Who’s Wife will She be?

23 The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question,  24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, having no children, his brother must marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.’  25 Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother.  26 So too the second and third, down to the seventh.  27 After them all, the woman died.  28 In the resurrection, therefore, to which of the seven will she be wife? For they all had her.”

29   But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.  30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God,  32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”  33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching. Matt. 22:23-33

Once more the Sadducees decided to have a go at this supposed Messiah. They just could not accept this man as the Messiah. He threatened the entire way of life. As the priestly class, the Sadducees had a vested interest in the Temple remaining the center of worship. This Messiah guy was telling everyone that it was a matter of spirit and not physical.

I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. Matt. 12:6

FYI: Many forget this passage when they teach that there were Nephilim that produced hybrid children, think they are brilliant instead of pagan.

The Sadducees only believed that the Torah, or the first five books of the  Bible, had authority. They believed that the prophets and the writings were of far less worth. Because they believed that the resurrection was not directly spoken of in the books of Moses, they did not believe in it.

But, the Pharisees and most of the people did believe in a resurrection. So, it was certain that whatever Messiah’s answer, it would cause a great uproar and cause some people to doubt. At least, that was their hope.

Not only did He not cause a riot, But He also settled the issue once and for all using a verse from the Torah.

And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.  Ex. 3:6

He also recited from the Torah that God was the God of the living!

For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire, as we have, and has still lived? Deut. 5:26

FYI: Throughout the Talmud, there are references to a “Book of the Sadducees.”  However, no such book has survived. The Sadducees (the priestly class) did not survive the destruction of the temple, so neither did their book.

There would be no reason for the Pharisees to have preserved a book they thought untruthful. There is another suggestion as to what happened to the Sadducees, that is after the Resurrection the majority of them believed in Messiah, and they would have had no reason to preserve the “Book of the Sadducees either.

Messiah’s argument astounded the crowd. It’s one of those answers we all wish we could think of in the heat of the moment. This a brilliant quote from the very accepted authority of the Torah.

Next Week: The Pharisees