Matthew 22:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Thus, with your prayers in mind, I will address the issue at hand: In a spiritual sense, the Sadducees symbolize demonic forces or thoughts that usher in the automatic functioning of natural laws; the wife signifies humanity, while the seven brothers represent the laws of righteousness bestowed upon her by God throughout history, each at the appropriate moment for her spiritual growth and vitality. Yet, despite living with these laws as husbands, she bore no offspring from any of them due to her lack of the fruits of righteousness.

The first law was given to Adam in the Garden of Eden; the second came after his fall as a result of penance; the third was conferred to Noah during the flood; the fourth law was the covenant of circumcision granted to Abraham; the fifth pertained to the sacrifice of Isaac; the sixth was the law delivered through Moses; and the seventh was the law of prevenient grace or prophetic insight. This indicates that human nature was not yet, through faith, fully aligned with the Gospel or capable of living in union with Him, the Eternal Husbandman. The demons, through thoughts, frequently pose these inquiries to our minds, challenging our faith in seemingly reasonable ways, and drawing on Scripture to express doubt: “If there is a resurrection from the dead and we are to enter into a different existence beyond this life, which of the eternal laws will govern humanity?” They attempt to entrap us with these inquiries, arguing, “It would be futile for human life, still burdened with past transgressions, to fall into the same snares again.” This reasoning undeniably promotes the naturalistic perspective and dismisses God’s Sovereign plan for His creation.

However, the Lord, the Savior, silences these demons and their thoughts, affirming the incorruptibility of human nature—a truth unveiled later in the Gospel. He reveals that human nature will not be ruled by any of the previously received laws, but rather will be transformed and brought into unity with the Word, embodying the divine essence through the Spirit, originating from and abiding in God Himself, who defines its beginning and end. For those who interpret the seven brothers as symbolizing the seven thousand years or ages during which humanity has been formed will grasp this section of Holy Scripture with clarity and motivational insight. In the life to come, human nature will no longer be joined as a wife to any of these ages; instead, once it attains the final goal of temporal existence, it will be taken as a bride by the eighth Husband—a timeless and boundless age.

The sadducees’ wife embodies the soul or nature that exists in vain union with the divine laws imparted throughout history, yet remains oblivious to the promise of future blessings.

Had they truly understood even the texts they acknowledged—not merely in their literal sense but also in their intended meaning—they would have recognized the essential link between the religious teachings contained within and the belief in the everlasting personal existence of mankind. Furthermore, if they comprehended God’s omnipotence, they would not assume that human existence after death mirrors the present life in all respects; instead, they would accept that God has the ability to grant a transformed, glorified nature to human existence. The Lord revealed that eternal life must align with the existence of higher spiritual beings. To reinforce His point, He referred to the frequent mentions found in the writings of Moses, identifying Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How could God maintain such an intimate relationship with these individuals, bestowing upon them significance and dignity by being called their God, if they were merely ephemeral beings and not destined for eternity?

Therefore, they felt compelled to either deem this law unreasonable or deny the validity of resurrection altogether. Since the divine law itself cannot be regarded as irrational, they concluded that it negates the existence of resurrection. The Sadducees' objection stemmed from the Pharisees' materialistic interpretation of life after resurrection. Consequently, Jesus asserts that both the Sadducees and Pharisees lack understanding of the Scriptures, clarifying that after resurrection "they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels of God in heaven” (Matthew 30). Given that the Sadducees based their inquiry on the belief that a decayed human body cannot rise again, the Lord highlights their ignorance of "the power of God." He demonstrates from the Scriptures (Exodus 3:6) that life continues beyond death, thus affirming that there will indeed be a resurrection of the dead.

To achieve this, they crafted an elaborate question that delved into their openly skeptical views on the afterlife and resurrection. They presented a scenario from rabbinic reasoning involving a woman who had married seven brothers in succession, each of whom had died without leaving any children, and sought to ascertain which of them she would be united with in the resurrection. Though a fictitious illustration, the case was plausible under the laws that prescribed a brother to marry his deceased sibling's wife to raise offspring in his name, with the firstborn from this marriage being considered the deceased's child.

Disbelieving in resurrection and life after death, and thinking that Jesus shared the Pharisees' views on these matters, they relished the prospect of ensnaring Him with their perplexing inquiries, hoping to mock Him and undermine the concept of resurrection itself. Although some rabbis possessed more profound beliefs concerning the afterlife, the majority subscribed to more simplistic and earthly interpretations. They believed that the resurrection involved the restoration of individuals not only to their original bodies but also to their former appetites and desires; the resurrected would partake in eating, drinking, and marrying, donning the very clothing they wore in life, and retaining the same physical characteristics and flaws so that they could be recognized by those who knew them.

Indeed, the question posed by the Sadducees had already found an answer among the Rabbis in the idea that "a woman who has been married to two husbands in this world will be given to the first in the world to come." Holding onto these coarse, sensual ideologies and generally rejecting the resurrection—believing it to lack foundation in the Mosaic Law as they interpreted it—they approached the Savior with their inquiry.

The Pharisees, with their carnal perspective on the afterlife, analogous to current existence, were unable to effectively respond to this inquiry. At first glance, the meticulous reasoning of the Sadducees held a degree of validity, though, as St. John Chrysostom noted, it stemmed from "some fable, an incident unprecedented." By referencing the Mosaic law concerning levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10; Genesis 38:8), the Sadducees aimed to lend plausibility to their hypothetical scenario and to make their conclusion seem more credible. Like the Pharisees before them, they initiated their dialogue with the Lord with an outward show of respect: "Teacher, Moses wrote unto us, saying, If any brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, his brother should take the wife and raise up offspring for his brother. There are seven brothers among us; the first is married and dies without children, and he leaves his wife to his brother. The second also takes her, and he dies without children, and the third likewise; all seven had her and left no offspring; finally, the woman dies. In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her." The Pharisees could assert that after resurrection, the woman would remain with her first husband, yet this solution would not resolve all the complexities of the matter, leaving the rights of the other lawful husbands unaddressed. The Sadducees likely believed that the Savior upheld the immortality of the soul in alignment with Pharisaic doctrine and anticipated that their question would confound Him. In their estimation, He faced two choices: either endorse polygamy, which would contradict Mosaic Law, or deny the resurrection of the dead — and they were confident of their impending victory.