Matthew 22:23-33
23The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying, 24“Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. 26The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. 27Last of all, the woman herself died. 28In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her.” 29Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 30For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 32‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is God not of the dead, but of the living.” 33And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.
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Let’s set the scene The Sadducees were determined to humiliate Jesus with a question derived from the law of Moses. This occurred shortly after the Pharisees had failed to trap Jesus with multiple questions, culminating in his well-known quote “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”. The Sadducees were an unlikeable bunch, to the point that they were even despised by the Pharisees. The Sadducees were the aristocrats and they held much of the political power. They also didn’t believe in heaven or an afterlife.
So here is the attempted trap. According to the law of Moses, if a man dies childless, his brother is to have a marital relationship with the widow for the purpose of producing an heir. This would allow the deceased brother’s name and legacy to continue. Thus, the trap question: If a woman’s husband dies and she remarries, whose wife will she be in heaven? Of course, Jesus was never trapped by trick questions. He reminds the Sadducees that they don’t even believe in life after death, nor do they really even understand the scriptures. Earthly rules don’t apply in heaven. What a rebuke to these powerful men!
However, the Sadducees’ question remains a pretty good one. Who are we married to in heaven if we have multiple spouses? Jesus suggests that there is no marriage in the afterlife but rather we “are like angels in heaven”. What this means is a mystery to our earthly minds. What will family relationships and love be like in heaven? This mystery will only be revealed when we get there. However, we can be confident that we will experience the transformative and amazing love of God which will surpass anything we can even begin to imagine here on earth.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, our feeble minds often try to make earthly sense out of the heavenly plans you have for us. Help us to trust that by your grace, we will live with you eternally in a place so joyful and wonderful that it is beyond our comprehension.
—Gene Cross