In the resurrection therefore, when they shall rise again, whose wife shall she be of them? For the seven had her to wife.
εν τη αναστασει οταν αναστωσιν τινος αυτων εσται γυνη οι γαρ επτα εσχον αυτην γυναικα
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
In their deceit, these individuals concoct a story aimed at discrediting the truth of the Resurrection. They fabricate an event that never took place and cannot occur. By claiming that seven husbands successively had the same wife, they seek to ridicule the reality of the Resurrection even further.
Is there a possibility that intermarriage will occur in the afterlife? If the Jewish people anticipate marital relationships in the resurrection, it is not surprising that they are straying from a life of purity even in this present time.
Believers who have departed from this life are not assured the reestablishment of marriage in the resurrection; having attained the purity and sanctity of angels, they will be free from the concerns stemming from earthly desires. Thus, this woman, who was wed to seven brothers in succession, will not experience any of her husbands on the day of resurrection, nor will they anticipate reuniting with her.
When the Pharisees were left speechless by this reply, the Sadducees, who were also part of the Sanhedrin, took delight in their discomfiture and immediately questioned Him about their beliefs concerning the resurrection of the dead, a doctrine they had dismissed due to the absurd conclusions they had drawn from it. As He had done in denouncing the Pharisees, the Lord addressed the root of the error in their argument. They cited a scenario of a woman who had been married sequentially to seven brothers according to human law. The Lord demonstrated to the Sadducees that their misunderstanding arose from two key issues: first, they lacked comprehension of the Scriptures, and second, they failed to grasp the limitless power of God.
Had they truly understood even the texts they accepted—not just the written words but also their deeper meaning—they would have recognized the vital link between the religious teachings within them and the belief in the everlasting personal existence of humankind. Furthermore, had they acknowledged God's omnipotence, they would not assume that human existence in the afterlife mirrors the present in every way, but would accept that God can transform human existence into a glorified, transfigured state. He then revealed that the life to come must align with the existence of higher spiritual beings. To support this notion, He referred to phrases commonly found in the writings of Moses, such as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How could God establish such an intimate relationship with these renowned figures, granting them such esteemed significance and calling Himself their God, if they were merely fleeting beings instead of individuals destined for eternity?
The Gospels do not clearly indicate that the Sadducees collaborated with the Pharisees in this instance. It is possible that, witnessing how Jesus Christ had embarrassed the Pharisees and taking pleasure in it, they desired for Him to also mock the Pharisees' belief in the resurrection of the dead. According to this belief, it was thought that with the arrival of the Messiah, all Israelites would rise again to live in the Promised Land. At the very least, Jesus’ response satisfied the scribes and seemed to galvanize the Pharisees following the Sadducees’ defeat (Luke 39, Matthew 34).
The Sadducees argued that, according to the law of levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-6), a woman could have multiple husbands during her lifetime, making the resurrection life (as envisioned by the Pharisees) difficult to comprehend. Thus, they felt compelled to either deem this law unreasonable or to reject the notion of resurrection entirely, believing that the divine law could not be unreasonable. Therefore, they concluded that the law itself indicates there will be no resurrection of the dead. Their objection stemmed from the Pharisees' fundamentally carnal perspective on life after resurrection. In response, Jesus asserted that the Sadducees (and the Pharisees) "do not know the Scriptures," correcting their misconception by stating that after the resurrection, "they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven" (Matthew 30). Since the Sadducees’ argument relied on the belief that a decayed human body could not rise, the Lord pointed out their ignorance regarding "the power of God." He demonstrated to them through Scripture (Exodus 3:6) that life exists beyond the grave, affirming that there will indeed be a resurrection of the dead.
The Sadducees engaged in an ongoing debate with the Pharisees regarding the resurrection of the soul. They sought to argue that the writings of Moses offered no clear evidence of the immortality of souls, and furthermore, that certain Jewish laws contradicted the concept of resurrection. One such law required that a childless widow marry her deceased husband’s brother in order to perpetuate the deceased brother's lineage. Citing this Mosaic law, they proposed a scenario: "There were seven brothers; the eldest married a wife but passed away without children. The next brother took her as his wife, yet he too died childless. This pattern continued with the subsequent brothers—each marrying her and dying without offspring—until all seven had died, and finally, the woman herself also died.
If there is indeed a resurrection of the dead, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? She had seven husbands! It is illogical for her to be married to all or none, and a great legislator like Moses would not include such an absurdity in his laws. Therefore, according to the teachings of Moses, the notion of resurrection cannot stand."
The main religious leaders who aligned with Christ had been the Pharisees. Meanwhile, the Sadducees, who represented the affluent and priestly class, had previously remained aloof from the situation and regarded Christ with the disdain typical of their views towards the less educated Galileans. However, as the Galilean Teacher gained recognition throughout Jerusalem and made a profound impression on the Pharisees with His remarkable insights, the Sadducees decided to engage with Him directly and challenge His understanding of the law and Jewish doctrine. They crafted a highly intricate question concerning an area in which they openly expressed skepticism—the afterlife and resurrection.
They referred to a hypothetical scenario involving a woman who had married seven brothers, each of whom had died without children, seeking to uncover which brother she would belong to in the resurrection. Although this situation was fictional, it was plausible, given the law that mandated a brother to marry his deceased sibling's wife if he died childless to preserve his lineage. The Sadducees, not believing in life after death nor resurrection, assumed that Jesus, who they had heard aligned with the Pharisees' beliefs about resurrection, would be humiliated by such a perplexing question, allowing them to mock Him and the doctrine of resurrection itself. While some rabbis entertained more profound views about the afterlife, the majority maintained rather crude perceptions. They believed resurrection meant restoring individuals not only to their previous bodies but also to their former desires and characteristics; the resurrected would partake in eating, drinking, and marrying, appearing in the same garments they wore in life, so they would be recognized as the same persons they once were. The question posed by the Sadducees already had a response among the rabbis, suggesting 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 base and sensual ideas and their outright rejection of resurrection—considered absent from the writings of Moses, which they accepted—they approached the Savior with their inquiry.
Mark's narrative of how the Lord confronted the Sadducees regarding the resurrection closely resembles the account found in Matthew (see Matt. 23:23-32, etc.). Similarly, Mark's depiction aligns with Matthew's retelling (refer to Matt. 23:23-32). The phrase ‘By these things ye are led astray’ carries a more intense meaning than in the Gospel of Matthew, thereby highlighting the superficiality and ignorance of the Sadducees' grasp of profound, divinely inspired truths. Is it through this, through your trivial and foolish reasoning, that you err in your perceived wisdom?
Greek text, 15 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS