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[c] 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’[d]? 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
Question 1
What haven’t the Sadducees understood?
Question 2
What does Jesus mean in verse 27 when he says that God is God not of the dead, but of the living?
Here’s another group of people now trying to deceive Jesus. The Sadducees didn’t believe that God would bring his people back to life someday, so they’re bringing a question to see if Jesus can solve it. They hope to show that the idea of resurrection is foolish.
If a man were to die without having children, his brother or close relative would take the wife in order to have heirs for him. So the Sadducees imagine a situation where a man with seven brothers marries a woman and dies before having children. The man’s brother takes her as his wife, but he also dies before having children. The same thing happens until all the brothers have died, and then the wife herself dies. Of course, a situation like this is unlikely to happen. But the Sadducees’ question is, if it did happen, whose wife would she be in the resurrection?
Jesus gives them two answers. Their question doesn’t make sense, because they don’t understand what the law is saying. Marriage is an agreement between a man and a woman that is broken when one of them dies – that must be true, or anyone who remarried would be committing adultery. Marriage doesn’t extend beyond the grave, and so in the resurrection, that kind of relationship won’t exist, just like the angels.
Jesus isn’t leaving that there. He reminds them of God’s words to Moses when he said, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Even though these men have been dead for centuries, they belong to God now! A believer has nothing to fear from death, because they have assurance of eternal life with God. Jesus wants everyone to understand that death isn’t the end of the story, and that God will raise everyone someday.
Question 3
How does believing in the resurrection help us on a daily basis?
Question 4
Jesus’ response very often to the religious leaders is that they do not understand Scripture. What should our reaction be when we hear this?
Pray
that God will enable you to understand the true meaning of the Bible.
