Luke 20:28Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The wise Paul eloquently ties our resurrection to His, stating, "If the dead are not raised, neither was Christ raised;" and he further emphasizes, "But if Christ was raised from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection from the dead?" The individuals making such claims were the Sadducees, whom we currently address.

Let us scrutinize this absurd tale. They propose a scenario involving seven brothers who, according to the Mosaic law, successively took one wife who passed away childless. Thus, they question whose wife she would be in the resurrection. However, this query is nonsensical and profoundly inconsistent with the divinely inspired Scriptures. Our Savior's answer is sufficient to reveal the folly of their story and to lead us to reject both their fiction and the underpinning idea. I feel compelled to directly confront their foolish denial of the sacred writings and highlight their utter lack of understanding of the teachings therein.

Let us consider what the holy prophets communicate regarding this matter and what declarations have been made by the Lord of hosts through them. Concerning those who have fallen asleep, He has proclaimed, "I will deliver them from the hand of the grave; I will redeem them from death: Where is thy judgment, O death? O grave, where is thy sting?" The defeat of death and its sting is elucidated by the blessed Paul, who states, "But the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." He likens death to the sting of a scorpion, where sin, as its venom, brings about the death of the soul. The law, he states, is the source of sin's power, as he himself notes elsewhere, "I learned sin no other way than through the law; for where there is no law, there is no transgression of the law." Consequently, Christ has liberated those who believe in Him from the dominion of the condemning law, abolishing sin, the sting of death; and when sin was eradicated, death, as a necessary consequence, also vanished. It was through Him and because of Him that death entered the world.

Thus, as God assures us, "I will deliver them from the hand of the grave, and from death I will redeem them," so too the blessed prophets echo these divine truths, speaking "not according to their own heart, nor according to the will of man, but from the mouth of God," as it is written; for it is the Holy Spirit who, through them, reveals the judgment of God and His all-powerful, unchangeable will. Consequently, the prophet Isaiah declares, "Thy dead shall rise, and they that are in the graves shall rise again, and they that dwell in the earth shall rejoice; for the dew from thee shall heal them." This dew metaphorically represents the life-giving force of the Holy Spirit, which triumphs over death with divine vitality. Blessed David, too, in the Psalms observes, "Thou takest away their spirit, and they die, and return to their dust: thou sendest forth thy Spirit, and they are built up, and thou renewest the face of the earth."

Can you grasp that the effective and life-giving grace of the Holy Spirit will rejuvenate the earth? The "face of the earth" signifies its splendor, and the beauty of human nature is rightly understood as incorruptibility. "For what is sown in corruption shall rise in incorruption; what is sown in weakness shall rise in strength; what is sown in dishonour shall rise in glory." The prophet Isaiah reassures us that death, which entered the world as a result of sin, will not permanently hold sway over those who dwell on the earth, for it is vanquished through the resurrection of Christ, who restores and transforms the cosmos to its original state—"For God created all things for incorruption," as it is written; for He proclaims, "He hath swallowed up death, becoming mighty: and God shall take away again every cry from every face; He shall remove the reproach of the people from all the earth." "Sin" is referenced here as the reproach of mankind, and its removal concurrently annihilates death and dispels corruption from the midst of humanity; thus, having brought an end to this state, He silences the lamentations of all, bringing forth an era devoid of sorrow and complaint among men.

Let us consider whether the woman with seven husbands does not symbolize a synagogue. The Samaritan woman was told, "You had five husbands" (John 4:18), since the Samaritans adhered only to the five books of Moses. In contrast, the synagogue is represented by the number seven, as Samaritans recognized solely the Pentateuch, while the Jews accepted the additional texts of Joshua and Judges. After the resurrection, she will not unite with any of her husbands, as she has distorted the spiritual commandments with her earthly perspective. The Old Testament directive is not about a physical brother carrying on the lineage of a deceased sibling, but rather about the Brother who was to draw true God-fearing wisdom from the Jewish nation in death, taking it as His bride, in order to regenerate the apostles as His new seed. They remained within the synagogue as the unborn progeny of the deceased Jews, yet through grace, they were bestowed with a new lineage.

The synagogue frequently appears adorned in celebratory attire, symbolizing union, as it is the mother of believers. Yet, at times, she is rejected (Cf: Is. 50:1; Jer. 3:1) for being the mother of the unfaithful. To her, the law of the flesh has perished so that the spiritual law may ascend. If the holy people of God cherish the seven books of the law with a love akin to that of a spouse and adhere to them as if they were the directives of a beloved, they shall experience fellowship with the Heavenly Bridegroom in the Resurrection, enriched by divine gifts and free from confusion brought about by physical unions.

Had they truly understood even those texts they accepted—not just in their literal sense but also in their deeper meaning—they would have recognized the essential link between the religious teachings within them and the belief in the everlasting existence of the soul. Furthermore, if they acknowledged God's omnipotence, they would not assume that human existence in the future is merely an extension of the present, but they would concede that God is capable of transforming existence into a glorified, eternal state. He subsequently reveals that the afterlife must align with the existence of celestial beings. To support this idea, He refers to the frequent phrases found in the writings of Moses identifying God as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How could God establish such an intimate connection with these individuals and grant them such remarkable significance and honor, being called their God, if they were merely temporary figures and not destined for eternity?

The Sadducees contend that the law regarding levirate marriage, as found in Deuteronomy 25:5-6, complicates the notion of resurrected life (as held by the Pharisees), making it seem unreasonable. This challenges either the validity of the law or the concept of resurrection itself; since the law is seen as divinely ordained, they argue that it indicates the absence of resurrection. Their objection stems from a crude, materialistic understanding of life after resurrection. In response, Jesus points out that both the Sadducees and the Pharisees “do not know the Scriptures,” clarifying that in the resurrection, people “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 22:30). As their argument is predicated on the belief that a decayed physical body cannot rise, the Lord rebukes them for their ignorance of “the power of God,” demonstrating through Scripture, specifically Exodus 3:6, that life endures beyond death, affirming that there will indeed be a resurrection of the dead.

This continued with the third brother, then the fourth, and so forth until all seven brothers had married her and died without offspring. Eventually, the woman herself also died. So, in the resurrection of the dead, whose wife will she be since she had seven husbands? It cannot be that she becomes the wife of all or of none, as that would be nonsensical. A great legislator like Moses would not have permitted such an absurdity in his laws. Therefore, according to Moses' teachings, resurrection cannot exist."

The Sadducees did not believe in life after death or in the resurrection, and assumed that Jesus, who they believed held similar views to their Pharisaical adversaries, would be unable to navigate their perplexing inquiry, thus bringing shame upon Him and discrediting the very concept of resurrection. While some rabbis entertained more elevated concepts of the afterlife, the prevailing opinion was rather rudimentary. They believed that resurrection would involve individuals returning not only in their former bodies but also retaining their original desires and inclinations; the resurrected would eat, drink, and marry, reappearing in the very garments they wore during their earthly lives, complete with the same physical characteristics and flaws, “so that people might recognize that they were the same persons whom they had known in life.” Even the question posed by the Sadducees had already been addressed by the Rabbis, who claimed that “a woman who has been married to two husbands in this world will be given to the first in the world to come.” With such crassly sensual ideas in mind and a general denial of the resurrection—the doctrine they believed was absent from the Mosaic Law—they approached the Savior with their inquiry.

Regarding the “some of the scribes” mentioned, they were likely not from the Sadducees, who would find it difficult to openly commend the Lord for His thoughtful reply. It is probable that these were Pharisees, who, despite previously tempting the Lord alongside the Sadducees, derived some satisfaction from witnessing their rivals' embarrassment. In Matthew 22:34 and onwards, and Mark 12:23, the Gospel of Mark indicates that a scribe who had inquired of the Lord later recognized that He had addressed the Sadducees effectively, then expressed his agreement vocally in Mark 12:32. This may refer to that particular scribe, among others who shared his opinion; as recorded by Luke, they acknowledged, “Master, you have spoken well” after the Lord's response to the Sadducees. The Lord skillfully demonstrated, using Scripture, the truth of the resurrection of the dead, even receiving affirmation from those who opposed Him. (Luke 20:40-44).

Furthermore, the Lord poses a question regarding the Messiah—His identity as the Son of God. This account is presented in Luke in a manner consistent with the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Refer to Matthew 22:41-46 and Mark 12:35-37. Notably, “They dared not ask Him” signifies that after the Sadducees were silenced, a scribe posed a question regarding the greatest commandment in the law (Matthew 22:35-40; Mark 12:28-34). Following this, both Matthew and Mark note that no one else felt emboldened to question Him again. Although Luke omits the dialogue regarding the greatest commandment and presents the Lord's question as self-initiated rather than prompted by others, he highlights that they hesitated to question Him further after His answer to the Sadducees about resurrection.

The query “How then is He the Son unto him?” is addressed without detailing the impact the Lord's question had on His audience. Yet, this context is enriched by Matthew and Mark, with Matthew stating that no one could respond, and Mark noting that the crowd was enchanted by His teaching.