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Matthew 22:23-33 (Marriage and resurrection)

INTRODUCTION: Our message series is called Jesus in Jerusalem and we are looking at the final week of Jesus’ life in Jerusalem before he went to the cross.

We have seen in this series that there is a growing conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders throughout this whole section. That conflict intensifies in our current section as the religious leaders take turns asking Jesus questions and trying to trap him in his words. Last week it was a question about God and Caesar. This week it’s a question about marriage and resurrection. (Read Matthew 22:29-32 and pray.)

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Marriage is an important theme in the Bible. The Bible begins with a marriage in the book of Genesis; it ends with a marriage in the book of Revelation. Jesus told the parable of the wedding banquet earlier in Matthew 22. He will tell another parable about a bridegroom in Matthew 25. Marriage is an important theme throughout the whole Bible.

Resurrection is another important theme in the Bible. People have all sorts of questions. What happens when you die? What happens when your loved ones die? Is this life all there is? Or is there life after death? And if there is life after death, what must you do to obtain it? The Bible answers all these questions and more. Resurrection is another important theme in the Bible.

In our passage today, the Sadducees bring together both of these themes in one question. And just as Jesus clarified the relationship between God and government in last week’s passage, he clarifies the relationship between marriage and the resurrection in this week’s passage.

I. The Sadducees approach Jesus (23)

It all starts when the Sadducees approach Jesus. Look at verse 23:

That same day the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. (Matthew 22:23)

Last week it was the Pharisees questioned Jesus. This week it’s the Sadducees. It’s like the religious leaders are playing tag team with Jesus. First, they approach him directly in the temple. Then the Pharisees send in their team. Now it’s the Sadducees. Next week it will be the Pharisees again. There’s no rest for Jesus in this game, but his opponents keep changing back and forth.

   A. The difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducees
      – Acts 23:8

The Pharisees and Sadducees are usually mentioned together in Scripture, but this is the first time that the Sadducees are mentioned alone. There were a number of significant differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees. The first one is mentioned here in our passage: the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection. When I was a teenager, that was one of the ways I was taught to remember the difference. “The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so they were Sad-You-See!” The Sadducees did not believe in any life after death, not even a spiritual existence. The historian Josephus writes: “The Sadducees hold that the soul perishes along with the body.” (Antiquities 18:16) So, they really were “Sad-You-See!”

The book of Acts shares some other differences as well. We read in Acts 23:8: “The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.” (Acts 23:8) Basically, the Sadducees did not believe in the supernatural. They didn’t believe in the resurrection, in angels or spirits.

They also didn’t believe in the whole Old Testament. They held that only the first five books of the Bible were authoritative – the five books of Moses, or what we call the Pentateuch. They viewed the rest of the Old Testament more as commentary, but they accepted Moses’ words in the Pentateuch as the very word of God. They practiced what we might call a “Bible within the Bible” approach, whereas 2 Timothy 3:16 says: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

   B. The problem with bad faith questions
      – Proverbs 6:16-19; 1 Peter 2:1

So, the Sadducees approach Jesus with a question, and it is a bad faith question. Their question is about the resurrection, and they don’t even believe in the resurrection!

We read in Proverbs 6: “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19) Notice that three out of the seven things that God hates in this passage all have to do with lying or deception.

And that’s the problem with bad faith questions. The questioner is not sincere. They don’t really want an answer. They’re just trying to stir up trouble. The bad faith questioner wastes everyone’s time, including their own. 1 Peter 2:1 says: “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” (1 Peter 2:1) The Sadducees approach Jesus with a question, but unfortunately, they are not sincere. It is a bad faith question.

II. A question about marriage and the resurrection (24-28)

So, let’s get to the question itself. It is a question about marriage and the resurrection, and it is one of the most complicated, convoluted questions you will ever see. They come up with the most ridiculous scenario they can think of to make the whole idea of the resurrection seem completely absurd. Look at verses 24-28 with me now:

“Teacher,” they said, “Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children 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?” (Matthew 22:24-28)

It’s possible that this was one of the Sadducees’ favorite questions. They may have brought it out in various debates with the Pharisees about the resurrection. They may have loved this question because so far no one had been able to answer it. So, let’s take a closer look at the question by breaking it down into three parts. We have the setting, the scenario, and then finally, the set-up.

   A. The setting: the law about brothers and widows (24)
      – Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (see also Genesis 38:8-10; Ruth 1:12-13)

First of all, the setting. The setting for their question is the Old Testament law about brothers and widows. We read about this law in Deuteronomy 25: “If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her. 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.” (Deuteronomy 25:5-6)

The Old Testament was concerned about family lines in Israel and the continuation of family lines. If a man died before having any sons, who would carry on the family line? And so, the law made provision for the dead man’s brother to marry his wife, and the very first son she bore would carry on his brother’s name and line. Notice also that this law comes from the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is one of the books in the Pentateuch, which was, once again, the Sadducees’ favorite part of Scripture. So, that’s the setting for the question.

   B. The scenario: seven brothers and one wife (25-26)

The scenario is this whole, long convoluted story about seven brothers and one wife. It is completely hypothetical. It is so far-fetched and extreme that it could never happen in real life. If the Sadducees really wanted to know how marriage worked in the resurrection, they could have asked a simple question about the common, everyday occurrence of a woman who remarried after her first husband had died.

But no, the Sadducees build off this Old Testament law using this crazy scenario of seven brothers, each of whom keeps marrying the same wife and then dying before they have any children. Once again, it is a bad faith question. They are not looking for any real answers. They are just trying to make the whole idea of resurrection look completely absurd.

   C. The set-up: “At the resurrection, whose wife will she be?” (27-28)

So, after painting this wild scenario, they finally ask their set-up question: “Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?” Now, you have to remember, they don’t even believe in the resurrection! You can almost hear them saying the word resurrection in quote marks as they pose their question to Jesus: “Now then, at the ‘resurrection,’ whose wife will she be?”

They think they’re so smart! Just like the Pharisees thought they “got” Jesus with the question about paying taxes to Caesar, the Sadducees think they’ve “got” Jesus with this question. She can’t be married to them all, right? So, whose wife will she be? Is it the first brother? The last one? One of the brothers in between? It’s a ridiculous scenario which they think proves the absurdity of the resurrection.

III. Jesus’ answer (29-33)

However, just as Jesus got the better of the Pharisees in last week’s passage, so he gets the better of the Sadducees in this week’s passage.

   A. The Sadducees are in error (29-30)

First off, he tells them they are in error. Look at verses 29-30:

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.” (Matthew 22:29-30)

Jesus tells them they are in error for two reasons.

      1) They don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power
         – Job 19:25-27; Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2

First of all, they don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power. Here they are, the religious leaders of Israel, and they don’t know the Scriptures! And although teaching about the resurrection is not as prominent in the Old Testament as it is in the New, the Old Testament still teaches clearly about the resurrection in various places.

For example, we read Job’s words in Job 19: “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. 26 And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; 27 I myself will see him with my own eyes – I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Or we read in Psalm 16:10: “You will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay.” (Psalm 16:10) This is actually a prophecy of Jesus’ resurrection, but it is still a teaching that resurrection exists.

Another example is Isaiah 26:19: “But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.” (Isaiah 26:19)

And then the book of Daniel contains perhaps the clearest teaching of a general resurrection in the whole Old Testament. We read in Daniel 12:2: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2)

Of course, none of these passages are from the Pentateuch, right? None of these examples come from the words of Moses. But that’s the Sadducees’ problem, not Jesus’. They didn’t know the Scriptures because they limited the authority of the Scriptures to Moses and the Pentateuch. They didn’t know that all Scripture is equally inspired by God and profitable for teaching and correction. And they didn’t know the power of God who certainly has the power to raise the dead. Jesus tells the Sadducees they are in error first of all because they don’t know the Scriptures or God’s power.

      2) There is no marriage in heaven
         – Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:39-40

And then the second reason they are in error is because there is no marriage in heaven. They’re not even asking the right question. Their question itself is in error. They are asking about something that doesn’t exist. It’s not the resurrection that doesn’t exist, but marriage in heaven that does not exist.

Although marriage is a lifetime commitment, the Bible teaches us that marriage is for this life only, not the next. For example, we read in Romans 7:2: “By law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.” (Romans 7:2) Or again in 1 Corinthians 7: “A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord. 40 In my judgment, she is happier if she stays as she is – and I think that I too have the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 7:39-40)

Jesus tells the Sadducees, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.” Notice Jesus’ reference to angels. Remember, the Sadducees don’t believe in angels either, so he is really hammering the point home here.

Notice Jesus does not say we become angels when we die. That is a common misconception. Angels and humans are two different types of created beings. Humans never become angels, and angels never become humans. When you go to heaven, you will still be a human being. You will always be a human being.

So, we don’t become angels when we die, but we will be like the angels when we die, in at least one way. Angels don’t marry, and at the resurrection neither will we. Warren Wiersbe explains it this way: “There will be no need for marriage in the next life because there will be no death. Therefore it will not be necessary to bear children to replace those who die.” (Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 1, p. 81.)

Now, I love my wife, Rosi, and I wish we could be married forever. But it doesn’t work that way. Marriage is a temporary relationship meant for this life only. It’s not that we won’t remember each other in heaven. I believe spouses will know and remember each other, and we will know that we were married on earth.

And it’s not that we won’t love each other in heaven. In fact, we will love each other more in heaven than we did on earth. Love is broadened in heaven, not narrowed. We will love everybody in heaven more than we loved anybody here on earth. But it won’t be the exclusive love between a husband and a wife. We will all be brothers and sisters in Christ.

Of course, there is one marriage in heaven. The Bible tells us that the church is the bride of Christ. That’s the meaning of marriage here on earth anyways. It’s a picture of the exclusive love between God and his people, between Jesus and the church.

   B. Jesus exposes their true motives (31-33)

So, first Jesus tells the Sadducees they are in error. And then he goes on to expose their true motives. Look at verses 31-32 with me now:

“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’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matthew 22:31-32)

      1) Their real question was not about marriage but resurrection
         – Exodus 3:6; Luke 20:37

Jesus dismisses the marriage question completely and tells them, “But about the resurrection of the dead.” Jesus knows their question was never about marriage in the first place. Their real question was about the resurrection all along! It was all about denying the resurrection. So, Jesus asks them a question now. “But about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?

These are the words God spoke to Moses from the burning bush in the desert. Do you know where the story of the burning bush is found? In the book of Exodus. Do you know where the book of Exodus is found? In the Pentateuch! The book of Exodus is one of the five books of Moses! This is emphasized even more in the gospel of Luke where Jesus mentions Moses by name. Jesus says in Luke 20:37: “But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’” (Luke 20:37)

And so, even though all Scripture is inspired by God, Jesus goes right to the Sadducees’ favorite part of the Bible to show them that the resurrection was there all along!

      2) God is not the God of the dead but of the living
         – John 11:25-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Jesus then draws a startling conclusion from God’s words to Moses at the burning bush. Jesus says in verse 32: “Therefore, God is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matthew 22:32)

It’s a subtle argument but a good one. God told Moses, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Notice God says, “I am,” not “I was.” In other words, he is their God right now! He was not just their God in the past, but he is also their God in the present. And therefore, if he is their God right now, they must be living, not dead.

It’s like the coach of a sports team. If you coached a team in the past that no longer exists – for example, the Oakland Raiders don’t exist anymore – you wouldn’t say: “I am the coach of the Oakland Raiders.” You would say, “I was the coach of the Oakland Raiders,” because the Oakland Raiders no longer exist at least not in Oakland anymore.

It’s the same way with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If they didn’t exist anymore, you wouldn’t say you are their God. You would say you were their God. But God says, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Therefore, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob must still be alive. God is not the God of the dead but of the living.

Jesus said in John 11:25-26: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) In other words, when you die believing in Jesus Christ, you don’t really die. You continue living in God’s presence in heaven. It is a spiritual existence, you are temporarily separated from your body, but you are still alive.

And then when Christ returns, your body will be resurrected. We read in 1 Thessalonians 4: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

The Sadducees approached Jesus with a bad faith question. They thought their question was unanswerable and proved that the resurrection was absurd. But Jesus demolished their case by first showing them their error and then by pointing them back to their own favorite Scriptures as found in the Pentateuch, the books of Moses. We read in Matthew 22:33:

When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching. (Matthew 22:33)

You would think the Pharisees and Sadducees would give up on their questions after this. After all, Jesus just won rounds one and two. But apparently, they were gluttons for punishment, because the Pharisees will be back for round three next week.

CONCLUSION: Today’s passage contains such a wonderful truth for believers in Jesus Christ. God is not the God of people who are dead and gone. He is the God of the living. Our loved ones who die in Christ are alive and well in God’s presence even now. When you die in Christ, you will go directly to be with God and Christ. When Jesus returns, the dead in Christ will rise first and then those of us who are still alive at his coming will be caught together with them in the air. And so, we will be with the Lord forever.

God is not the God of the dead but the living! So, examine yourselves today. Are you trusting in Jesus for your salvation? The Bible says we are all born dead in our transgressions and sin. We are only made alive in Christ. That means if your faith is not in Christ this morning, you are still spiritually dead in your sins. And if you are still dead in your sins, then God is not your God, because he is not the God of the dead but the living.

When you put your faith in Christ, you pass from death into life, and God becomes your God. He is the God of the living! Will you put your faith in Christ today?

© Ray Fowler

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