The Resurrection and Marriage
27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second [took her to wife, and he died childless.]31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Observations & Reflections
Before diving into the content of the passage we must point out that not all English translations agree on verse 30. In the NIV and a number of modern versions there is a phrase missing from verse 30; [took her to wife, and he died childless.]. It’s a minor detail that seems to have been added later for readability. It does not affect anything about the passage but it needs to be known for when a KJV only member comes knocking.
The question posed by the Sadducees was less about catching Jesus in a trap and more about settling a dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Sadducees (as noted) did not believe in life after death. The Pharisees did believe in life after death. That is why the passage ends with “Some of the teachers of the law responded, ‘Well said, teacher!’”
The differing views of the two groups also accounted for their differing life styles. The Sadducees had abandoned the holiness agenda of the Pharisees as well as the desire to be separate from the world. The Sadducees accepted their Roman overlords and they had no problems with building up wealth in this lifetime. They believed that what we get in this life is a direct result of our behavior. Thus, if we were poor it was because God was punishing us. Likewise, the rich were blessed by God. Not all the different than modern televangelists.
The Pharisees, however, focused their time on the holiness of Israel and trying to prevent the wrath of God being cast upon the Jews. They were a product of the Jewish exile and the movement to rid the nation of the worldly problems which defiled and cursed God’s people.
Jesus’ answer is clear. Not only are we going to rise from the dead but we will be utterly transformed. We will no longer marry as we do on this earth since procreation will no longer be needed. We will be elevated as Jesus was. Jesus’ resurrection was just the first fruits.
| Matthew 22:23-33 | Mark 12:18-27 | Luke 20:27-39 |
|---|---|---|
| 23 That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.
24 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. 25 Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 The same thing happened to the second and third brother, right on down to the seventh. 27 Finally, the woman died. 28 Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” 29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead—have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. |
18 Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question.
19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” 24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!” |
27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.
28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second [took her to wife, and he died childless.] 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” 34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” 39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions. |
[Featured image by Ricci, Sebastiano (1659 – 1734), titled “The Resurrection”]