Jesus' argument for the Resurrection (Mark 12:18-27) is brilliant, if not unusual. I want to present this argument and assess its cogency.
Mark 12:18-27:
18 Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, saying,
19 "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother.
20 There were seven brothers; the first married and, when he died, left no children;
21 and the second married the widow and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise;
22 none of the seven left children. Last of all the woman herself died.
23 In the resurrection whose wife will she be? For the seven had married her."
24 Jesus said to them, "Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor 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 And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said to him, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?
27 He is the God not of the dead, but of the living; you are quite wrong."
Structure of Mark 12:18-27:
Based on J. P. Meier's work, the structure of this passage can be outlined as follows:
I. 12:18-23
a. 12:18-19 Sadducees do not believe in the fact of resurrection (18) and use Moses to show that the resurrection is ridiculous (Deuteronomy 25:5, cf. Genesis 38:8).
b. 12:20-23 Sadducees set up a fictitious scenario based on the Moses passage to show that the resurrection leads to a ridiculous consequence.
II. 12:24-27
a. 12:24-25 Jesus states that the Sadducees are wrong about the fact of resurrection and wrong about the manner of resurrection (24), and then argues in reverse the two points, first that the Sadducees are wrong about the manner of resurrection (25).
b. 12:26-27 Jesus argues the fact of resurrection using Moses (Exodus 3:6).
Jesus' argument resurrection in Mark 12:26-27
Jesus' logic in verses 26-27 seems to go as follows:
Premise #1: God defines himself in relation to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Premise #2: God would not define himself in relation to dead things.
Conclusion #1: Therefore, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob cannot be dead.
Conclusion #2: Therefore, The three men must be alive or will be alive in the future; in other words, the resurrection must be fact. QED.
Cogency of Jesus' argument
Jesus' argument is unprecedented. It relies on God's abhorrence of death. There is nothing more counter to the God of Life than death. Jesus capitalizes on this to reason that God would not define himself in terms of inanimate dust, rotting flesh or the like. God's identification with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at least shows that God thought highly of these individuals and so it would be out of character for God to let those whom God cares about to rot in the grave for all time. If God has the power to raise these individuals from the dead, then he would do so at least in this case. So, we are right back to the power of God, which informed Jesus response to the manner of Resurrection. Jesus argued that God has the power to raise individuals to a angelic-like state and therefore circumvents the Sadducees faulty scenario. Therefore God has the power to raise individuals to life. It's a question about God's power.
Theological Upshot
Does God have the power to raise individuals from the dead? That is a question we have to ask. Christianity answers with an unequivocal "Yes"!
