Mark 12:27 (YLT)

Passage

he is not the God of dead men, but a God of living men; ye then go greatly astray.'

Nearby Context

Mark 12:25 for when they may rise out of the dead, they neither marry nor are they given in marriage, but are as messengers who are in the heavens.

Mark 12:26 `And concerning the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the Book of Moses (at The Bush), how God spake to him, saying, I <FI>am<Fi> the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;

Mark 12:27 he is not the God of dead men, but a God of living men; ye then go greatly astray.'

Mark 12:28 And one of the scribes having come near, having heard them disputing, knowing that he answered them well, questioned him, `Which is the first command of all?'

Mark 12:29 and Jesus answered him--`The first of all the commands <FI>is<Fi> , Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dead", "living", "greatly", and "astray". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "dead" and "living", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 26's "And concerning the dead that they rise..." into verse 28's "And one of the scribes having come...", so "dead" and "living" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "dead" and "living" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.