Matthew 22:24-25
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The Sadducees' question, while citing Moses, intentionally twists a law about preserving lineage on earth into a problem for the afterlife. They are using a practical earthly arrangement – the levirate marriage law meant to keep families intact – to argue that resurrection is illogical, completely missing its spiritual intent.
saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, approach Jesus with a tricky question based on the Mosaic Law concerning levirate marriage. They present a hypothetical scenario of seven brothers who all die without children, asking whose wife the woman will be in the afterlife. Their aim is to trap Jesus into contradicting the resurrection by highlighting what they perceive as an absurd consequence of it.
Ever wondered why an ancient law required a brother to marry his deceased brother's wife? It wasn't just about family ties.
The passage mentions the law given by Moses regarding a man dying without children, where his brother was to marry the widow and raise up offspring. This is known as the levirate law (from the Latin 'levir', meaning 'brother-in-law').
More Than Just Family
The primary goal of this law, found in Deuteronomy 25:5-10, was not primarily romantic love or creating new family units in the way we might think today. Its core purposes were:
The Sadducees used a real law to try and trap Jesus. But their reasoning about resurrection missed a huge point.
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The Sadducees presented a hypothetical scenario based on the levirate law to argue against the resurrection. Their logic went like this:
Where Their Argument Crumbles
This seemingly clever argument reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the resurrection and God's kingdom. They were trying to apply earthly, temporal rules to an eternal, heavenly reality.
Understand the original words
didaskalos · Greek Noun
An authoritative instructor of the Law. While used here as a title for Jesus, it identifies one as a master of biblical interpretation and religious instruction.
Moyses · Greek Noun
The human mediator of the Old Covenant, the prophet and lawgiver through whom God delivered the Torah. His name is synonymous with the authority of the Law of God.
sperma · Greek Noun
Descendants or children; in a biblical and legal context (specifically levirate marriage), it refers to the continuation of a family line and the preservation of an inheritance.
The Sadducees used a real Mosaic law concerning inheritance and family continuation to try and disprove the resurrection. Jesus' response shows that the laws of this earthly life, including marriage, do not dictate the conditions of the eternal, resurrected life.
c. 1400 BC
Levirate Marriage Law Given
The Law of Moses, specifically Deuteronomy 25:5-10, mandates 'levirate marriage' where a brother must marry his deceased brother's childless widow to raise up an heir for the deceased. This law aimed to preserve family lines and inheritance within Israel. The verse directly quotes this law.
c. 2nd Century BC
Rise of the Sadducees
The Sadducees, a prominent Jewish sect, emerge. Unlike the Pharisees, they generally reject the oral law and specific doctrines like the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels, adhering strictly to the written Torah.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus' Ministry and Teachings
Jesus' public ministry takes place, challenging religious authorities and teaching about the Kingdom of God, including the reality of the resurrection and eternal life, which directly contrasts with Sadducean beliefs.
c. AD 30-33— this verse
Sadducees Interrogate Jesus
During Jesus' final week in Jerusalem, Sadducees, seeking to trap him, question him about the resurrection. They present a hypothetical scenario based on the levirate marriage law to argue that resurrection would lead to absurd marital complications.
c. AD 30-33
Jesus Refutes the Sadducees
Jesus powerfully refutes the Sadducees' argument, demonstrating their misunderstanding of Scripture and God's power. He uses God's statement to Moses ('I am the God of Abraham...') to prove the resurrection, highlighting that God is the God of the living, not the dead.
This is the foundational passage for the entire Sadducean argument, detailing the Mosaic law of levirate marriage that Jesus is being questioned about.
Luke 20:27-33This passage records the same event from Luke's Gospel, highlighting the Sadducees' specific hypothetical scenario about the seven brothers and the widow to challenge Jesus' teaching on the resurrection.
Exodus 3:6Jesus directly counters the Sadducees' logic by referencing God's declaration to Moses, 'I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,' demonstrating that God is the God of the living, thus affirming the reality of the afterlife and the resurrection.
Romans 8:11This New Testament passage speaks to the life-giving power of God's Spirit dwelling within believers, resonating with Jesus' argument that God's power ensures life beyond death, a concept the Sadducees failed to grasp.
bensonMatthew 22:24: "Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother."
Matthew 22:24-28 . Master, Moses said, If a man die, &c. — “The argument by which the Sadducees endeavoured to confute the notion of a future state was taken from the Jewish law of marriage, which, to give their objection the better colour, they observed was God’s law, delivered by Moses. As they believed the soul to be nothing but a more refined k…
calvinMatthew 22:23-33: "The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and 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 brother…
The Sadducees' question, while citing Moses, intentionally twists a law about preserving lineage on earth into a problem for the afterlife. They are using a practical earthly arrangement – the levirate marriage law meant to keep families intact – to argue that resurrection is illogical, completely missing its spiritual intent.
The Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, approach Jesus with a tricky question based on the Mosaic Law concerning levirate marriage. They present a hypothetical scenario of seven brothers who all die without children, asking whose wife the woman will be in the afterlife. Their aim is to trap Jesus into contradicting the resurrection by highlighting what they perceive as an absurd consequence of it.
The Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, approach Jesus with a tricky question based on the Mosaic Law concerning levirate marriage. They present a hypothetical scenario of seven brothers who all die without children, asking whose wife the woman will be in the afterlife. Their aim is to trap Jesus into contradicting the resurrection by highlighting what they perceive as an absurd consequence of it.
"saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his…" — The Sadducees' question, while citing Moses, intentionally twists a law about preserving lineage on earth into a problem for the afterlife. They are using a practical earthly arrangement – the levira…
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Last reviewed October 2026
