s exactly what the Sadducees were doing here. They didn’t believe in the resurrection, so they built a cleverly absurd story to make it look foolish. Seven brothers. One woman. No kids. One question: Whose wife will she be in heaven?

To them, it was intellectual checkmate.

But Jesus didn’t flinch at their game.

“You’re wrong,” he said. “Because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God.”

To Jesus, their issue was not a matter of theological debate—it was a matter of spiritual diagnosis. They didn’t want the truth. They tried to trap truth in their logic and reduce an infinite God to a human riddle.

But you don’t have to be a slippery Sadducee to try to outsmart God.

We act this way every time we twist Scripture to justify sin. Every time we argue around obedience. Every time we elevate our logic over God’s revelation. We’re not wrestling for clarity—we’re dodging surrender and trying to outsmart God.

Jesus reveals that faith doesn’t come from clever arguments—it comes from humble submission to God's will, as laid out in Scripture. It comes from knowing God’s Word and trusting God’s power, even when it doesn’t fit our mental grid.

So, stop debating with God like you’re his equal. You don’t need to outthink Him. You merely need to trust Him. Read his Word. Take him at his word. And act in faith. Because the real issue isn’t intelligence—it’s always surrender.

#Mark12, #TrustOverControl, #ObedientFaith

ASK THIS:

1. Why did Jesus say the Sadducees were “quite wrong”?
2. How do we sometimes use cleverness to avoid surrender?
3. What’s one truth you’ve been rationalizing instead of obeying?
4. What would it look like to trust God's power over your logic?

DO THIS:

What’s one area where you’ve been reasoning your way out of obedience? Confess it today—and take a simple step of surrender instead.

PRAY THIS:

God, I confess the ways I’ve tried to control you with logic. I don’t want to win arguments—I want to walk in obedience. Teach me to trust you again. Amen.

PLAY THIS:

“Reign Above It All”