--- title: "The Sadducees and the Resurrection & The Greatest Commandment" description: "Religious leaders are currently attempting to discredit Jesus through complex legal dilemmas, but he is offering surprising answers that are leaving the crowds stunned." image: "" book: "Matthew" bookId: "MAT" testament: "new" startChapter: 22 startVerse: 23 endChapter: 22 endVerse: 40 coversChapters: [22] aiTitle: "Tensions Rise: Religious Experts Try to Trip Up Jesus with Legal Traps" aiDescription: "Religious leaders are currently attempting to discredit Jesus through complex legal dilemmas, but he is offering surprising answers that are leaving the crowds stunned." hasAiStory: true location: "" persons: ["Abraham","God","Isaac","Jacob","Jesus","Moses","Pharisees","Prophets","Sadducees"] hashtags: ["judgment","love","parable","truth"] genre: "gospel" readingTime: 2 type: "adaptive" slug: "MAT/the-sadducees-and-the-resurrection-the-greatest-commandment" canonicalId: "MAT.22.23-22.40" chronologicalOrder: 1465 relatedSlugs: ["MRK/the-scribes-question-the-greatest-commandment","LUK/the-parable-of-the-good-samaritan","DEU/the-greatest-commandment","ROM/love-and-forgiveness","DEU/call-to-obedience","DEU/the-promise-of-restoration","LEV/commandments-for-holiness","1JN/the-fourth-test-of-fellowship","HEB/the-perfect-sacrifice","LUK/the-sadducees-question-the-resurrection","ROM/walking-by-the-spirit","MRK/the-sadducees-question-the-resurrection","ROM/grace-in-jew-and-gentile-relationship","GAL/freedom-in-christ","EXO/god-calls-moses","JAS/a-warning-against-favoritism","MAT/the-rich-young-man","MAT/jesus-announces-the-kingdom-of-heaven","GAL/carry-one-anothers-burdens","LUK/woe-to-pharisees-and-experts-in-the-law","1JN/the-third-test-of-fellowship","JHN/the-empty-tomb"] prevSlug: "MAT/the-herodians-question-taxes-to-caesar" nextSlug: "MAT/jesus-questions-the-pharisees" --- The atmosphere is electric as local religious factions continue their efforts to catch [Jesus](/persons/jesus) in a mistake. Today, the [Sadducees](/persons/sadducees), who firmly reject the idea of life after death, approached him with a convoluted story about a woman who outlived seven brothers in a series of marriages. Their question was simple but mocking: if there is a life beyond this one, who exactly gets to call her a spouse? Jesus did not back down. He pointedly told them they were dead wrong because they ignored the power of [God](/persons/god) and the depth of the ancient scriptures. He clarified that in the afterlife, the rigid social contracts we know here—like marriage—no longer exist. He likened people in that future state to angels and reminded his challengers that God identifies as the God of the living, not the dead. The onlookers were visibly shaken by his sharp, clear-eyed defense. No sooner had he silenced one group than the [Pharisees](/persons/pharisees) stepped in, represented by an expert in the law who hoped to test him with a different tactic. He asked Jesus to rank the most important rules in the entire religious legal code. It was a setup designed to force him to choose sides in ongoing debates. In a move that surprised everyone, Jesus sidestepped the legalistic trap by boiling everything down to two fundamental principles: love God with every fiber of your being, and treat your neighbor with the same care and concern you have for yourself. By framing these two acts of love as the foundation for everything else, he effectively silenced his critics. The crowds remain captivated as this ongoing confrontation continues to unfold. ### The Sadducees and the Resurrection That same day the [Sadducees](/persons/sadducees), who say there is no resurrection, came to [Jesus](/persons/jesus) and questioned Him. “Teacher,” they said, “[Moses](/persons/moses) declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him. Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother. The same thing happened to the second and third brothers, down to the seventh. And last of all, the woman died. In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For all of them were married to her.” Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of [God](/persons/god). In the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. Instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: ‘I am the God of [Abraham](/persons/abraham), the God of [Isaac](/persons/isaac), and the God of [Jacob](/persons/jacob)’ ? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. ### The Greatest Commandment And when the [Pharisees](/persons/pharisees) heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they themselves gathered together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with a question: “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” Jesus declared, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the [Prophets](/persons/prophets) hang on these two commandments.”

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