Bible Strands
Mark 12:27
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus speaks to his debate opponents after quoting the burning bush account, declaring God’s nature before a scribe approaches to ask about the greatest commandment.
The words — The Greek νεκρῶν (nekrōn) and ζώντων (zōntōn) translate literally to “of the dead” and “of the living.” Jesus links these nouns with οὐκ (ouk) “not” and ἀλλὰ (alla) “but” to construct a direct negation of the questioners’ premise.
The thread — The verse’s contrast between dead and living runs parallel to Romans 14:9, which identifies Christ as Lord of both groups, and recalls the Sadducees’ earlier error in Mark 12:24 regarding Scripture and God’s power.
Why it lands — The text states that God’s covenant title as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob excludes a permanent relationship with the dead. It requires readers to reject assumptions that contradict the written Word and to accept God’s power to sustain life beyond death.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.
Cross-references
- Romans 14:9 For this reason Christ died and returned to life, that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
- Mark 12:24 Jesus said to them, “Aren’t you mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
- Romans 4:17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the presence of God, in whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not yet exist.
- Hebrews 3:10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known My ways.’
- Hebrews 11:13 All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
- Proverbs 19:27 If you cease to hear instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.