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Matthew 22:23 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’(b)? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
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’(b)? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching.
b.Matthew 22:32 Exodus 3:6
This is what the commentary has to say.
"The Sadducees were not many in number; but they were the wealthy, the aristocratic, and the governing class."
"At Jesus' time Judaism as a whole held surprising diverse views of death and what lies beyond it."
This practice of a brother-in-law marrying the widow of his brother is known as levirate marriage. The term comes from the Latin "lavir," meaning "brother-in-law." This is the specific idea in the question. "Marry is not the normal Greek word, but a technical term for the performance of the levirate duty."
"Probably, this was one of the stock stories they were in the habit of telling in order to cast ridicule upon the resurrection."
Paul later told Timothy to hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me (2 Timothy 1:13). This suggests that Biblical truth has a pattern to it, a pattern that can be detected by the discerning heart. It also suggests that one can lose this pattern (thus the command to hold fast). The Sadducees had Bible knowledge, but they did not hold fast the pattern of sound words; many today are like them in this respect.
The Sadducees denied supernatural truths such as the existence of angelic beings and the bodily resurrection. They had a fundamental doubt of the power of God to do beyond what they could measure and understand in the material world; many today are like the Sadducees in this respect.
"If you knew the power of God, you would know that God is able to raise the dead If you knew the Scriptures, you would know that God will raise the dead."
This passage has made many wonder if marriage relationships will exist in heaven, or if those who are husband and wife on earth will have no special relationship in heaven. We are not told enough about life in the world beyond to answer in great detail, but we can understand a few principles.
Family relationships will still be known in life in the world beyond. The rich man Jesus described in the afterlife was aware of his family relationships (Luke 16:27-28).
The glory of heaven will be a relationship and connection with God that surpasses anything else, including present family relationships (Revelation 21:22-23).
If it seems that life in the resurrection that Jesus spoke of here does not include some of the pleasures of life we know on earth, it is only because the enjoyments and satisfactions of heaven far surpass what we know on earth. We can't be completely certain what life in glory beyond will be like, but we can know with certainty that no one will be disappointed with the arrangements (Revelation 22:1-5).
This question is not merely theoretical. There will be many in heaven who have had more than one spouse, for any number of reasons. Jesus here told us that jealousy and exclusion will have no place in heaven.
This Biblical understanding of heaven is dramatically different from the more sensual dreams of heaven, such as those found in Islamic and Mormon theology. "Mahomet, as he professed that himself had a special license given him by God to know what woman he would, and to put them away when he would; so he promised to all his votaries and adherents the like carnal pleasures at the resurrection."
The most obvious point must not be neglected: Jesus told the Sadducees that angels were real. "In fact, Jesus' use of angels contains a double thrust since the Sadducees denied their existence."
Angels are consistently represented in the Bible as male figures, and never specifically as female figures (Genesis 18:2, 16; Genesis 19:1-11).
This raises a question because of the probable connection of fallen angelic beings and human sexuality described in Genesis 6:1-8 and Jude 6-7. Yet the words of Jesus do not exclude such a connection for several reasons.
We can't be certain of the type of sexual connection indicated in the Genesis and Jude passages. It is entirely possible that the connection was not between material appearances of these angelic beings and humans, but that the evil angelic beings expressed themselves through uniquely demon-possessed humans.
"The living God is the God of living men; and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive and identified as the same persons who lived on earth."
"As no man can be a father without children, nor a king without a people, so, strictly speaking, the Lord cannot be called the God of any but the living."
"At Jesus' time Judaism as a whole held surprising diverse views of death and what lies beyond it."
This practice of a brother-in-law marrying the widow of his brother is known as levirate marriage. The term comes from the Latin "lavir," meaning "brother-in-law." This is the specific idea in the question. "Marry is not the normal Greek word, but a technical term for the performance of the levirate duty."
"Probably, this was one of the stock stories they were in the habit of telling in order to cast ridicule upon the resurrection."
Paul later told Timothy to hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me (2 Timothy 1:13). This suggests that Biblical truth has a pattern to it, a pattern that can be detected by the discerning heart. It also suggests that one can lose this pattern (thus the command to hold fast). The Sadducees had Bible knowledge, but they did not hold fast the pattern of sound words; many today are like them in this respect.
The Sadducees denied supernatural truths such as the existence of angelic beings and the bodily resurrection. They had a fundamental doubt of the power of God to do beyond what they could measure and understand in the material world; many today are like the Sadducees in this respect.
"If you knew the power of God, you would know that God is able to raise the dead If you knew the Scriptures, you would know that God will raise the dead."
This passage has made many wonder if marriage relationships will exist in heaven, or if those who are husband and wife on earth will have no special relationship in heaven. We are not told enough about life in the world beyond to answer in great detail, but we can understand a few principles.
Family relationships will still be known in life in the world beyond. The rich man Jesus described in the afterlife was aware of his family relationships (Luke 16:27-28).
The glory of heaven will be a relationship and connection with God that surpasses anything else, including present family relationships (Revelation 21:22-23).
If it seems that life in the resurrection that Jesus spoke of here does not include some of the pleasures of life we know on earth, it is only because the enjoyments and satisfactions of heaven far surpass what we know on earth. We can't be completely certain what life in glory beyond will be like, but we can know with certainty that no one will be disappointed with the arrangements (Revelation 22:1-5).
This question is not merely theoretical. There will be many in heaven who have had more than one spouse, for any number of reasons. Jesus here told us that jealousy and exclusion will have no place in heaven.
This Biblical understanding of heaven is dramatically different from the more sensual dreams of heaven, such as those found in Islamic and Mormon theology. "Mahomet, as he professed that himself had a special license given him by God to know what woman he would, and to put them away when he would; so he promised to all his votaries and adherents the like carnal pleasures at the resurrection."
The most obvious point must not be neglected: Jesus told the Sadducees that angels were real. "In fact, Jesus' use of angels contains a double thrust since the Sadducees denied their existence."
Angels are consistently represented in the Bible as male figures, and never specifically as female figures (Genesis 18:2, 16; Genesis 19:1-11).
This raises a question because of the probable connection of fallen angelic beings and human sexuality described in Genesis 6:1-8 and Jude 6-7. Yet the words of Jesus do not exclude such a connection for several reasons.
Jesus spoke of the angels of God in heaven, not the fallen angelic beings indicated in the Genesis and Jude passages.
Jesus did not say that angelic beings were incapable of sexual expression, only that such relationships did not exist among the angels in heaven.
Jesus did not say that angelic beings were incapable of sexual expression, only that such relationships did not exist among the angels in heaven.
We can't be certain of the type of sexual connection indicated in the Genesis and Jude passages. It is entirely possible that the connection was not between material appearances of these angelic beings and humans, but that the evil angelic beings expressed themselves through uniquely demon-possessed humans.
"The living God is the God of living men; and Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive and identified as the same persons who lived on earth."
"As no man can be a father without children, nor a king without a people, so, strictly speaking, the Lord cannot be called the God of any but the living."
The Sadducees didn't believe in Resurrection, so they wanted to trip Jesus up. They wanted to discredit Him. Instead Jesus explained our role in Heaven.
So in Heaven we'll be like angels. We'll be alive but we won't be jealous. Our relationships with one another will change.
