Jesus—His Life and Message: The Seven Brothers

January 26, 2021

by Peter Amsterdam

Each of the Synoptic Gospels describes an incident when the Sadducees asked Jesus a question about the resurrection of the dead.1 The account in the Gospel of Luke will be the focus of this post.

The Sadducees were generally wealthy Jewish landowners from the aristocratic class who were involved with the activities that took place in the temple in Jerusalem. Some Sadducees held powerful positions within the temple, such as chief priests and even the high priest. Sadducees also held the majority of the 71 seats in the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, also referred to as the “council of the elders.”2 Since Israel was under the rule of the Roman authority, the Sanhedrin didn’t have the authority to carry out capital punishment, which is why, later in the gospel accounts, they had to send Jesus to Pontius Pilate so that he could condemn Jesus to death. When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, the Sanhedrin ceased to exist.

The Sadducees did not believe in the afterlife, as they believed a person’s soul perished at death; therefore they denied that there was any penalty or reward after one died. They also denied the existence of a spiritual world, and thus they didn’t believe in angels or demons.3

In the Gospel of Luke we read,

There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.”4

The Sadducees were referring to a levirate marriage, described in the Old Testament as follows:

If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.5

Levirate marriage was part of the Old Testament law, and we find an example of it in the book of Ruth.6

The Sadducees were attempting to show that this Old Testament law created some problems for the doctrine of the resurrection, a doctrine they didn’t believe in. To make their case, they told a hypothetical story regarding levirate marriage.

“Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. Afterward the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”7

The Sadducees brought up this hypothetical scenario in order to cast aspersions on the idea of the resurrection of the dead. In their view, a multiple husband-wife relationship such as this one made the idea of the resurrection seem nonsensical.

Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.”8

Jesus’ response contrasts the present age with the one to come, thus making the point that their question didn’t apply to the reality of resurrection life. In the account in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ response includes a rebuke to the Sadducees.

Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.”9

Jesus stated that after the resurrection of the dead, relationships change, and that the life to come is not the same as this life. He made other points as well, such as that not everyone qualifies for life after the resurrection of the dead. Some (those who have received Him as their Savior) will be counted worthy, which indicates that those who don’t believe in Him will be excluded from the blessings.

Jesus also made the point that marriage is not an eternal institution. It will no longer be necessary to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.10 As one author explains:

[Marriage] came into being at a point in time, and it will cease when time as we know it ceases to be. The need of marriage to fill the earth (Genesis 1:28) will be past and the need for procreation ended. The need for companionship, which marriage was meant to fill (Genesis 2:18–25), will no longer be needed, for that need will be met by God himself and the family of believers.11

Since marriage will no longer be necessary after the resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees’ question about which of the seven brothers the wife would be married to was irrelevant.

The ESV Study Bible states:

This teaching might at first seem discouraging to married couples who are deeply in love with each other in this life, but surely people will know their loved ones in heaven, and the joy and love of close relationships in heaven will be more rather than less than it is here on earth. Jesus’ reference to “the power of God” suggests that God is able to establish relationships of even deeper friendship, joy, and love in the life to come. God has not revealed anything more about this, though Scripture indicates that the eternal glories awaiting the redeemed will be more splendid than anyone can begin to ask or think (See 1 Corinthians 2:9; Ephesians 3:20).

After addressing the question about marriage in the afterlife, Jesus then focused on those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead, … for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. The Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead, and therefore Jesus wanted to point out that the resurrection is a scriptural teaching. Since the Sadducees held the Torah (the first five books of Moses) in high esteem, Jesus addressed their question using Moses’ teachings.

“That the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”12 

Jesus drew their attention to the fact that Moses revealed that the dead would rise because God is the God of the living.13

If God refers to Himself as the God of Abraham, then Abraham still exists. If He is the God of Isaac and Jacob, then they too still exist. If these patriarchs still exist, then they are alive. This implies resurrection, as if they are not alive, then the God of promise cannot be their God. However, Jesus made the point that these patriarchs are not dead, and neither are God’s promises to them. God is very much alive and active in the lives of those who believe in Him and His Son, Jesus.

Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” For they no longer dared to ask him any question.14 

We’re not told how the Sadducees responded to all that Jesus said, but some of the scribes, who were generally aligned with the Pharisees, spoke positively of what Jesus taught regarding the resurrection of the dead.

Throughout Luke chapter 20, various opponents of Jesus attempted to discredit Him and His teachings. He had a conflict with the temple leadership when they asked by whose authority He was teaching. After Jesus told the parable of the wicked tenants,15 the religious authorities sent spies in among His followers in order to catch Him in something He said. Their question about Caesar’s authority was meant to trap Jesus into speaking negatively about Rome’s authority, while these questions about the resurrection were also an attempt to discredit Him, at least with the Sadducees. Each time, Jesus responded with great wisdom as He pointed out the flaws in their understanding and proceeded to enlighten them with the truth.


Note

Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


General Bibliography

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Brown, Raymond E. The Death of the Messiah. 2 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1994.

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1 Matthew 22:23–33, Mark 12:18–27, and Luke 20:27–40.

2 Luke 22:66 NIV.

3 Acts 23:8.

4 Luke 20:27–28.

5 Deuteronomy 25:5–6.

6 Read more about the story of Ruth here: https://directors.tfionline.com/post/five-women-christmas/

7 Luke 20:29–33.

8 Luke 20:34–36.

9 Matthew 22:29–30.

10 Genesis 1:28.

11 Stein, The New American Commentary: Luke, 502.

12 Luke 20:37–38.

13 Exodus 3:6.

14 Luke 20:39–40.

15 This parable is being covered in an upcoming article.