Matthew 22:26
Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh.
Original Language Analysis
Historical Context
The Sadducees' theological materialism reflected their social position. As wealthy priestly aristocrats controlling the temple economy, they benefited from the status quo and rejected doctrines threatening present order. Resurrection belief implied divine judgment, future accountability, and reversal of earthly power structures—all threatening to their privilege. Their rejection of afterlife mirrors ancient Sadducean collaboration with Rome: focus on maximizing power and pleasure in this life only. Early church father Jerome noted Sadducees' denial of resurrection stemmed from sensuality and worldly mindedness, not intellectual rigor. Their skepticism served self-interest rather than honest inquiry.
Questions for Reflection
- How does worldly privilege and comfort often breed skepticism about resurrection and eternal judgment?
- What does the Sadducees' rapid summary of six marriages reveal about their real concern—winning an argument rather than understanding truth?
- In what ways do people today reduce eternal realities to mere extensions of temporal experience?
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Analysis & Commentary
Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh (ὁμοίως καὶ ὁ δεύτερος καὶ ὁ τρίτος, ἕως τῶν ἑπτά/homoiōs kai ho deuteros kai ho tritos, heōs tōn hepta). The Sadducees compress the narrative, rushing through six additional marriages in a single verse. This brevity serves rhetorical purpose—emphasizing the absurdity rather than the compassion or tragedy. Each brother fulfilled legal obligation, married the widow, died childless, passing the responsibility sequentially.
This hypothetical scenario reveals the Sadducees' reductionistic theology. They cannot conceive of existence fundamentally different from present experience. Resurrection, if it existed, must simply mean returning to bodily life with all its social relationships, legal obligations, and physical processes intact. Their imagination cannot grasp transformation, only continuation. Paul later addresses this same materialistic misconception: 'But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?' (1 Corinthians 15:35), answering that resurrection involves a glorified, spiritual body, not merely resuscitated flesh.