What is the main issue in Jesus’ discussion with the Sadducees here?

The main issue is whether there really is a resurrection and what life after the resurrection is like. The Sadducees did not believe that the dead would be raised, so they tried to trap Jesus with a made-up story about a woman who married seven brothers, one after another, with no children. They thought this made resurrection look foolish. Jesus shows that their whole question is based on a wrong picture of the age to come and then proves from Moses that the dead are indeed raised.

Who were the Sadducees and why did they ask about the woman with seven husbands?

The Sadducees were a group among the Jewish leaders who denied that there would be any resurrection of the dead. They respected the writings of Moses but did not accept the hope of a future bodily life in the same way others did. They used the law about a brother marrying his dead brother’s widow to present a strange case of one woman married to seven brothers. Their goal was not to get help, but to make the idea of resurrection look ridiculous and to challenge Jesus’ teaching.

What does Jesus mean by "the children of this world marry"?

When Jesus speaks of “the children of this world,” he is talking about people in the present, earthly life. In this life people marry and are given in marriage, and that is normal and right, because people die and families and inheritance must continue. Marriage belongs to this present age with its weakness and death. Jesus is saying that the way life works now, including marriage, does not simply carry over into the world to come. The resurrection brings a different kind of life with different conditions.

Will there be marriage in the resurrection according to this passage?

According to Jesus, those who are counted worthy to share in the world to come and the resurrection from the dead will not marry or be given in marriage. In the resurrection, people will not need marriage to continue family lines, because they will not die anymore. Their life will be secure and complete in God. Relationships will be real, but not arranged around marriage and childbearing like in this age. This helps answer the Sadducees’ puzzle and shows that they were thinking only in earthly terms.

What does it mean that the resurrected are "equal unto the angels"?

When Jesus says the resurrected are equal to the angels, he is not saying people become angels, but that they share some things in common with them. They will not die anymore, just as angels do not die. Their life will be pure, spiritual, and secure in God’s presence. They will no longer need marriage to keep the human race going. They will clearly show that they are God’s children, because they share in this new, deathless life that God gives in the resurrection.

Who are the "children of the resurrection" that Jesus mentions?

The “children of the resurrection” are those who share in the resurrection to life. They belong to God now by his grace, and at the resurrection this will be seen openly. Their resurrection will show that they are God’s children and heirs, just as Jesus’ resurrection showed him to be the Son of God. While all will be raised, this phrase points especially to those who rise to eternal life with God, not to those who rise to judgment. Their hope and inheritance are tied to God raising them up.

How does Jesus use Moses to prove that the dead are raised?

Jesus points back to the story of the burning bush, where God calls himself the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. These men had died long before that moment, yet God still speaks of them as his people. Jesus’ point is that God is not the God of the dead, as if his promises ended with their graves, but of the living. If God binds himself to people as their God, that includes their future life with him, so there must be a real hope beyond death and a coming resurrection.

What does the phrase "for all live unto him" teach about life after death?

The phrase “for all live unto him” shows that, from God’s point of view, his people are alive even after their bodies have died. To human eyes, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were long gone, but before God they live. Their souls are kept by him, and their bodies will one day be raised. Our view of life and death is limited, but God’s keeping goes beyond the grave. This gives comfort that those who trust him are not lost or forgotten when they die, but are safe in his presence and will be raised.

Why did the scribes say, "Master, thou hast well said," and then stop asking questions?

Some of the scribes agreed with the teaching about the resurrection, so they were pleased to hear Jesus answer the Sadducees so clearly. They said, “Master, thou hast well said,” because his reply was wise and based on Scripture they all knew. At the same time, Jesus had already answered several traps from different groups, and each time he showed strong insight and authority. After this, they no longer dared to question him, likely because they feared being shamed again and saw they could not defeat him.

Luke.20.27

Luke 20:27

KJV

Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,

Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.

And the second took her to wife, and he died childless.

And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.

Last of all the woman died also.

Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.

And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.

Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.

For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him.

Then certain of the scribes answering said, Master, thou hast well said.

And after that they durst not ask him any question at all.

Cross References

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