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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Sadducees frame their question by saying "Moses wrote for us," highlighting their reliance on the Law, but they twist this very law to make a point about the resurrection, which Moses' writings also supported through other passages. They present the Levirate law (Deuteronomy 25:5) as a complex problem for the afterlife, but Jesus turns their selective reading of Scripture back on them by showing a deeper truth within the Law itself.
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.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Certain Sadducees, who rejected the idea of resurrection, confront Jesus with a hypothetical scenario based on the Old Testament law. They present a complicated case involving a woman married seven times through the Levirate marriage law, asking Jesus whose wife she would be in the afterlife. Jesus' answer will then challenge their entire belief system about life after death and the nature of God.
The Sadducees bring up a specific law from Moses. What was its original intent and why is it important here?
The question posed to Jesus centers on the law of the Levirate marriage, found in Deuteronomy 25:5. This law was instituted for a practical reason: to ensure that a deceased man would have descendants to carry on his name and inheritance. If a married man died childless, his brother was obligated to marry the widow. The first son born from this union would be legally considered the son of the deceased brother, thus preserving his lineage and property within the family. The Sadducees are using this specific Old Testament law to create a seemingly impossible scenario for the resurrection.
The Sadducees think they've trapped Jesus with a tricky question about earthly relationships. But Jesus points them to a higher reality.
Jesus’ response cuts through the Sadducees' complex scenario by shifting the focus from human customs to divine reality. He states that in the resurrection, people 'neither marry nor are given in marriage.' This isn't a dismissal of marriage itself, but an acknowledgment that its earthly function of procreation and lineage continuation is fulfilled.
Furthermore, Jesus powerfully argues for the resurrection by appealing to God's own words: 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Since God is the God of these patriarchs, and God is not the God of the dead but of the living, it logically follows that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob must be alive. This highlights that resurrection life is a state of being with God, transcending our current physical and social structures.
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didaskale · Greek Noun
A title of respect, often addressed to Jesus, acknowledging him as one who instructs in the Law and the truths of God.
Mōusēs · Greek Noun
Refers to the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), which is traditionally attributed to the authorship of Moses under divine inspiration.
sperma · Greek Noun
Refers to children, descendants, or the results of an action; in the context of Old Testament law, it refers to the importance of continuing a family line.
The Sadducees leverage a specific Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 25:5) concerning levirate marriage to question Jesus. This law, intended to preserve family lines in ancient Israel, becomes the focus of their argument against the resurrection, revealing a tension between earthly institutions and future heavenly existence.
c. 1400 BC
Exodus and Law Given at Sinai
God delivers Israel from slavery in Egypt and gives them the Law, including statutes that would later be codified in Deuteronomy.
c. 950 BC
First Temple Construction Begins
King Solomon begins the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem, a central place of worship and national identity for the Jewish people.
c. 621 BC
Josiah's Reforms and Discovery of Law
During renovations in the Temple, a scroll of the Law (likely including Deuteronomy) is discovered, leading to widespread religious reforms under King Josiah.
586 BC
Babylonian Exile Begins
Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, the First Temple is destroyed, and many Judeans are exiled to Babylon, disrupting Jewish religious and social life.
c. 300 BC
Septuagint Translation Completed
The Hebrew scriptures are translated into Greek, making them accessible to a wider Hellenistic Jewish population and influencing the wording of biblical references.
c. AD 27-30
Jesus' Ministry and Teaching
Jesus travels throughout Galilee and Judea, teaching, healing, and challenging religious and political authorities. His teachings often draw on the Old Testament Law.
c. AD 30-33— this verse
Jesus' Confrontation with the Sadducees
Jesus is questioned by the Sadducees in Jerusalem, a group who denied the resurrection. They use the law of the levirate marriage to try and trap him.
This is the specific Old Testament law the Sadducees are referencing, which commanded a brother to marry his deceased brother's childless wife to continue the family line.
Matthew 22:24This passage records the same encounter between Jesus and the Sadducees, presenting their challenge about the resurrection in an almost identical manner.
Mark 12:19This parallel account also details the Sadducees' question about the Levirate law and the resurrection, highlighting the consistency of Jesus' teaching across the Gospels.
Exodus 3:6Jesus uses this foundational Old Testament passage, where God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to argue that God is God of the living, thereby proving the resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:53Paul echoes Jesus' teaching that our mortal bodies will be transformed into an immortal state, emphasizing the profound change that occurs in the resurrection, where earthly relationships like marriage will no longer be relevant.
bengelLuke 20:28: "Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man's brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother."
[28. The reading ἐξαναστήσει is to be preferred. Very often after a Subjunctive comes an Indicative. See the LXX., Deuteronomy 20:5 , μὴ ἀποθάνη ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ ἓτερος ἐγκαινιεῖ αὐτήν .—Not. Crit.[216]] [216] A reads ἐξαναστήσει . But the other best Uncial MSS. and Vulg., etc., read ἐξαναστήση . The f…
calvinLuke 20:27-40: "Then came to him certain of the Sadducees, which deny that there is any resurrection; and they asked him,"
- The same day came to him the Sadducees, who say that there is no resurrection, and interrogated him, 24. Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, not having a child, [64] his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. 25. Now there were amongst us seven brothers, and the first, having married a wife, died, and, having no seed, left his wife to his…
The Sadducees frame their question by saying "Moses wrote for us," highlighting their reliance on the Law, but they twist this very law to make a point about the resurrection, which Moses' writings also supported through other passages. They present the Levirate law (Deuteronomy 25:5) as a complex problem for the afterlife, but Jesus turns their selective reading of Scripture back on them by showing a deeper truth within the Law itself.
Certain Sadducees, who rejected the idea of resurrection, confront Jesus with a hypothetical scenario based on the Old Testament law. They present a complicated case involving a woman married seven times through the Levirate marriage law, asking Jesus whose wife she would be in the afterlife. Jesus' answer will then challenge their entire belief system about life after death and the nature of God.
Certain Sadducees, who rejected the idea of resurrection, confront Jesus with a hypothetical scenario based on the Old Testament law. They present a complicated case involving a woman married seven times through the Levirate marriage law, asking Jesus whose wife she would be in the afterlife. Jesus' answer will then challenge their entire belief system about life after death and the nature of God.
"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." — The Sadducees frame their question by saying "Moses wrote for us," highlighting their reliance on the Law, but they twist this very law to make a point about the resurrection, which Moses' writings…
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Last reviewed October 2026