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Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and
put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If
someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother
must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ Now
there were seven brothers…” Mark 12:18–20
The Sadducees were a Jewish sect composed mainly of the Temple
leaders, including many priests. They held theological and
political views that differed significantly from those of the
Pharisees. The Sadducees accepted only the Torah (the first five
books of the Old Testament) as authoritative, whereas the Pharisees
recognized the entire Hebrew Scriptures, including the Prophets,
historical books, and Wisdom literature, and upheld a highly
developed oral tradition based on centuries of rabbinic
interpretation. This led to tension and theological
disagreements.
The Sadducees denied the resurrection of the dead, the immortality
of the soul, and the existence of angels—all of which were central
to Pharisaic belief—because they believed those truths were not
found in the Torah. They believed that God’s blessings were given
for this life and that when one died, the soul perished with the
body.
Despite their theological disputes with the Pharisees, both groups
found common ground in opposing Jesus. Today’s Gospel illustrates
the Sadducees’ failed attempt to trap Jesus in a legalistic
theological dilemma, using the law of Levirate marriage (cf.
Deuteronomy 25:5–10) to challenge the doctrine of the
resurrection.
The Sadducees took their turn to trap Jesus not only to prove Jesus
wrong but also to justify their beliefs before the Pharisees. They
pose an extreme hypothetical scenario, in which seven brothers
successively marry the same woman, each dying childless and ask:
“At the resurrection when they arise, whose wife will she be? For
all seven had been married to her” (Mark 12:23). Their intent is
not to seek truth, but to mock the very idea of life after
death.
Jesus responds, not with complicated legal reasoning, but with
divine wisdom that lifts their minds beyond earthly concerns. He
begins by rebuking their limited understanding: “You do not know
the Scriptures or the power of God” (Mark 12:24). Then, He offers a
twofold response (cf. Mark 12:24–27).
First, Jesus addresses the question of marriage after the
resurrection: “When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor
are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.”
After the resurrection of the dead, human existence will be
radically transformed. Earthly institutions such as marriage—good
and holy as they are—belong to this world, not the next. In the
life to come, every soul will find its perfect fulfillment in the
Beatific Vision.
Second, Jesus refutes their denial of the resurrection of the dead
using the Torah: “As for the dead being raised, have you not read
in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told
him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob’? He is not God of the dead but of the living.”
Though the Sadducees had built their entire theology on the Torah,
they failed to recognize the implication of God’s words to Moses.
If God is “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” then these
patriarchs must still be alive in His presence. God did not say, “I
was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” but “I AM.” With this
statement, Jesus shatters their disbelief and unveils the reality
of eternal life. Perhaps even the Pharisees enjoyed His
answer.
Reflect today on the central truth Jesus revealed to the Sadducees:
The soul is immortal, and those who die in God’s grace will rise
again to live eternally in His presence, in perfect communion with
all the angels and saints. This truth must always be our focal
point in life. Too often, we live as the Sadducees did—as if this
life is an end in itself. By turning our eyes toward eternity, we
not only better our lives here and now, but we also live in the
hope of Heaven, knowing that all we do now must be for the sake of
eternal treasure in the life to come.
My eternal Lord, I believe in the promise of Heaven and the
coming of the New Heavens and Earth, when all souls will rise and
receive their eternal reward or judgment. As I journey through this
life, keep my eyes fixed on eternity, and let my hope be firmly
rooted in the resurrection to come. Jesus, I trust in
You.
Image: The Sermon on the Mount By Guillaume Fouace
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