Who were the Sadducees and what did they believe in this passage?

The Sadducees were a Jewish group who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, the continued life of the soul, or the existence of angels. They thought that when a person died, that was the end. They focused on this present life and limited their faith largely to what they could see. In this passage they come to Jesus with a puzzle meant to make the resurrection look foolish. Their question shows that they assumed any future life would be just like this one, with the same family and marriage arrangements.

What is the Sadducees’ question about the woman with seven husbands?

The Sadducees bring up a law where a man was to marry his dead brother’s widow if the brother died childless, so the family line could continue. They imagine seven brothers who, one after another, marry the same woman and all die without children. Finally the woman dies too. Then they ask, “In the resurrection whose wife will she be, since all seven had her?” They hope this will make the idea of resurrection sound silly, as if it must create an impossible tangle of earthly marriage ties in the next life.

What does Jesus mean by “You err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God”?

Jesus is saying the Sadducees are wrong because they do not really understand what God has said or what God can do. They read the holy writings, but they miss their real meaning about life after death. They also limit God to what fits their own ideas, instead of trusting that his power goes far beyond what they can imagine. Because they ignore both Scripture and God’s power, they assume the resurrection must just copy this life, and that leads them into confusion and unbelief about the future God has promised.

What does it mean that in the resurrection people neither marry nor are given in marriage?

When Jesus says that in the resurrection people do not marry or are given in marriage, he is teaching that life after death is not a repeat of earthly life. Marriage now serves God’s purposes in this world, including family life and caring for one another in our weakness. In the resurrection, God’s people will no longer die or need to raise children. They will be complete and free from the frailty of this life. Relationships will be holy and joyful, but not arranged by marriage the way they are on earth.

In what way will people be “as the angels of God in heaven”?

Jesus does not say people will become angels or lose their bodies. Instead, he says they will be like the angels in a certain way. After the resurrection, God’s people will not marry or die, and they will be free from the needs and weaknesses that belong to this present life. Like the angels, they will live before God in purity and strength. The point is that our future life is higher and better than our present condition, not tied to earthly patterns like marriage and having children.

How does Jesus use Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to prove the resurrection?

Jesus quotes God’s words, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” God spoke this long after these men had died. By using the present tense, “I am,” God shows that his relationship with them is still real. Jesus then says, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” This means Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob still live before God and look toward the resurrection. God’s covenant with them is eternal, so death cannot end what he has promised to his people.

What does this passage teach about life after death and the resurrection?

This passage teaches that there truly is a resurrection and that life after death is real and active. It shows that the coming life will be different from life now: there will be no marriage or dying, and God’s people will be like the angels in their freedom from weakness. It also teaches that the souls of believers are alive to God even when their bodies have died, and that God’s promises are not cut off by death. All of this rests on God’s power and his faithful word.

Why were the crowds astonished at Jesus’ teaching here?

The crowds were astonished because Jesus answered a long-used trick question with clear wisdom and authority. The Sadducees likely thought they had raised a problem that could not be solved, but Jesus exposed their misunderstanding and showed a simple, strong answer from Scripture itself. He corrected respected leaders in public, explained the nature of the resurrection, and showed God’s ongoing relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Hearing someone speak that plainly and powerfully about life after death surprised and impressed the listening crowd.

How can this passage shape how I think about marriage and eternity?

This passage reminds us that marriage is a good gift for this life, but it is not the final or highest thing. In the world to come, God’s people will have a greater joy and a closer, unhindered life with him that no earthly bond can match. Knowing this can help you value marriage rightly, without making it an idol or thinking you are less in God’s eyes if you are single or widowed. It encourages you to set your heart on the resurrection, where every child of God will be fully known and loved.

Matt.22.23

Matthew 22:23

KJV

The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

The Sadducees and the Resurrection

The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother:

Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.

And last of all the woman died also.

Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.

But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.